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By Our Reporter

Hundreds of thousands of teachers have been protesting in Kathmandu for the last three weeks, demanding the enactment of the Education Bill. The Kathmandu-centric peaceful protest of schoolteachers has received wide public support as well as those from the organisations of the civil servants.

Although Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli intended to ignore the protest and continued to criticise the agitating teachers from public forums, he found himself in soup on the 20th day of the demonstration after the Education Minister resigned from the post. It was reported that Minister Bhattarai decided to step down when PM Oli did not cooperate with her in resolving the teachers' protest and other issues.  Even after Bhattarai's resignation, Oli tried to undermine the strength of the teachers' movement and decided to conduct the board exam of grade 12 on April 24 as scheduled even by mobilising the civil servants. The National Examination Board on Tuesday morning decided to conduct the examinations as scheduled. But when the civil servants opposed the decision their organisations expressed their solidarity with the teachers' protests, and the teachers urged all school staff members not to be involved in the examinations, PM Oli had to instruct the NEB to postpone the examinations till May 4. The non-cooperation from civil servants and teachers came as a big blow to PM Oli and his coterie. This has encouraged the agitating teachers to intensify their protest and bring the government to its knees.

Had PM Oli taken the teachers' protest seriously from the beginning, the protest would have been over, but he continued to bully the teachers and invited the crisis. Nepali Congress leaders who had earlier suggested PM Oli listen to the teachers are now silent. Even within the UML, a rift has been developed with many opposing the way Oli is handling the teachers' movement.

Because of egoistic attitude of PM Oli, student enrollment campaign and evaluation of SEE answer sheets have been affected. Now the grade 12 exam has been disturbed. Now, it seems, the teachers will not return to schools unless the government enacts the Education Bill.

The teachers' movement, among others, has not only weakened Oli but may also shorten his term as Prime Minister. Now after teachers, the civil servants are preparing to take to the streets while doctors and nurses have already been demonstrating. A weak prime minister cannot bear all this pressure for a long time, leaving him no option but to step down.