Nearly 18,000 students have applied for scholarships for class 11 and 12 announced by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) this academic session. The Kathmandu metropolis stated that applications have been received from students from all 77 districts in the country.
For the past two years, the metropolis has been providing scholarships to 10% of the total students enrolled in private schools within its area. For this, the metropolis itself conducts examinations and recommends students based on competition.
This year, applications were open from July 2 to 11, and 17,929 students applied, according to Nurnidhi Neupane, the Information Officer of the metropolis.
Out of these, 700 applications have been rejected on the ground of not meeting the scholarship criteria.
Now, out of the applicants, 17,229 students will be able to participate in the examination to be held on July 19.
After independent candidate Balendra Shah was elected as the mayor, the metropolis started conducting on its own examinations for class 11 and 12 scholarships from 2080 BS.
In the first year of this process, 8,000 students had applied. Out of these, 3,559 students had received full scholarships.
Similarly, in 2081, 12,000 students applied, and 3,801 students are currently studying on scholarships.
Compared to last year, the number of applicants has increased by about 30% this year. The metropolis estimates that at least 3,500 students can be awarded scholarships this time. The number of scholarship recipients is determined based on the number of students enrolled in schools.
The Local Government Operation Act, 2074 BS has assigned the responsibility of scholarship management to local governments.
Before the metropolis took over the responsibility of scholarship distribution, students were sent to good colleges through the influence of high-ranking government officials and political party leaders. On the other hand, colleges were not fully committed to abide by the existing rules.
When colleges were given full responsibility for scholarship distribution, there was no transparency in the selection process. Scholarships were often awarded based on connections, influence, and proximity rather than competition and merit.
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