Kaligandaki Rural Municipality instructs teachers to open schools

BY OUR CORRESPONDEN,Tamghas, Apr. 27: Kaligandaki Rural Municipality in Gulmi has instructed teachers to resign if they are not willing to reopen schools by April 27.

Rural Municipality Chairman Bed Bahadur Thapa issued a statement on Saturday directing schools to reopen from Sunday. He warned that failure to do so would result in actions such as forced resignation or initiation of transfer procedures. 

The ongoing teachers’ protests have disrupted both the enrolment campaign for the new academic session and the regular teaching process. 

A few days ago, Thapa issued a similar statement, expressing concern that the protests were causing a decline in student numbers in rural community schools and pushing students toward private schools, potentially resulting in school closures.

According to the Education Division, there are 45 community and institutional schools within the rural municipality, with approximately 3,000 students.

Meanwhile, Thaneshwor Ghimire, Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Gulmi, stated that the publication of exam results has been hindered due to the ongoing teachers’ protests. He said that both the exam result publication and the student enrolment campaign for the new academic year have been adversely affected.

According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Gulmi, there are 590 community and institutional schools in the district, with a total of 56,203 students. The office also informed that there are 3,153 approved teaching positions across schools, ranging from early childhood education to grade 12.