Kathmandu - The issues of reviewing the teacher's positions; Establishing a teacher bank in collaboration with the university; Issuing national teachers qualification standards; Passing the School Education Bill in this session of the Parliament has been mentioned in the Policy and Programs of Government of Nepal for  Nepali Fiscal Year 2082/083 , there was the news. Similarly, Opening residential schools in remote areas; Issuing national regulatory standards for private schools; gradual transfer of the Teachers' Record Office  from federal to the provincial government are the issues included in the Policy and Programs. The government has also put forward the  'Earning and Learning' policy of  providing 20 hours of work per week for undergraduate students on  the minimum wage, mentioned the news.

The Government's policy to run a two-year 'General Nursing Program' for students who have completed secondary education has been presented in the Parliament, there was the news. Similarly, the three-year nursing program at the proficiency certificate level, which is only available to students who have passed SEE, is about to be phased out, quoted the news.

By giving  responsibility of improving community schools to private schools, the Government has reinforced  the narrative that private schools are better than community schools. This programme was also included in the policies and programs of the previous term of  PM K.P. Oli. Discussions are underway in the thematic parliamentary committee on the Education Bill that  replaces the Education Act, 1971. This Bill should ensure the Right to Education and the provision of Compulsory and Free education as guaranteed by the Constitution.  To realize this provision, it is essential to bring a clear provision to reign  ongoing private investment in school education In the School Education Bill, most lawmakers have submitted their amendments to convert for-profit private schools to Public Educational Trusts in a certain period. It is ironic that the Government is trying to create  a narrative that private schools are good and public schools are bad serving  the interests of private school owners.

Some private schools that admit selected talented students often with high fees may be good for their education, but it  does not mean that all private schools are better than public ones. The narrative that private schools are better is fabricated on the basis of SEE results based on exam-focused rote learning, SEE result-oriented teaching, manipulations for high SEE results. The state of public education is  deteriorating due to the  weak school governance, lack of the accountability of  teachers, and the low demand and expectations of the parents of public schools There is ample reason to doubt the Government's intention to introduce such a program to improve the quality of public schools through private schools without addressing the root causes of poor learning in public schools, which are loaded  with billions of the State investment, trained teachers with higher formal qualification, and huge physical infrastructure.

Howsoever, they may have been established, for profit- schools, thrive on the failures of public schools. Giving the responsibility of improving public schools to the private school is like making a 'cat guarding the milk'. This will add to the humiliation of public school students, parents, and the responsible teachers. On the one hand, the Government who provides so many facilities to teachers, instead of questioning why the results have not yielded in spite of such an investment; putting forward such a policy is nothing but shamelessness. On the other hand, the Teachers who can even sleep on the streets in demand for some conveniences are appeared pretending not to be aware of such a humiliation. Teachers should come out on the streets to protest  such issues. 

We know that this program will not accomplish anything, but it does establish a few axioms: The first is the extent of the influence of the 'seeking only profit people' on the current power structure; the second, how the switch is at the same place that  makes teachers and the government dance; And the third, the orientation of the newly appointed Minister of Education (unless he disclaims). This reminds us of what a member of the last  High Level Education Commission quoted a private school owner  saying: "Whatever you may write ( to regulate private schools) it is not what will happen." As the Bill is being discussed, it is imperative to discuss such issues considering the negative effects of private investment in education. But can such things be discussed they can steer the drivers of the policy?

The news that the teachers' street protests ended after a nine-point agreement was reached between the Ministry of Education and the Teachers' Federation was also covered in almost all media outlets last week. Defining public  hierarchical order of  teachers; preferential access of to Civil Hospital; Facility to accumulate sick leave for all teachers except municipal teachers; Annual  salary increment similar to Civil Servants; Remote allowance for permanent and all types of teachers; Minimum wages for ECD teachers, school staff and assistants, were the points of agreement reached with the Government.

Gorkhapatra reported that it has been agreed that the remaining demands of teachers, that  were not included in the nine-point agreement, will be met through the School Education Act.
With this agreement, there was news that the 29-day protest in Kathmandu has been stopped and schools have resumed.

Although the facilities will be in effect immediately through the nine-point agreement, the main demand that the Education Act be promulgated is yet to fulfill, the news mentioned.

The Ministry of Education has committed  to address the issues in the agreement within the first week of the teachers' strike. Everyone is curious about how the Teachers' Federation, who  had insisted on returning only with the Education Act in hand, will justify the extended strike for 29 days. It is necessary to review whose interests were served by the Teacher's Federation prolonging the protest by raising unconstitutional demands that challenge the sovereignty of the Parliament. There is also a growing concern the  teachers will compensate the damage to public education caused by this movement.

It may be difficult  to determine how many teachers might have felt that there was no public support for teachers during this month-long protest. But it is certain of the perception among parents in general is that teachers are a class that always talk about their facilities but are not obliged  to deliver results. The teachers must also be responsible towards  their students if they wish to  improve their social status. For this, the need  is to demonstrate  learning improvement through results. How do teachers address the added challenge of improving learning that lies ahead of them? This is a crucial question at this time. The government, which has nexus  with teachers and 'seeking only profit people', did not see the need to demand results from the teachers. No  responsibility was shown by these three parties other than being united to  benefit together.

Despite the Government's agreement with the Teachers' Federation, the Nepal School Employees Council, an organization of public school employees, has opposed the agreement, saying that the agreement does not address the demands of school employees, there was the news. The Council members gathered and protested at the venue of an event organized by the Federation to inform about the agreement, mentioned the news. According to the news, the protest by the Employees' Council has forced the police to provide security to the Federation's President Laxmi Kishore Subedi. Disgruntled employees have announced a protest program, saying that the agreement reached between the Teachers' Federation and the Government was a betrayal, there was the news too.

ECD teachers have objected to the agreement between the Government and the Federation, saying that the minimum facilities for ECD teachers have not been guaranteed and have been left to the discretion of the Government, the news published.

The agreement between the Teachers' Federation and the Government to pass the School Education Bill by the House of Representatives (HoR) till 29 June 2025 signed by the Chief Whips of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in the HoR and the Chair of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of HoR, quoted the news. The Government's policy and program also mentions that the School Education Bill will be passed in  the Budget Session, the news came. Committee Chair Mr. Ammar Bahadur Thapa said that although it was unparliamentary practice for the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee to sign the agreement made by the Government, but he signed it to stop the teachers' strike, the news quoted.
A Nepali student studying at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, has been found hanging in her hostel room, reported the news. On 16 February 2025, a Nepali student at the same KIIT was found dead in her hostel. Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has initiated diplomatic initiatives to investigate about  the incident through the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, mentioned the news. There was the news that students of Padma Kanya College have been protesting wearing black masks, demanding an investigation into the incident in which a Nepali student studying at KIIT  was found dead and action against the culprits.

Biratnagar Metropolitan City has determined the admission fee and monthly tuition fee that private schools can charge, the news came. According to the news of Gorakhapatra, the metropolis has determined the maximum limit for fees that private schools can charge under the headings of monthly fees, annual fees (extracurricular activities, sports, laboratory and library), admission fees, and examination fees has been set a slab for grades up to 5 and another for grades 6 to 8 .

Himalayan TV reported that previous investments in public education of Nepal are starting to show results. According to the news, the enrollment rate at the pre-primary level has reached 84.7%, while the percentage of those enrolled in Grade 1 with early childhood development experience has reached 66.9%. The news reported that retention rates have also improved up to grades 5 and 8.

There was news that 29 teachers have resigned in Gulmi district since last July. According to the news, a total of 29 teachers have resigned, including 25 at the primary level, two at the lower secondary level, and two at the secondary level. Recently, the lack of interest in the teaching profession and the wave of foreign employment have led to an increase in the number of resignations, reported the Gorakhapatra. On the other hand, there is a shortage of teachers in mathematics, English, and science in Gulmi. Dhurkot Rural Municipality has not been able to find teachers for mathematics and science subjects even after advertising for the third time for relief and grants in schools within the municipality. Similarly, Musikot Municipality has advertised for the sixth time for mathematics teachers for Musikot Secondary School (SS) and Janajyoti SS, mentioned the news.

Bishnu Bahadur Badaila has written an article in Gorkhapatra stating that overall education reform is not possible unless the main center for producing teachers is strong. The article states that policymakers, university administration, and the entire academic community need to think seriously now, arguing that education will only be strengthened if the Faculty of Education in universities is strengthened.

There was news that students have been admitted to private schools in Baitadi after the admission campaign and teaching in public schools were suspended due to the teachers' strike. The news reported that 11 students from Siddheshwor SS, Hukkedanda, have been admitted to a private school.

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 26 April - 2 May 2025 in this issue - The Editor.

Read this analysis in Nepali : शिक्षक आन्दोलनको पटाक्षेप र  शिक्षामा निजीको दबदबा

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

Read last week's content : Last week in education