By Our Reporter

Schoolteachers from across the country have been staging peaceful demonstrations in Kathmandu for the past 15 days, demanding smooth passage of the School Education Bill from the parliament and implementation of the deals signed between the Nepal Teachers' Federation and the government in the past.

However, the government that did not pay serious attention to the agitation for 14 days, on Tuesday decided to summon the parliament on April 25 to address their demands of approving the School Education Bill that has been pending in parliament for years.

But the Nepal Teachers' Federation outright rejected it and decided to continue the demonstration.   

In a Facebook message on Wednesday morning, the chairman of Nepal Teachers' Federation Laxmi Kishore Subedi urged teachers to gather at Maitighar Mandala as usual to wage their movement. He said they would not suspend the movement on the basis of the government decision of Tuesday. He has also accused the government of being not liberal towards the teachers' demands.

Earlier on Tuesday night, a meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the official residence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Baluwatar decided to summon the Parliament session for April 25 with the primary agenda being the coordination and facilitation required to pass the bill currently under consideration in the Parliament.

After the meeting, Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Bidhya Bhattarai said that the government was committed to addressing the demands raised by the Nepal Teachers’ Federation through continuous dialogue. Minister Bhattarai emphasised that the government is both sensitive and serious about resolving legitimate concerns.

Highlighting the ongoing protests launched by the Federation, Minister Bhattarai noted that the government has taken serious note of the demonstrations. Given the critical academic calendar—including student admissions, the evaluation of Secondary Education Examination (SEE) answer sheets, and the upcoming Grade 12 national exams—the Cabinet has appealed to all teachers to return to their respective duties.

The government has urged the agitating teachers to suspend all their protest programmes, emphasising the need to safeguard the interests of students and parents during this crucial period. However, the teachers denied it, and continued their protests shutting down schools and impacting the admission campaign as well as the examination of grade 12 and evaluation of SEE answer sheets.

Teachers from across the country have been launching a demonstration in Kathmandu for 14 days demanding that the government should pass the Education Bill. Although the country witnessed two political upheavals and two new constitutions since 1990, Nepal's education system is still functioning under the Education Act introduced in 1971.