It has been 11 days since teachers from all over the country started a street protest centered in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, the teachers have backed away from their old stance of not being subordinate to the local level, but their other demands have not yet been agreed upon.

As soon as the SEE ended on 20th of March, the answer book test could not be started as the teachers went on strike. The National Examination Board is scheduled to publish the SEE results in the first week of June. The teacher's agitation has also affected the preparations for the class 12 exams to be conducted from 11 Baisakh. The schedule of the new academic session starting in the first week of Baisakh will also be affected. The teachers have announced an educational strike since last Monday to put pressure on the government. 

According to the agreement with the government, the teachers are on the stand of not stopping the movement until the school education law is issued. The delegation led by Nanumaya Parajuli, the co-chairperson of the teachers' federation and coordinator of the movement, submitted a 24-point attention letter to Education Minister Vidya Bhattarai on Thursday.

Parajuli said that the list of demands that should be addressed immediately through the government's decision and through the school education bill has been submitted to the education minister. The attention letter submitted to Education Minister Bhattarai does not mention the previous demand that teachers should not be placed under the local level.

The teachers' federation said that the constitution itself has to be amended to fulfill this demand. In the attention letter, there are topics such as teacher stability, promotion, grade with salary, service facilities, calculation of temporary period when permanent and pension. Local level and teacher management, appointment and selection of principals, affiliation to the social security fund, conflict victims and teachers who led the professional movement are also covered.

Teachers' performance evaluation, transfer, structure of school management committee, teachers' participation in educational administration, arrangement of teaching council, adjustment of teacher's position, transfer of posts, constitution-provided trade union have also been raised by the agitating teachers. Departmental actions against teachers, institutional (private) school teachers' service facilities, teachers' service entry age, teachers' hospital, leave and study, financial support for research are also mentioned in the attention letter.

There is a dialogue between the Ministry of Education and the Federation of Teachers regarding the demand. Discussions held on Thursday between Education Minister Bhattarai, high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Education and representatives of the Federation of Teachers did not reach a conclusion. Since then, representatives of the federation have been communicating with the government team led by Director General of Education and Human Resource Development Center Krishna Prasad Kapri. Kapri said that the technical demands of teachers which can be addressed by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Council of Ministers and the upcoming budget are being discussed.

The school education bill is under discussion in the sub-committee under the education, health and information technology committee of the House of Representatives. The sub-committee said that they have agreed on 50 points in the bill. The sub-committee has been given a deadline of 23 Baisakh to submit the report to the committee after the discussion. The bill was registered in the House of Representatives in August 2080. After that, the teachers held a demonstration focused on Kathmandu. At that time, the government agreed to meet the demand. But even after a year and a half, the teachers have again announced a movement centered on Kathmandu saying that the bill has not been passed. 

After the teachers' movement, the parliamentary committee formed a sub-committee and proceeded with the discussion. After the end of the winter session of the Parliament while the movement is going on, the teachers are saying that the demand should be addressed even if it is called adjournment of the Parliament or a special session or bringing an ordinance. According to the Ministry of Education, discussions are going on for the bill to be submitted in the upcoming parliament session.

Some leaders of the ruling and opposition parties have requested the government to fulfill some of the demands of the teachers by making a decision by the Council of Ministers and to meet the demands related to the bill by sending the Parliament session as soon as possible. Congress General Minister and Member of Parliament Gagan Thapa also said that teachers should be taken into confidence by fulfilling some demands through the decision of the Council of Ministers. "When the environment for teachers to return to the classrooms, the government can set a date and call the parliament meeting now," he said, "within how many days after the meeting, the deadline for passing the bill can be set."

Board's request for support in the conduct of answer book examination and examination

The National Examination Board has appealed to the teachers for their assistance after the teachers' movement affected the examination of the answer book of SEE and the conduct of class 12 examination. The chairman of the board, Mahashram Sharma, has asked the teachers to "keep in view the future of the students and help them by taking responsibility as usual" regarding the examination of the answer sheet and the conduct of the examination.

Stating that teachers' professional advancement, professional security and students' needs and opportunities are both primary and sensitive aspects, the board has alerted the teachers' federation about the impact that the delay in the publication of student results may have on their lives and future.

The teacher has been doing the work of the head of the center, the inspector in the examination of the answer book, revision and examination. Work like examination of the answer book cannot be done by anyone other than an expert teacher. For this, the board has made an action plan with the schedule of publication of the results on the advice and suggestions of the teachers,'' said the appeal issued by the board president Sharma. The board has announced the schedule for publishing the SEE results in the first week of June.

When teachers from all over the country gather in Kathmandu for the teachers' movement, the schedule of the new academic session that will begin in the first week of Baisakh will also be affected. Now is the time to enroll students, distribute textbooks, meet parents and hold meetings to conduct classes for the new academic session. But due to the agitation, educational activities in schools across the country have come to a standstill.