Kathmandu, Jan. 13
The Madhes University
(MU) is set to launch a course on 'Federal Governance System'.
In an interaction on
'Developing curriculum on federal governance system' organised by the
Federalism and Localization Centre (FLC) and Federalism Study Centre (FSC) of
the Madhes University (MU) in Lalitpur on Tuesday, the university stressed on
the need for the courses on federalism in higher education.
Discussion on the
course on federalism is initiated after a decade since the country adopted the
federal structure and amidst the ongoing debate whether the country should
adopt two-tier structure by shedding off the provinces from the system.
Two political parties
voiced their policies against the federal structure, especially the provinces
in the pretext of extra financial burden.
The MU was established
in September 2022 after the formulation of Madhes University Act in the same
year. It is offering courses on BALLB, BPAM, BEM and MPA. The FSC was
established in September 2024.
Experts suggested that
the curriculum should include the basic elements of federal system, its merits
and demerits in the Nepali context, divisions of power, relations among
different levels of the government, administrative and fiscal federalism, and
practices in other countries adopting the similar system.
Senior researcher at
the Policy Research Institute Dr. Kalpana Khanal suggested that the curriculum
should include provisions for real-time learning through the visit of the
political and economic institutions at the different levels of the government
and interactions with the people's representatives and bureaucrats.
She said that although
people have an impression that the provinces have caused extra financial
burden, it actually has reduced the cost following the scrapping of the
district and regional-level administrative structures.
Likewise, Mayor of
Hetaunda Sub-Metropolitan City Mina Kumari Lama said that the planned course
should be able to create human resources that are capable to fulfill the need
of the subnational governments in different areas.
Stating that the local
bodies need more competent leaders and bureaucrats, she appreciated the
attention of the MU to the critical issue like the federal governance system.
Prem Narayan Aryal,
former VC of the Pokhara University, suggested to begin with a chapter of a
portion of content at the Bachelor's level and a subject at the Master's
degree.
Dr. Tula Narayan Shah,
Executive Director of Nepal Madhes Foundation, suggested to bridge the gap
among the governments and pay attention to the development challenges.
Skills like
negotiations, conflict management, information system, leadership, sustainable
development and climate change, inter-governmental relations and cooperation
are recommended in the course of study.
The course should have
a clear focus on one of the various aspects of federalism – such as fiscal,
administrative, resource management and political. Proper mix of practical and
philosophical elements should be included in the curricula, academicians and
experts suggested.
Chairperson of the FLC
Dr. Khim Lal Devkota, who also chairs the FSC at the MU, said that the
university aims at offering the course not only to meet the academic need but
also market demand.
"Alongside the
full-fledged degree courses on federalism, we also aim to develop short-term
courses to facilitate those who have interest and need to have the knowledge on
the subject," he said.
Vice-Chancellor of the
MU, Prof. Dr. Deepak Bahadur Shakya, said that the university is planning to
introduce subjects in new areas that are the need of the society.
Currently, the
Tribhuvan University is offering a subject on federalism in Bachelor's degree
while the Kathmandu University has specialisation option in federalism and
local governance under the Masters in Public Policy and Management course.
Likewise, the Staff College also runs training under its Centre for Federalism.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 January 2026.
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