The Ministry of Education has finalised the Education Regulation in line with the Education Act amended three months ago, making ‘downstream’ classes mandatory for all the higher secondary schools (HSS) currently running only grade 11 and 12.

Once the regulation is endorsed, as many as 155 private HSS operating only grade 11 and 12—popularly called ‘zero plus two’—must run at least grade 9 and 10 within two years.

The eighth amendment to the Education Act has envisaged to have two levels of schools, basic (grade 1-8) and secondary (grade 9-12), instead of the existing four levels—primary, lower secondary, secondary and higher secondary. Minister for Education Dhani Ram Poudel said the ministry is preparing to table the regulation in the Cabinet on Thursday.

“The implementation of the newly amendment Education Act is not possible without a regulation. Hopefully, the regulation gets endorsed within this month (mid-November),” he told the Post.

Though the School Sector Reform Programme adopted in 2009 also envisaged ending ‘zero plus two’, it did not materialise as the HSS operators firmly stood against the decision. The Higher Secondary Schools Association Nepal (Hissan) has long been pressing the government against forcing them to go downstream.

A majority of the ‘popular’ HSS schools in the Capital are running only grade 11 and 12. Minister Poudel said the government will book the HSS which do not run downstream classes by mid-April 2019. “We will allow them two years for preparations.

They must go downstream within the deadline as there is no way out,” he said, adding the regulation was drafted after consultations with all the stakeholders and that the ministry is ready to consult with Hissan again if it has any grievances on the issue. About 3,700 HSS schools are in operation in the country.