Addressing the consensus bill with the teachers, government investment in school education, private schools and ECD operations, demanding a clear view of the government
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On Wednesday, while discussing the report given by the sub-committee regarding the school education bill, the MPs demanded a clear opinion from the government. The parliamentarians said that the government needs a clear vision regarding the implementation of the agreement reached by the government with the Nepal Teachers' Federation, the state's investment in school education, and the modality of private schools and early childhood development (ECD) operations.
Education Minister Raghuji Pant said that some issues need to be agreed upon from the level of political leadership and will be decided upon after regular discussions. The MPs opined that it would be appropriate to start discussion in the committee to finalize the bill only after reaching consensus.
Congress MP Dhanraj Gurung said that there was a complaint that the report of the sub-committee deviated from the agreement made with the teacher. He said that the Ministry of Education should make it clear to what extent the agreement with the teachers should be addressed. Gurung pointed out that without the opinion of the Ministry of Education, there is no reason to discuss the bill repeatedly. There has been a complaint that the agreement between the government and the teachers has been deviated from. Even if it is not true, the agreement made by the government should be addressed," he said, "The Ministry of Education should satisfy the teachers by communicating with them. The teachers' federation has expressed its dissatisfaction with the report submitted by the sub-committee to the committee and has warned of a protest.
MP Vidya Bhattarai pointed out that some topics of the sub-committee's report are unclear and should be clarified. He said that the government and parliamentarians should be clear about the operation of private schools and ECDs and make provisions accordingly in the bill. The sub-committee has not been able to resolve these two issues . In the discussions held when Bhattarai was the education minister, an agreement was reached on keeping ECD within the school structure and making it two years. But after he resigned as the Minister of Education, the agreement on ECD was reversed.
After the Ministry of Education withdrew from the agreement to keep ECD within the school structure, the issue is getting complicated. The Ministry of Education has disagreed saying that the responsibility of teachers will be increased by keeping them in the school structure. Bhattarai said that when ECD is made two-year, equal arrangement should be made in public and private schools. "Currently ECD is for 1 year and there is a provision in the Compulsory and Free Education Act. But this was never implemented in the case of private schools. Now the law should be made in such a way that it will be implemented,' he added, 'Should ECD be made for 2 years or not?, ECD teachers should be considered as teachers or not?, it should be clear now.' The government has recognized child development support workers rather than teachers in ECD.
National Examination Board and Educational Quality Testing Authority should be made autonomous, teachers should not be allowed to join political parties, 10% scholarship should be applied to private schools, teachers/employees' demands should be discussed clearly, Bhattarai said. It was said that teachers should not belong to political parties. To be a teacher organization or not? The report is also not clear about addressing the demands of teachers/employees. The local level should implement the 10 percent scholarship given by the private sector," she said.
photos: Rashas
MP Rekha Sharma said that the committee can finalize the bill only after the sub-committee is clear about the matters to be decided. The agreement made with the teacher is whether to include it in the bill or not. "Let the Ministry of Education make its blueprint," she said. She pointed out that the matter agreed on in the sub-committee including ECD has been reversed due to the lack of commitment of the government. He said that the bill should focus on public school reform, students, and parents. MP Sumana Shrestha said that the Ministry of Education should be clear about the agreement with private schools, ECD and teachers.
'Act is not made under the pressure of the movement . Road demonstrations will only establish the issue," she said, referring to the teachers' movement, "The bill should not be passed by setting a deadline. Don't work under pressure. Shrestha expressed her displeasure by saying that the consensus on ECD and private school management was wrongly commented on. "It is not that private schools should be banned. It is only said that profit should not be made from education," she said, "If you want to nationalize the private sector, the state will either support it or not. The state does not need 6 trillion to make private schools non-profitable.
MP Dig Bahadur Limbu said that the government should be clear about how much it can invest in education. How to implement the agreement with the teacher. The government should make it clear. When the bill is discussed, the government should come with full preparation,' he said, 'The government cannot be blamed for the MPs being a problem.' He pointed out that although the problems of teachers and employees cannot be addressed at once, it can be done in installments. In the committee, the theoretical discussion was completed by discussing weekly from Sunday .
