KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress Central Committee Member and Head of the Party’s Education Department, Nain Singh Mahar, has called on the government to implement its past agreements with teachers.
During a meeting today with office-bearers of the Nepal Teachers’ Association, Kathmandu Metropolitan Chapter, Mahar emphasized that the government must not backtrack on the commitments made to the teachers’ federation.
“The government must implement the agreements reached with the Nepal Teachers’ Federation to address the demands of educators. Additionally, the constitutional provision of free and quality education must be enforced. Issues such as safeguarding private investment under the ‘Three P’ concept (Public-Private Partnership) should be addressed through the education bill,” Mahar stated.
He stressed the importance of fully implementing the agreement reached on April 30 following a month-long protest by teachers across the country.
Mahar also raised concerns over a report submitted by a sub-committee formed under the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee of the Parliament. According to teachers, the report contradicts the agreement made with the federation.
“The provisions agreed upon with the Teachers’ Federation must be included in the education bill. Teachers should also be held accountable for delivering quality education, but the state must generously support their service conditions,” he added.
He further urged the government to acknowledge the human reality that teachers cannot provide quality education while being burdened with economic worries. “If teachers are not paid enough to support their families with peace of mind, it is unrealistic to expect them to focus on quality education.”
Meanwhile, the Nepal Teachers’ Federation has continued to accuse the government of being indifferent to their demands. The Federation’s Chairperson, Laxmi Kishor Subedi, criticized the sub-committee’s report as even more regressive and anti-teacher than the current bill registered in Parliament.
Teachers had suspended their month-long protest on the 29th day, following the government’s commitment to pass the School Education Bill by June.
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