Indian Assistance of NRs. 280 million for the establishment of the Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic in Morang District.

Foundation stone was laid today by Ambassador of India to Nepal for setting up of the Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic in Morang District of Nepal.

The Polytechnic is named after late Shri Manmohan Adhikari, a great political leader and former Prime Minister of Nepal.

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal, under its Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) policy, has proposed to set up one polytechnic level institution in each of the five development regions of the country, with a view to fill the crucial gap in the existing infrastructure for development of technical manpower. The Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic in Morang District will be the first of such polytechnics, in the eastern development region of Nepal.

The Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic will provide much needed technical education and play an important role in the generation of technical manpower for the country. Three diploma courses, each of three years duration, in the disciplines of Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Electrical Engineering, will be run by the Polytechnic. Each Diploma course will have an intake of 48 students per year. The Polytechnic will also offer a number of short courses of appropriate duration for training in various trade skills such as Electrician, Plumber, Electronics Mechanic, Refrigeration Mechanic, Fitter, Machine Operator, Automobile Mechanic, Carpenter, and Welder-cum-Fabricator. The annual intake in each short term course will be 20.

The Polytechnic will have intensive interaction with local industry, including participation in curricula design and practical training of students. The Polytechnic has already sought affiliation and necessary certification from the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), for all its courses. CTEVT has been closely associated with the preparation of detailed project report and meetings related to this project.

The Polytechnic will be established with grant assistance of NRs. 280 million from Government of India. It will be located on 5 hectares of land made available by Manmohan Memorial Foundation in VDC, Hathimunda, Morang District at a distance of about 10 kms. from Biratnagar airport.

Indian assistance to the project will cover all capital costs for the establishment of the Polytechnic, including construction of administrative and instructional buildings, hostels for students, and residential quarters for faculty and essential support staff. All necessary equipment and furniture, as well as books for the Library will also be procured under assistance from the Government of India (GOI). The recurring cost of deputation of Indian expert faculty, for a period of 5 years, in such disciplines where Nepalese faculty is not available, as well as the cost of training of Nepalese faculty in India, will also be provided under the GOI grant assistance.

The main building of the Polytechnic will be called `Nepal Bharat Maitri Bhawan’, which will stand as an enduring symbol of the close friendship between the two countries.

This project is in addition to other projects in education, infrastructure and health already ongoing in Morang district with GOI’s economic cooperation. This project reiterates India’s commitment to continued cooperation with Nepal in the critical area of education, for the benefit of the students and people of Nepal.