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The Hindu
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Seven teachers, several policemen injured during clashes in Nepal's Kathmandu
At least seven teachers and a few policemen were injured in Kathmandu city of Nepal on Sunday (April 27, 2025) as clashes erupted between the two sides during a demonstration for education reforms and a pay increase. Also Read | Fresh pro-monarchy rally turns violent in Nepal, resulting in casualties The police used baton charges and water cannons to disperse thousands of agitating teachers who tried to break the security cordon to enter the restricted area in Nayabaneshwor area of Kathmandu, an eyewitness said. The witness said a few policemen also suffered injuries. Tens of thousands of school teachers from different parts of the country, demanding reforms in school education and an increase in pay and perks, have been staging demonstrations for nearly one month in Kathmandu. Their main demand is the passing of the School Education Bill by the parliament. Last week, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Bidya Bhattarai was forced to resign and replaced by Raghuji Panta for the minister's failure to address the agitating teachers' concerns.
Hans India
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Nepal Supreme Court directs govt to address legitimate demands of protesting teachers
Kathmandu: The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order asking the government to address the legitimate demands of the protesting teachers and ensure that the teachers return to classrooms within three days. The order stated that the ongoing teachers' protests in the country have violated the student's right to education, and it would continue if the court didn't intervene, local media reported. 'With regard to addressing the legitimate and constitutionally justified demands of the protesting teachers, the defendants [the prime minister's office and other government agencies] are hereby directed to take appropriate and necessary decisions, and to ensure, within three days from the date of receipt of this order, that the protesting teachers return to their schools and that an environment conducive to regular teaching and learning is restored,' reads the order by a single bench of Justice Nahakul Subedi. 'The future of millions of students has been pushed into uncertainty due to the protest. The right to education for children is a fundamental human right, and it is the state's responsibility to ensure it,' the order stated. Additionally, the court has directed that the results of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) be published on time and that the Grade XII Board exams be conducted as scheduled, according to local media reports. Meanwhile, several local units in Nepal have also directed the protesting teachers to take up their duties. 'While study has already commenced in the private schools, the community schools remain shut. This is against children's right to study. All the teachers are directed to resume their jobs,' Budhanilkatha Municipality said in a statement. Additionally, the Mandandeupur Municipality of Kavre has also issued a similar directive to the teachers. 'The municipality firmly believes that children's education should not be disrupted under any circumstances,' said the municipality in a statement. Both the local units have urged the government to address the legitimate concerns of the agitating teachers, Nepal's leading newspaper, The Kathmandu Post, reported. Despite the order passed by the Supreme Court and with directives from many local units, the teachers stated that they would not withdraw the protest until the passage of the School Education Bill. 'What is the court's position in ensuring justice to us? We want a long-term solution to the problem. The protest will not cease without the Act. However, we will come to a formal decision only after studying the court order and consulting with our friends,' said Nanu Maya Parajuli, co-chair of the federation. Recently, Nepal's grade 12 examination, scheduled to commence on Thursday, was postponed until May 4 as government school teachers continued with their protest and boycotted the examination process. Earlier this week Nepal's Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai also resigned following the differences she had with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel over protesting teachers' demands on perks and benefits, as per local media reports. The teacher's demonstrations and sit-ins in the Maitighar-Naya Baneshwor area of Kathmandu since April 2 have severely disrupted the national enrollment drive and delayed key academic tasks, such as evaluating answer sheets from the recently held Secondary Education Examination (SEE).
The Print
24-04-2025
- Business
- The Print
PM Oli to address first day of Nepal parliament's summer session
Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel will present the budget for the new fiscal year on May 29. The government's new policies and programmes will be unveiled on May 2. President Ramchandra Paudel summoned the session for 1:00 p.m. after the Council of Ministers' recommendation. Kathmandu, Apr 24 (PTI) Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will address the summer session or budget session of Nepal parliament, which will begin from Friday. The government will present two major bills, including the School Education Bill and the Federal Civil Service Bill, in the upcoming parliament session, according to sources at the Parliament Secretariat. Tens of thousands of school students have taken to the streets of Kathmandu to press for their demands related to overall improvement in the school education. The government has assured to address their demands in the proposed School Education Bill. Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday announced a postponement by nine days of the date of SEE (Secondary Education Exams) due to the ongoing agitation by school teachers. The exam was scheduled to begin on Friday. Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai was forced to quit and replaced by Raghuji Panta on Thursday after she failed to handle the teachers' agitation. PTI SBP PY PY PY This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hans India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Nepal's education minister resigns amid growing rift with PM Oli, pending teachers' demand
Nepal's Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned following the differences she has with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel over protesting teachers' demands on perks and benefits. Her decision came amid growing political differences with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister as thousands of government school teachers continued with their protest in Kathmandu, demanding passage of the School Education Bill, according to local media reports. Meanwhile, Laxmi Kishor Subedi, chairman of the Confederation of Nepalese Teachers (CNT), took to social media and said that their agitation will continue on Tuesday. "Our agitation will continue," said Subedi. According to media reports earlier on Monday, Bhattarai held a meeting with Prime Minister Oli. She submitted her resignation to the Prime Minister during the meeting, as confirmed by the education ministry. "She is unhappy with both Prime Minister Oli and Finance Minister Paudel, but efforts are on to convince her to rethink her resignation. The Prime Minister will talk to her," the leading Nepali newspaper, The Kathmandu Post, reported, quoting a minister as saying. The report quoted two sources close to the Education Minister, stating that PM Oli and Bhattarai had big differences over addressing the demands of the agitating teachers since teachers hit the streets. "Finance Minister Paudel also did not cooperate in fulfilling some of the teachers' demands. Bhattarai mentioned 'health issues' as the reason for her resignation to the Prime Minister. Yes, she had been unwell sometime back, but now she has fully recovered," said the source. "If the government addresses teachers' demands related to salary and other perks and benefits, thousands of civil servants who are ready to hit the streets will ask for similar benefits. So both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister did not agree to address all the demands of the teachers, which made her resign," said an official familiar with the talks between Oli, Paudel, and Bhattarai. The differences became prominent when the outgoing education minister Bhattarai, was absent during Prime Minister Oli's meeting with office-bearers of the CNT on Friday to explore solutions to the ongoing teachers' agitation centered in Kathmandu. The teacher's demonstrations and sit-ins in the Maitighar-Naya Baneshwor area of Kathmandu since April 2 have severely disrupted the national enrollment drive and delayed key academic tasks, such as evaluating answer sheets from the recently held Secondary Education Examination (SEE). The teachers defied the government's instruction to begin student enrollment for the new academic year in Nepal, which started on April 15.
The Print
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Nepal's Education Minister resigns amid ongoing Teachers' protest and government inaction
Bhattarai submitted her resignation letter to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday afternoon, according to sources from the Prime Minister's Office. Kathmandu [Nepal], April 21 (ANI): Nepal's Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Bidhya Bhattarai, has resigned from her post on the 20th day of ongoing protests by teachers from community and government schools across the country. 'In the resignation letter, the minister has primarily stated health to be the reason behind this step. It is well known that she had been facing pressure after continued protests by the teachers in Kathmandu,' a senior official from the Prime Minister's Office told ANI. Bhattarai's resignation comes at a time when community and government school teachers from across the country have been protesting in Kathmandu for the past 20 days. The protest is centred around demands related to the School Education Act and other concerns. Minister Bhattarai's resignation follows growing dissatisfaction among teachers and the government's perceived unwillingness to address their demands. Earlier, on 15th April, Bhattarai had held discussions with Speaker Devraj Ghimire and Chhabilal Bishwakarma, the coordinator of the parliamentary subcommittee on school education. Bhattarai had also discussed the issue with Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, as many of the teachers' demands are linked to financial matters. Along with, she also had raised the issue with the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to address the issue of teachers as it has been hampering new academic session which should have been started as of now. But Oli in the meeting showed little flexibility despite multiple meetings with the teachers over the week. 'The Minister had requested the government to create an environment to move forward with the education bill during the first week of the upcoming parliamentary session. But there was a cold response from all possible fronts,' a senior official from the Education Ministry confirmed to ANI. House Speaker Ghimire, in the recent week, publicly stated that the education bill cannot be endorsed within the upcoming house session, which has further increased pressure on the education minister. On 18 April, a delegation of teachers held a meeting with Prime Minister Oli, where he insisted that teachers return to schools instead of addressing their demands. The National Teachers Federation (NTF), an elected body of the country's school teachers, has been demanding the enactment of the School Education Bill, which is now being held up in the parliamentary committee for deliberation. The discussion which has been held in the subpanel has received mutually conflicting suggestions on several issues, including teacher management. As the Constitution of Nepal 2072 lists school education as the absolute authority of the local government, local units want school teachers to fall under their jurisdiction. However, teachers don't want to stay under local authorities, claiming there are high chances that the local governments will treat them based on the political leanings of the local governments. On different occasions, the federal government has reached an agreement with the teachers to keep them under the federal government. Enactment of the Act is a must to implement the Constitution of Nepal, which can delegate most of the authority to manage the education sector at the local and provincial levels. However, almost a decade after the constitution came into force, the country is yet to get the Act. Right after the government introduced the bill in the federal parliament in September 2023, the federation staged a Kathmandu-centric agitation objecting to different provisions in the bill. Thousands of teachers staged protests in Kathmandu, disrupting life in the capital city and forcing the government into a dialogue. They withdrew the protest after sealing a six-point deal with the government, which promised to address their demands by revising the bill. Before descending to Kathmandu for agitation about one and a half years since the agreement, the teachers had held staged protests at local and provincial levels while also continuing to lobby at the political and bureaucratic levels. (ANI) This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
