Taking integrated approach could solve the problem of Gender Disparity in Nepal, said UNICEF/ROSA chief Dr. Sadiq Rashid. He was speaking at a talk program organized by the SID(Society for International Development) Nepal chapter. He emphasized the role of the society in sending a girl child to school. First educating the illiterate mothers and assuring the ignorant parents the worth of the girl child’s education is necessary said Dr. Rashid.

Professor Bishwa Keshar Maskey the president of SID-Nepal chapter said that the figure of net enrollment has gone up from 58.7 percent in 1996 to 81.1 percent in 2001but the gender gap going up to 11 per cent is the major problem. He said strict policy if adopted by the government while laying out development plans to promote girl child education could be beneficial to help solve the problem. However, he rejected only gender discrimination being responsible for the present state of girl child education.

He added cooperation between the International Donors, Civil Society, and Policy Makers is the necessity to over come the problem of sheer poverty, preference for a boy, child marriage, poor teaching quality, poor class room environment and lack of sanitation and safe drinking water facilities.

Speaking from the government side Laba Prasad Tripathi, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Education said the government has already announced various programs like scholar-ships and special programs to attract girl child to schools. He said, the Donor Agencies also need to be more transparent while providing grants. “Ambiguity on the part of of the donor agencies has also created problems in performing such development tasks”, stressed Tripathi.