KATHMANDU: This year, 39 schools in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City have changed their names to better represent Nepali identity.

The Metropolitan City Education Department has confirmed that these changes were made to honor Nepali heritage, following a request from the Metropolitan City last year. Currently, the Metropolitan City includes 26 basic schools, 58 secondary schools, 4 special schools, 23 alternative schools, 11 religious schools, 28 community learning centers, and 425 institutional schools, totaling 784 educational institutions, as reported by Keshav Gyawali, the acting head of the Metropolitan City Education Department. In a related announcement, KMC revealed that 30,779 students from its affiliated schools were awarded scholarships for the academic session 2081 BS.

Following the introduction of a scholarship system by KMC, it was noted that 5,895 female students received general scholarships, 1,322 Dalit students were granted Dalit scholarships, and 455 students received scholarships for disabled and residential students.

Moreover, Gyawali mentioned that in institutional schools, 19,306 students from grades 1 to 10 and 3,801 students from grades 11 and 12 benefited from scholarships.

For the current year, a budget of NPR 3,29,47,77,000 has been allocated for the education sector. Of this total, 53.8 percent, amounting to NPR 1,77,34,42,000, has already been spent.

For internal regular programs, NPR 1,04,85,27,000 was allocated, with 30 percent, or NPR 31,56,05,000, already utilized. According to the Kathmandu Metropolitan C\ity, from the allocated NPR 600 million for the ‘Education for All, Metropolitan’s Wish’ initiative, only NPR 51.66 million, which is 8.4 percent, has been used.

Additionally, from the NPR 111.4 million set aside for the golden plans in the education sector, NPR 43.2 million, or 38.8 percent, has been expended.