Asking for government's views on the matters of agreement with teachers, state investment in school education, private schools and ECD operations
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Members of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives have requested the government's opinion on the School Education Bill. The parliamentarians sought opinions on the implementation of the agreement reached by the government with the Nepal Teachers' Federation, the state's investment in school education, private schools and early childhood development (ECD) operating frameworks.
Congress MP Dhanraj Gurung, in the committee's discussion on the report given by the sub-committee regarding the School Education Bill, said that the Ministry of Education should clarify the issue of how much the agreement with the teachers should be addressed. Gurung mentioned that there is no reason to discuss the bill repeatedly without the opinion of the Ministry of Education.
There has been a complaint that the report of the sub-committee deviated from the agreement between the government and teachers. Even if it is not clear, the agreement made by the government should be addressed," he said. "The Ministry of Education should be satisfied by communicating with the teachers.
Member of Parliament Vidya Bhattarai, who was also the former education minister, pointed out that some of the issues in the sub-committee's report were unclear. He said that the government and parliamentarians should be clear about the operation of private schools and ECD 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, this matter is becoming complicated. The Ministry of Education has disagreed saying that keeping it in the school structure will increase the responsibility of the teachers and increase the expenses. Bhattarai says that when ECD is made two-year, equal arrangements should be made in public and private schools. "Currently, ECD for 1 year is compulsory and free in the Education Act. But this was never implemented in the case of private schools. Now the law should be made so that it will be implemented," she added, "To make 2-year ECD or not? To consider ECD teachers as teachers or not? It should be clear now.'
has been teaching ECD classes for 1 year in public schools and 4 years in private schools. The government has recognized ECD workers as child development support workers rather than teachers.
Bhattarai emphasized that discussions should be started only with clarity on the issues of making the National Examination Board and Educational Quality Testing Authority autonomous, not allowing teachers to join political parties, applying 10 percent scholarship to private schools, and addressing the demands of teachers/employees. It was said that teachers should not belong to political parties. Teacher organization or not? The report is also not clear on addressing the demands of teachers/staff. The implementation of the 10 percent scholarship given by the private sector should be done by the local level, she said.
Member of Parliament Rekha Sharma said that the committee can finalize the bill only after the sub-committee is clear about the matters that are yet to be decided. Should the agreement made with the teacher be included in the bill or not? The Ministry of Education should make a blueprint for it," she said. She pointed out that some issues that were agreed upon in the sub-committee were overturned due to lack of commitment from the government. MP Sharma said that the bill should focus on community school reform, students and parents.
Member of Parliament Sumana Shrestha, who is also the former Education Minister, also said that the Ministry of Education should clarify the issues of agreement with private schools, ECDs and teachers. Acts are not made under the pressure of the movement. The issue will only be established by street demonstrations," she said, referring to the teacher's agitation, "The bill should not be passed by setting a deadline. Don't work under pressure. We should reach a conclusion only by discussing properly.'
Shrestha expressed her displeasure saying that wrong comments were made about the operation of private schools. "We are not saying that we should ban private schools, we are saying that we should not make profit from education," she said. The state does not need 6 trillion to make private schools non-profit.
MP Dig Bahadur Limbu said that the government should have a clear idea on how much it can invest in education. The government should make it clear how to implement the agreement with the teachers. When the bill is discussed, the government should come prepared," he said. "The government will not be able to stand on water and blame the MPs."
