Kathmandu- Private schools in Nepal with residential facilities will now be required to provide accommodation when granting full scholarships, according to a consensus reached in the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives.

While the principle has been agreed upon, the exact number or percentage of students eligible for residential facilities has yet to be finalized. The issue of accommodation within full scholarships has been pending since earlier discussions on the School Education Bill.

In Monday’s committee meeting, Education Minister Raghuji Pant proposed that residential facilities be offered to 2.5 percent of students based on the schools’ capacity. Previously, the Ministry of Education had maintained that private schools should not be compelled to provide residential facilities. Some lawmakers argued that at least 10 percent of students should receive accommodation, but no final consensus was reached. The committee plans to finalize the issue in Thursday’s meeting.

The bill also includes provisions for full scholarships and non-profit management of private schools, which has caused dissatisfaction among school operators. Despite opposition, the bill’s report has been submitted to the committee. Lawmakers have been given two days to study it. Theu also emphasized that a balanced approach would be taken on full scholarships, suggesting that responsibility could be shared between the government and private schools, with a combined quota of up to 10 percent of students.

Earlier, an agreement was reached that private schools must provide full scholarships to 10–15 percent of students. However, the percentage eligible for residential facilities under the full scholarship program has not been decided. Full scholarships cover tuition, examinations, textbooks, learning materials, uniforms, and transportation fees, and now residential facilities will be included in this definition.

Existing laws, such as the Scholarship Act and the Free and Compulsory Education Act, stipulate that institutions with up to 500 students must provide scholarships to 10 percent, 500–800 students to 12 percent, and more than 800 students to 15 percent. Both ruling and opposition lawmakers argue that under the new system, full scholarships must include additional facilities. If fully implemented, approximately 300,000 students in private schools are expected to benefit.

Education Minister Pant requested that residential facilities be included in the regulations, but lawmakers opposed leaving the matter solely to administrative rules. Congress lawmakers Dig Bahadur Limbu and Chandra Bhandari emphasized that the law must clearly define the provisions. They suggested that residential facilities for 10 percent of students should be divided equally between academically gifted and underprivileged students to ensure equality.

Former Education Minister and lawmaker Bidhya Bhattarai said private schools must be compelled to participate in the scholarship program, noting that the constitution and Free and Compulsory Education Act require inclusivity. UML lawmaker Chhabilal Bishwakarma urged the ministry and lawmakers to reach consensus, while Maoist Center lawmaker Gyanu Basnet stressed that residential facilities should target both underprivileged and high-performing students.

Private school organizations such as PABSON, N-PABSON, and HISAN have expressed dissatisfaction with the full scholarship provisions, even threatening protests. They claim that arbitrary imposition of full scholarships must be replaced with a fair system, providing uniform benefits like uniforms only to disadvantaged students. Schools will need to submit details to local governments to determine scholarship seats.

Local governments are required to publicize available scholarships and accept applications. Students can choose the schools where they wish to study. Half of the scholarships will be allocated to underprivileged students and the other half to high-achieving students through a competitive, inclusive process. The Ministry of Education will set uniform standards for student selection, and other provisions will follow local laws, as outlined in the bill.