By Manjima Dhakal

Kathmandu, May 28: Recently announced policy and programme of the federal government give a hint that next year’s budget will focus on agriculture with special schemes to return youths to villages from abroad and city areas.
In regard to this, educational experts have said youths will not stay in the villages for long if the government does not ensure proper education along with other facilities.
Educationists said the government has to address the desire and requirement of youths along with offering special programmes in agricultural sector.
Kedar Bhakta Mathema, an educationist, said many youths had brought their family to the city areas in search of quality education and other facilities while they engaged in different jobs or stayed abroad.
In this context, if the government really wants to return youths back to villages they have to manage good education as well as health facilities for youths and their family. Otherwise, youths will again return to city areas after this pandemic, Mathema said.
Dr Biddhya Nath Koirala, another educationist, said the federal, state and local governments had to bring integrated plans to develop villages in the model of towns. He also said without having good education, health, banking, water and internet facilities youths would not stay in villages only being engaged in agriculture.
If the government will be capable to address the desire and requirements of youths for staying in the villages, such plans and programmes of agriculture will be a good step for economic prosperity of the nation, Koirala said.
Koirala suggested that separate local governments had to develop their own specific projects as per the expertise of the youths. Koirala also suggested for same ratio of investment in education from federal, state and the local governments.
Dr Balchandra Luitel, another educationist, said there was no option but to engage youths in agriculture as many youths were going to lose their job because of the pandemic. Therefore, there is requirement of good academic environment in the villages for education of entrepreneurs' offspring and even refreshment, skill-oriented training for entrepreneurs themselves.
Luitel further said self-reliance on agriculture was a must to tackle looming food crisis in the country.
Now, many youths are staying in city areas for their employment and large number of youths are in foreign employment. And those youths are keeping children in the city areas for their education and health. And, prior to the lockdown many youths returned to their homes in villages in search of safety. In this context, the government has been planning to engage them in agriculture by offering different schemes through the budget.