In Tamil Nadu, a bold development policy is making headlines: instead of prioritizing the construction of temples, the government is choosing to build colleges and educational institutions. In the age of Artificial Intelligence and rapid technological change, this decision is not just progressive — it is necessary. Nepal, too, must seriously reflect on this path.
Nepal and Tamil Nadu differ in culture, religion, and politics. But the challenge they face is the same: limited resources and unlimited needs. Every rupee spent in one sector means one rupee not invested elsewhere. The real question is not faith versus education — the real question is the future of our nation.
Education Is the Foundation of National Power
Nepal continues to struggle with Low-quality education in many rural areas, outdated university curricula, shortage of skilled technical professionals, youth unemployment, mass migration of talented young people. No nation becomes strong through emotion alone. Nations become powerful through knowledge. Investment in education directly improves productivity, innovation, and national resilience. When a country produces skilled engineers, doctors, teachers, researchers, and entrepreneurs, it builds more than individual careers — it builds a competitive economy. Nepal today faces a serious skills gap. Many universities lack modern laboratories, research facilities, and up-to-date programs. The result? Our best students go abroad for better education and often never return. This brain drain is silently weakening Nepal more than any visible political crisis.
The AI Divide Is Growing
The world is racing forward in Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and data science. Unfortunately, Nepal is already falling behind.Most academic institutions lack, trained faculty in AI and emerging technologies, investment in research centers, reliable digital infrastructure and industry collaboration
If Nepal fails to act now, it risks becoming a permanent consumer of technology, dependent on foreign innovation. This dependence will influence not just business and industry, but also politics, security, and economic sovereignty. A nation that does not build its own technological capacity will always stand on borrowed power.
Resource Allocation Is a Policy Decision, Not a Cultural One
Every government decision reveals a set of priorities. When budgets go into brick and stone instead of schools and laboratories, the state is making a choice about its future. The argument for education-first development does not attack religion. Faith is personal. Development is national. A modern state must invest public money where public return is highest — in education, health, innovation, and infrastructure.
Provinces need public universities with global standards, vocational training institutes, digital classrooms, research funding, scholarship programs and AI innovation centers. No nation develops through symbolism alone. Progress comes from systems, not sentiments.
Classrooms Are the Temples of the Future
Education does not destroy culture — it protects it. A society that educates its children preserves its heritage better than one that worships it blindly. Investing in knowledge is not rejecting faith. It is having faith in the next generation. Nepal does not suffer from a lack of devotion. Nepal suffers from a lack of direction. The monuments that will matter tomorrow are not built from stone. They are built from minds.
Nepal’s AI Policy: Good Vision, Weak Implementation
Nepal has adopted a National AI Policy 2081 (2025) that recognizes the importance of Artificial Intelligence in national development. It encourages research centers, innovation hubs, and education programs. But the reality on the ground tells a different story of limited infrastructure, shortage of skilled professionals, insufficient funding heavy dependence on private and foreign initiatives. The vision exists. The investment does not. A policy without implementation is only paper.
Final Thought
If Nepal wants to survive in the AI revolution, it must stop treating education as an expense and start treating it as an investment in security, economy, and identity. You cannot build a strong nation on temples alone. You build it on thinking, skill, and science. Choose classrooms today — or dependency tomorrow.