Proposed Education Act may not be passed, says Sharma

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT,Damak, Aug. 20: Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma said that the proposed Education Act would not be passed in the current situation. He said that he was serious about the Act and that it should have been introduced only after extensive discussion with the relevant stakeholders.

A team including chairman of Nepal Teachers Association, Koshi Province, Tej Prasad Chaulagai, met General Secretary Sharma at this residence in Dhulabari of Jhapa on Saturday and urged him to address the demands of the teachers and staffs of community school who were on strike. 

General Secretary Sharma said that the bill would not progress to the parliament and that if flaws were found in it, they would be amended. He said, “I have thoroughly studied the Education Act. It cannot solve the problems of education. It has been drafted with regressive and authoritarian thinking.” 

He mentioned that the concepts of trust, management committees, and district education office in the bill were flawed. 

Meanwhile, Chaulagai said that the bill had insulted the teachers. He added that they would stage protests if the bill was passed. The teachers objected to the proposed system and management, where the authority for teacher appointments, transfers, and promotions would be given to the local level, along with restrictions on trade union rights.