KATHMANDU: The Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) and the National Association of Rural Municipalities in Nepal (NARMIN) have advised lawmakers to consider the spirit of the Constitution while introducing the Education Bill, 2080 BS.
The bill is presently under consideration in the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives.
Both associations of the local governments were summoned to a meeting of the Committee today to discuss about the bill.
MuAN Chair Bhim Prasad Dhungana and NARMIN chair Laxmi Devi Pandey expressed their concerns in writing over the draft of the bill.
As they argued, the preliminary of the bill is capable of shrinking the constitutional rights of local levels.
The bill was drafted by overlooking the spirit of federalism and separated powers of a three-tier government, they said.
They also expressed concerns over the agreements reached between the government and school teachers and employees without the notice to them.
They called for naming the document ‘Federal Education Bill’. “If it is taken ahead by interfering the legislative rights of local governments, the MuAN and NARMIN will approach the Constitutional bench and take to the street if necessary,” they said.
In the meeting, School Employees Council of Nepal’s president Gangaram Tiwari, Secondary Teachers Union president Gyan Prasad Bhattarai, Secondary School Teachers Union president Tika Prasad Neupane, among others, urged the committee members to not let this opportunity for giving them permanent appointment.
They argued that the problem in the secondary level education system became complicated as the Grade 11 and 12 were run without managing the teacher quotas and teaching licenses for the teachers in the past.
Committee President Bhanubhakta Joshi informed that meeting that discussions will be held with the temporary and relief quota teachers’ organisations in the meeting tomorrow.
Lawmakers demanded that the discussions should be objective and based on facts, and the government should present statistics on the situation.
The Committee held consultations with office-bearers of Nepal Teachers Federation on Wednesday.
The government had signed an agreement with the agitating teachers and school employees on September 27 and October 8, 2023 respectively.
The teachers and school employees waged a protest movement after the School Education Bill was tabled in the parliament, objecting over some provisions of the bill.
The bill landed in the Committee on October 8, 2023 for clause-by-clause discussions after theoretical deliberations in parliament.
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