Kathmandu December 29. Gandaki State Minister for Social Development Nardevi Punmagar has said that education should be associated with skills. Speaking at the first State-level gathering of National Private and Boarding School Association Nepal (NPABSON) here Saturday, Minister Punmagar said that there was no meaning of education if it was not practical and linked with skills. Stating that many students going to private boarding schools were leaving the country, Minister Punmagar emphasized on education that encourages people to labour within the country. The Gandaki state government is working to develop a curriculum that will produce necessary human resources for the state. Lauding the role of the private sector in the development of education, Minister Punmagar said Nepalis would become happy if education and health were free. NPABSON central chair Ritu Raj Sapkota said the confusion of the division of rights related to education among the various tiers of government was hampering the edcuatin sector. Representatives from more than 150 private schools in Tanahu, Kaski, Nawalpur, Baglung and Lamjung took part in the gathering. The gathering ended with a Tanahu Declaration.