Kathmandu - There were news that private schools have an opportunity to attract students as public schools are closed due to the teachers' strike. Parents have started enrolling their students in private schools out of fear that their children's studies will deteriorate, the news mentioned. Private school owners have been reported going door to door to influence families to enroll in their schools whose children are in public schools. In some places, parents are unable to make decisions even when public schools are considered better, the Gorakhapatra quoted the news.

Some public schools in Baitadi have distributed textbooks for the new academic session to retain students, there was the news. ‘Janata Secondary School in Biratnagar had planned to add 300 new students this year, the teachers' strike has made it difficult even to retain the old students’, the principal was quoted in the news.

Similarly, in Madhesh, after the closure of public schools due to the teachers' movement, parents were forced to send their children to private schools, mentioned the news.

No school-based activities could be carried out in various districts, including in Lamjung, as teachers went on strike, the news came. Children who should be going to schools with new books and notebooks are grazing cattle in the forest and playing instead, the news mentioned. Although an enrollment campaign should be launched to increase the number of students in public schools, classes have not even been held this year, let alone the enrollment campaign, the news quoted.

There was the news that Kaligandaki Rural Municipality (RM) of Gulmi has issued instructions to teachers asking their presence compulsory. The instructions mentioned that teachers and employees who are not attending should resign or initiate the transfer process, quoted the news.

Harinas RM of Syangja has issued a statement stating that teachers' salaries will be paid only from the day they start teaching, the news published.

Parents of Gyanodaya Basic School in Chidipani, Mathagadhi RM, Palpa, gathered at school and demanded to ensure the future of students and continue to run the school and pressurized the school management committee to open the school, the news mentioned.

Chitwan's public schools have launched a school admissions process following pressure from the local government, parents, and the civil society, the news came quoting Ratnanagar Municipality Mayor Pralhad Sapkota.

In the meantime, there was news that the Supreme Court has ordered the government and teachers not to deprive children of their Right to Education. According to the news, a bench of Justice Nahakul Subedi has ordered to address the demands under the constitution of the agitating teachers and ensure a regular teaching and learning environment to return teachers to school within three days. Similarly, the court has also ordered to make a conducive environment to conduct the Grade 12 examination, published the report.

The Central Committee of the Parents' Association Nepal has drawn the attention of the National Human Rights Commission, stating that the right to education of approximately 5.5 million students studying in public schools has been violated due to the teachers' strike, there was the news.

CPN (UML) affiliated student organization also stated that the teachers' protest has pushed the students' future toward darkness, news published.

Bhuvan Neupane wrote an article in Gorkhapatra stating that since teachers are the mirrors of society, it is not appropriate for them to abandon teaching and engage in politics and agitation. The article stated that there should be no delay in making an environment where teachers can engage enthusiastically in classroom teaching through immediate dialogue between teachers and the Government.

There was the news that teachers have continued their protest despite Prime Minister Mr. KP Sharma Oli's commitment to take the initiative to pass the School Education Bill through Parliament soon. The Nepal Teachers Federation (NTF) has stated that it cannot rely on the Prime Minister's commitment this time as agreements made repeatedly in the past have not been implemented, the news quoted.

Similarly, the Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairman Mr. KP Oli has said that the demands of teachers that are affordable, will be met, quoted the news. Since the enrollment campaign has already begun, Mr. Oli has urged teachers to engage to enroll students in schools and start checking SEE answer sheets, the news mentioned.

From the teacher's perspective, the bottom line of their demand this time is to ensure that the agreed-upon matters should be implemented. For this, the NTF must reach to an agreement with, or at least in the presence of, the relevant units of both the legislative and executive powers of the state. Since Parliament is practically sovereign, no guarantee  can be given until the Bill is passed by the Parliament. For this, it is also necessary to obtain the consent of the parties in the Parliament. Let the terms of the agreement in its own place. If local governments, who have the constitutional jurisdiction to manage schools, assume independent and prudent decisions, it will be difficult to implement the agreement if they don’t agree. Therefore, it is advisable to take a nod of the representatives of Local Governments. If the municipalities are determined, the local body would certainly be no less powerful than teachers. It has also been proven from a legal perspective that prerogatives prevail over common rights. 

The bottom line for the Government who is representing parents, is to take a commitment that the quality of education in public schools will be improved once teachers' demands are met. In a way, this means that the proportion of students attending public schools will not decrease. The teachers and NTF should guarantee this. Otherwise, it will be considered an unfair compromise with the teachers who are organized forces supported by the parties.

And, many kinds of temporary teachers and Early Childhood Development (ECD) facilitators may have expected that they would be able to become permanent straight way. Given the current trend, it is difficult for many teachers to pass the examination of Teacher Service Commission (TSC) to become permanent. Many ECD teachers do not appear to have required educational qualification. This will shorten the lifespan of the benefits that many teachers have been enjoying. The government should not hesitate to bring these issues to the forefront at the time of agreement, although such precautions do not seem to contribute much to addressing the teacher shortage in the country.

Even though textbooks reached to schools before the start of the new academic session, they ended up in the classrooms instead of in the hands of students as schools were not open, there was the news.

The National Examination Board (NEB) has postponed the 12th grade exams scheduled for 24 April 24 to 4 May due to the teachers' strike, the news published. According to the news published in Gorkhapatra, 1,590 centers have been designated for the exam in the country and one in Japan. There will be at least ten employees, including the center head, at each examination center, and a total of 51,000 human force, including employees and security personnel, to be mobilized, mentioned the news. Onlinekhabar news portal reported that students from remote areas who have come to exam centres have been left stranded due to the postponement of exams at the last minute.

As discussions on the School Education Bill are gaining momentum, representatives of the NTF, including President Laxmi Kishore Subedi, held interactions with the Chairperson of Education Health and Information Technology Committee (EHITC) of the Parliament Mr. Ammar Bahadur Thapa, quoted the news. The Federation will resubmit in writing the demands and issues left out in the Bill to the EHITC, the news came quoting an official of the Federation.

The government has been irresponsible regarding teachers' demands, wrote the Onlinekhabar. Instead of inviting teachers to talks and showing willingness to make an agreement, the government has further provoked them, the media mentioned.

CPN-Maoist Center Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has appealed to teachers to continue the agitation, there was the news.

UML MP Mr. Raghuji Pant (proportional representation) has been appointed as the Minister of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) replacing Ms. Bidya Bhattarai. Minister Panta called for talks after taking oath of office. When the names of the teachers who would participate in the talks were made public, the teachers did not enter Singharbar for talks as the names given by the Federation and the Minister’s Secretariat were not the same, the news quoted.

There was the news that Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned after a disagreement with the Prime Minister over addressing the demands of the teachers to end the strike. Ms. Bhattarai, who became the Minister with an agenda of reforming education, eventually resigned due to the lack of cooperation from her own government and her party leadership, the news covered in the Onlinekhabar.

After the Prime Minister didn't accept the 7-point proposal prepared by the Minister Bhattarai in dialogue with the NTF, she was forced to leave the Ministry, Kantipur daily quoted a ministry official. An editorial in Kantipur stated that the resignation of the Minister who was trying to resolve the problem has made the situation even more chaotic.

Primier Oli has objected to the news that Education Minister Bhattarai resigned due to Prime Minister's non-cooperation, the news quoted.

Gopal Devkota of Gokarneshwor, Kathmandu, wrote a Letter to the Editor in Kantipur stated that the former education Minister Bhattarai have demonstrated morality through by resignation. Similarly, Santosh Simkhada from Tokyo, Japan, wrote a Letter to the Editor, calling the resignation of the Education Minister a reflection of the lack of direction of the Government.

The government is ignoring its own laws and trying to increase the number of seats in private medical colleges helping increase their profit, published the news. The decision of the 18th meeting of the Medical Education Commission to form an 11-member task force under the coordination of Education Secretary Deepak Kafle to increase the number of MBBS and BDS seats in private medical colleges and revise the fees is a direct violation of the Act, claimed the Onlinekhabar.

The Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Students' Union (NSU) vandalized the administrative section of the the Public Youth Campus in Dhobichaur and also destroyed the CCTV that captured the incident, there was report.

The Patan Samyukta Campus Free Student Union (FSU) office has been padlocked after the Scientific Socialist Student Organization filed a petition demanding the income and expenditure details of the FSU to make public, but the details were not provided, mentioned the news.

Political parties have expressed their commitment to declare Purbanchal University, located in Gothgaun, Morang, a zone prohibited for shut-downs and strikes, the news came.

Media reported that Jana Sahayog Secondary School of Gulmi's Bharse is facing a major challenge in retaining students due to the private schools and rapid migration.

To bring about reforms in the education sector, Musaharniya RM in Dhanusha has banned permanent, temporary, contractual, ‘relief’, municipal and ECD teachers working in public schools from teaching in private schools and coaching centers, the report published.

Despite the Constitution stating that education up to the secondary level is free. However it was found that fees were being charged in the name of the decision of the school management committee and voluntarily, Damak Municipality has announced that it will make education up to grade 8 completely free in the upcoming academic session, there was the news.

Miklajung RM of Morang has launched a special scholarship program for the education of students who have lost their parents. There are 5,900 students in 38 community schools in the municipality, and 810 children who have lost their parents will benefit from this, the news mentioned.

BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences Rector Prof. Dr. Sanjiv Kumar Sharma has been given the responsibility of Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC). The responsibilities of the Acting VC have been assigned until a new VC is appointed, the news mentioned.

There was report that the National Examination Board has issued a notice to fill out the registration form till 25 April 2082 for the Secondary Education Examination (SEE).

Purpose of this news review is to classify and synthesize the educational content of the week and provide objective comments from the point of view of social justice and creative pedagogy including the environment. It is aimed to the policy makers and stakeholders to help make informed decisions. In this joint effort of the Center for Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP) and EduKhabar, material from daily newspapers - Kantipur, Gorkhapatra and The Himalayan Times, online news portals - Online Khabar, Setopati and Ratopati and the 8 o'clock news of Nepal Television and 7 o'clock news of Himalaya Television is summarized and presented with commentary on relevant issues. We have covered the contents from 19-25 April 2025 in this issue - The Editor.

Read this analysis in Nepali : शिक्षक आन्दोलनका असर र शिक्षामन्त्रीको राजीनामा !

Also watch the video (Nepali) with the commentary : शिक्षक आन्दोलनका असर र शिक्षामन्त्रीको राजीनामा ! [ भिडियो टिप्पणी ]

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