Kathmandu: The affiliation process for new Plus Two colleges is stuck this year with the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) stating that the documents provided by most of the colleges do not meet the criteria.

HSEB invites interested candidates to submit application for establishment of new Plus Two colleges or add new faculties in the existing ones by mid-December and gives affiliation by mid-July.

Till last Friday, the Department of Education has recommended 308 new Plus Two colleges from across the country for affiliation. Now they would be doing feasibility study before granting affiliation.

Devi Prasad Barakoti, chief of affiliation division at HSEB said, “We got the recommendation for 308 new Plus Two colleges for this year,” adding, “We have already done feasibility study of around 25 per cent colleges which will get affiliation by this weekend while the remaining will get affiliation by mid-August.”

According to Barakoti, around 50 per cent of proposed Plus Two colleges lacked qualified principals.

As per HSEB bylaw, minimum criteria to run a Plus Two college is pass result in SLC for three consecutive years, at least five subject teachers and a principal who holds a degree.

Chirinjibi Bhandari, under secretary, Planning and Monitoring Section, HSEB, said that altogether 123 community Plus Two colleges in 55 districts had Science faculty till date.

Last year, government had committed to establish at least one community Plus Two with Science faculty in each constituency after Tribhuvan University phased out Proficiency Certificate Level. But sluggish pace of government agencies means that it would take a few years more to provide science education for students.

Out of 3,065 Plus Two colleges affiliated with HSEB, 2,243 are community colleges and the remaining are private colleges.

source: The Himalayan Times,25 Dec 2011