School teachers from across Nepal continued their protest in the capital for the 21st day on Tuesday. Nepal Teachers Federation, the umbrella body of school teachers in Nepal, has refused to return to schools unless their demands are addressed through a new School Education Act.
Amid growing pressure, Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned on Monday. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has deemed the teachers’ demands unrealistic, pushing for their return to schools.
The Federation has warned that teachers will not participate in the upcoming Grade 12 examinations until their demands are met. However, the National Examination Board (NEB) has insisted on conducting the examinations on April 24, mobilising civil servants and security personnel if the teachers do not participate.
What are their demands?
One of the major demands is the regularization of temporary teachers, such as relief, contract-based, and early childhood development teachers. The Federation wants these teachers to be made permanent through internal competition without age restrictions. For those who don’t meet the criteria, a golden handshake (retirement incentive) should be offered, according to the Federation.
They are also asking for clear quotas and permanent posts for school staff and early childhood development teachers, with proper job titles and equal treatment in terms of salary and benefits. They want all teachers, regardless of when they joined or what kind of contract they were under, to have equal opportunities for promotion, retirement benefits, and pay, matching that of civil servants with similar roles. Teachers want the promotion system to be fair, recognizing years of service and qualifications, with regular advancements every 10 years.
The Federation stresses the need for better management and representation of teachers in decision-making. This includes a call for a separate and empowered Council that handles registration, training, and development. They want performance evaluations and disciplinary processes to be decentralised, with authority given to schools and local education offices. Teachers should also be allowed to transfer between schools and districts under a clear and fair set of rules, according to the Federation.
The other major concern is the parity of treatment for private school teachers. The Federation demands that private school teachers receive the same pay and benefits as public school teachers and that they be included in the social security system. They also advocate raising the age limit for entrance to the teaching profession to 40, to allow more qualified individuals to join the profession.
They also call for school management committees to be led mainly by parents, rather than political representatives, and for school property not to be misused or alienated without federal approval. The Federation calls for the creation of district-level units of education to manage teacher coordination and appraisals.
