Kathmandu, Sept 21: The Nepal Teachers' Federation (NTF) and Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha have held talks today.
NTF is on protest, expressing its
dissatisfaction over several of the provisions in the bill related to school
education that is registered in the Federal Parliament. Today is the second day
of the teachers' Kathmandu-centred street protests.
On the occasion, DPM Shrestha urged
the agitating teachers to make their protest decent. Minister for Education,
Science and Technology, Ashok Kumar Rai was also present during the talks.
The teachers' leaders had taken
stance that their protest movement would not be halted until their demands are
fulfilled, as they have come to Kathmandu with the resolve to return home only
after the demands of teachers and employees of the community schools across the
country are met.
NTF president Kamala Tuladhar said that
they have come to meet the DPM and Home Minister only to ask him to manage the
route for the protest demonstrations and this meeting should not be interpreted
as negotiations. She reiterated that the teachers' trade union rights should be
guaranteed.
The traffic in the main parts of
Kathmandu city has been affected due to the protest demonstration of teachers
and the employees who have assembled at Maitighar Mandala of the federal
capital to press for their demands.
There are 27,343 community schools
throughout the country and 157,343 teachers, including permanent and relief
quota teachers, working there. The number of students up to Class 12 in the
community schools is 5 million 382 thousand and six.
The NTF has been calling for
meeting their demands including promoting teachers working on temporary basis
to permanent status, creating quotas for school employees, incorporating the
ECD teachers who are outside the school system, counting the temporary period,
providing retirement benefits, teachers' promotions, appointment of head
teachers, their transfers and work performance evaluation.
The Federation has been complaining
that the bill does not properly address the agreements reached between the
Federation and the government on February 21, 2019 and on February 21,
2022.
The government had registered the
Bill on Amending and Integrating Laws Related to School Education in the House
of Representatives on September 13. (RSS)