Minister Pant and Teachers in Marathon Talks to Strike Deal
Kathmandu, April 29 -- The administration has stated that the demands put forth by the protesting educators will be resolved by Wednesday at the earliest.
For almost four weeks, thousands of public school teachers have been demonstrating in Kathmandu, disrupting the normal operations of schools, impeding exam conductance, and impacting admissions as well as various academic activities.
The likelihood of a speedy solution grew after marathon discussions between high-ranking officials from the governing party and protesting educators on Monday at the home of Nepali Congress Deputy Chairman Purna Bahadur Khadka, as per informed sources.
A minister informed the Post that following encouraging indications from the discussions, the Cabinet was updated on the issue during an evening session on Monday," he said. "The two parties resumed their negotiations in a second round late Monday night, subsequent to the Cabinet briefing.
The participants in the two rounds of discussions consisted of Congress member Khadka, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Education Minister Raghuji Pant, UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, along with Congress General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwa Prakash Sharma. Representing the Nepal Teachers' Federation were Chairman Laxmikishor Subedi and two additional members.
The Education Minister, Pant, shared the details of the discussions with the teachers' federation during the Cabinet meeting. Following approval from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and other ministers to tackle the primary concerns of the educators, the protesting teachers decided to modify the approach of their demonstration.
When the Post was going to print, an additional follow-up meeting was set for late Monday night into early Tuesday morning. In these discussions, Pant would lead for the government side, with Laxmikant Subedi representing the educators.
By tomorrow or the next day, we will respond to the requests made by the teachers," stated Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung following the Cabinet meeting. "The Cabinet has assigned Education Minister Pant with the responsibility of handling these concerns.
Pant spearheaded the second round of discussions with the leaders of the protesting teachers.
Before the second round of discussions with government officials, the officers from the teachers' association convened separately to review the results of previous conversations with both governmental delegates and political figures.
As stated by the minister, they are working towards reaching an accord grounded in a seven-point plan crafted by the former education minister, Bidya Bhattarai.
"By Wednesday at the latest, we aim to create an atmosphere where the concerns of the teachers will be resolved," stated Gurung.
On Monday, the government addressed the Supreme Court regarding the continuing protests by the teachers.
The court has directed the government to guarantee that the protesting educators will resume teaching in their classrooms within three days. Meanwhile, local authorities have begun instructing these teachers to report back to their responsibilities.
On Friday, issuing a temporary directive in response to a writ petition submitted by attorney Shrawan Chaudhary, the highest court determined that the demonstration has apparently deprived students of their educational rights, and such deprivation will persist unless the judiciary steps in.
The Teacher’s Federation Nepal, which represents educators across schools, has been conducting protests for the last 27 days. They are calling for the quick enactment of the School Education Act that includes their requests.
The agitating teachers are adamant on continuing with their demonstrations until the enactment of the new law. Assurance of pay and perks at par with those of civil servants is their major demand.
Additional requirements consist of compensation for grading, subsidies for relief quota teachers, access to a distinct dedicated healthcare facility or subsidized medical examinations at the Civil Service Hospital. Another request involves granting permanent positions to temporary educators via internal competitive processes.
Another requirement is for these educators to operate under the federal government instead of local authorities. However, they have been deemphasizing this request due to criticisms suggesting it contradicts constitutional principles.
The local administrations have stated that the continuous protests may disrupt the academic schedule should the educators fail to resume their duties promptly.
Their demonstration compelled the National Examination Board to delay the twelfth-grade final exams by ten days, rescheduling them for May 4th.
Previously, multiple rounds of both structured and unstructured discussions between the authorities and educators proved unsuccessful. The complexity escalated when Education Minister Bhattarai stepped down on April 21 due to increasing disagreements with Prime Minister Oli and Finance Minister Paudel regarding how to address the teachers’ demands.
During the Cabinet meeting, it was agreed to send the draft of the government’s policies and programs to President Ramchendra Paudel. The president will then deliver an address at a joint sitting of Parliament on May 2nd and unveil the government's agenda and plans.
According to Article 95 of the constitution, the government plans to ask the President to outline their annual policies and programs for this year, stated Gurung, who additionally serves as the government spokesperson.