Nepal to convene Parliamentary session to address demands of protesting teachers

Kathmandu, April 16 (IANS) The Nepal government has convened a parliamentary session on April 25 to address the demand of protesting teachers in the country and pass the School Education Bill.

The protests have entered its third week with educators continuing their nationwide strike to press for the immediate enactment of the School Education Act.

Last week, Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel, on government recommendation, prorogued the federal parliament session without endorsing the School Education Bill that has been pending in a House Committee for over a year and a half.

Reports suggest that teachers from across the country have gathered in Kathmandu demanding the enactment of the School Education Act, which has been pending in Parliament despite previous commitments from the government.

Carrying placards with slogans such as 'Respect the teaching profession,' and 'Enact the education act now,' the teachers have declared an indefinite street protest, calling it a decisive phase in their struggle for educational reform.

The sit-in by teachers in the Maitighar-Naya Baneshwor area of Kathmandu since April 2 has also severely disrupted the national enrollment drive and delayed key academic tasks, such as evaluating answer sheets from the recently held Secondary Education Examination (SEE). The teachers defied the government’s instruction to begin student enrollment for the new academic year in Nepal that started on Tuesday, local media reported.

Nepal's Minister for Education Bidya Bhattarai said that a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening took the decision to convene a House session on April 25 to coordinate and facilitate the passage of the bill, the Kathmandu Post reported.

The decision was taken after no significant breakthrough was achieved following the talks between representatives from the Ministry of Education and teachers.

“If the Prime Minister, Nepali Congress President, CPN (Maoist Centre) chair, and the Speaker want, the School Education Bill can be endorsed without further delay. All we want is the Act incorporating our demands,” said Nanu Maya Parajuli, Joint-Chairperson of the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, who is also the coordinator of the dialogue team.

Meanwhile the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the ongoing protest and urged the concerned parties to resolve the matter through dialogue.

“If the agitation continues, the results of the SEE examination, the Grade 12 examination, and the enrollment campaign of children will be affected. In addition, regular monitoring has found that the agitation has also created obstacles in the easy movement in the Maitighar area for the past 13 days. The creation of an environment that requires agitation to get their demands addressed is a matter of concern. It is seen that the closure of schools created obstacles in ensuring the right to education of children,” read a statement issued by the commission.

“Therefore, the commission urges the government to resolve the problems seen in such a sensitive area as education through dialogue, to ensure the resumption of teaching and learning, to formulate education-related laws in a timely manner through adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders, and to implement the agreements previously reached with teachers,” it added.

--IANS

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