Rajendra Prasad Dhital has been working as an office assistant in a community school for 30 years. He has to work in the school all day and gets Rs 16,333 per month. Dhital, 58, is close to retirement due to his age limit. He is unhappy that the government has ignored school employees even though the government has increased the salaries of all government employees, including teachers and employees.

‘The school has taken away my strength and age. I don’t have money to buy a knife when I quit my job,’ he said, working at Prithvi Narayan Secondary School in Tarakeshwor, Kathmandu. ‘The new party and the government with a close to two-thirds majority also did injustice. When Sara’s salary was increased, the government did not see ordinary people like us.’

Dhital, who has been waiting for three decades for the post of school employees to be fixed, made permanent, and the salary to increase, complained. ‘Whichever government comes, it will only look after the poor. There will be no needy people like us,’ he said. ‘If there was a just government, everyone would be treated equally. Even if it is a new party, even if it is an old party, it will not look at the people on the ground. Everyone will only look at the top.'

There are more than 80,000 employees, including 45,000 ECD teachers and 35,000 school employees, across the country. The budget for the upcoming fiscal year presented in the parliament by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has not been able to address the school employees and ECD teachers across the country. The School Employees Council and the Central Committee of Child Development Teachers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's failure to increase the salaries of employees and teachers working on low salaries and have even warned of an agitation. There are more than 80,000 employees, including 45,000 ECD teachers and 35,000 school employees, across the country. There are no exact figures as the federal government, local levels and schools also appoint employees and ECD teachers.

Indira Jamarkattel, an ECD teacher at Old Guhyeshwori Secondary School, Kathmandu, complained that every government has been discriminating against them. 'The previous government did not even consider giving us teacher recognition. Facilitator/child care worker says,' she expressed her grief, 'The current government did not see us even when the salaries of all teachers and civil servants were increased.' 

She has been working as an ECD teacher since 2069 BS and has been receiving a monthly salary of 18,200 rupees. 'The salary given by the government is not even enough to light the stove. Even the government with an educated Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Education Minister did not understand our plight. The will to work has also died. We are very sad,' said Jamarakattel, 'We have to be in school from 9 am to 4 pm. We have to teach children, feed them lunch, and take them to the toilet. But the government has never seen our work.'

According to the Ministry of Education, there are 42,619 Early Childhood Development Centers (ECDs) in operation. Of these, 81 percent are ECDs in community schools and 19 percent are in private schools. ECD teachers working in community schools have been working on minimum wage for years. 1.22 million 538 children have been enrolled in ECD. The number of students enrolled in grade 1 with ECD experience has increased to 77 percent.

Similarly, out of 27,000 community schools, 7.5 thousand secondary schools have been appointed as accounting staff and all community schools have been appointed as assistants. There are statistics that schools with a large number of students have more than one accounting staff, office assistant and ECD teacher. The services they receive vary from local level to local level. Local levels and schools have been providing additional funds to the amount provided by the association. The association has provided a grant of 10 thousand to the assistant staff, 15 thousand to the accounting staff and 12 thousand to the ECD teacher. Local levels have been providing a monthly salary by adding some to that amount.

Maiya Nagarkoti, an office assistant at Old Guhyeshwori School, also has a similar complaint. 'I hear that everyone else's salary has increased from 40 thousand to 100 thousand. But our salary has not been increased anywhere. This government's budget has been a joy and awe for us,' she said. Nagarkoti has also been receiving a monthly salary of 18,000. 'The government should treat all people, young and old, equally. But it did not look at ordinary people like us,' she added, 'This government had high hopes for those who work only in government schools day and night, but it discriminated.'

Pavita Basnet, an ECD teacher at Teyud Secondary School in Asan, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, receives a monthly salary of 24,000. She complains that while the salaries of the teachers in the school have increased, the salaries of the staff and ECD teachers have not. 'The government has failed to evaluate the ECD teachers. We have faced injustice again,' she said.

 Dwarika Poudel, a school employee at Kanyamandir Secondary School Kshetrapati, expressed dissatisfaction that the government has not been able to pay the minimum wage to meet the minimum requirement after the work was done. 'When everyone's salaries increased, ours did not. They give expensive allowances to others. School employees do not get them. The state itself has done injustice,' he complained. He has been demanding that ECD teachers be given the same salary as primary-level teachers, that accounting employees be given the same service facilities as civil servants, and that office assistants be given the same service facilities as civil servants.

Deviram Bhusal, former president of the School Employees Council Kathmandu District, says that no matter which government comes, it has not shown interest in the management of ECD teachers and school employees. 'We also met the Education Minister and presented our demand. Employees of the Ministry of Education and Finance say that the state cannot bear the expenditure burden if ECD teachers and employees are given salaries by establishing posts,' he asked. 'Can the government now bear the expenses if their salaries have increased by 21 percent?' He expressed dissatisfaction saying that the government, which can pay salaries to 25/30 teachers in a single school, has not been able to pay salaries to 3/4 school employees and ECD teachers who work there. 'If we do not have work, we can send them home. "I didn't mean to make it permanent. I just said to pay the minimum salary like civil servants. Even if the government comes, it won't listen," Bhusal complained.

Rambha Kumari Adhikari, an office assistant at Prabhat Mavi, Kathmandu, has been working for 21,000 per month. Her grief is also the same. "The government has disappointed us by showing hope. The government that came because other parties couldn't do anything could not do anything for us," she said. "They don't give cheap salaries to those with low salaries by asking for salaries in shops. Those with high salaries will get more, but we, those with low salaries, won't get more? It will be difficult to survive in Kathmandu by paying the rent."

ECD teachers and staff have also been protesting in Kathmandu for the minimum salary. School staff had also protested in 2079. The budget for the fiscal year 2078/79 had made provision to provide minimum monthly salary to ECD teachers and school staff as determined by the government. For that, the government had announced that it would provide 8,000 per month and the amount that would be less than the minimum salary would be borne by the concerned local level. But some local levels disagreed with the announcement of the federal government. Narulal Chaudhary, general secretary of the Nepal Municipal Association, said that the federal government should come up with a clear policy and program regarding ECD teachers and school employees. "The federal government itself established the posts yesterday. Now, municipalities that can pay have increased their salaries. How can they pay if they don't have the resources? The federal government doesn't say anything about this issue. Municipalities don't have the capacity," he said. Chaudhary, who is also the mayor of Ghorahi Municipality, said that since the local government cannot solve their problems, the federal government should clarify it. Ram Sharan Phuyal, chairman of the Bagmati Province Employees Council, said that although some local levels have increased the amount, not all of them have paid the amount. He claimed that the salaries of school employees and ECD teachers are different in about 500 of the 753 local levels. "In the eyes of the state, all citizens should be equal. But the government itself has made arrangements for different salaries for the same work. "Even if the salary of a teacher in one school increases, the salary of others does not increase," he said. 

Phuyal said that even though the government has set a minimum wage of 19.5 thousand, school employees and ECD teachers appointed by the local level and schools have not been able to get it. "They have been working for 10 thousand per month," he said. There is a provision for appointing those with at least grade 12 educational qualifications as ECD teachers and school employees (accounting).

Ministry of Education spokesperson Shiva Kumar Sapkota said that efforts are being made to provide the minimum wage. "So far, the ministry has tried to provide the minimum wage specified by the Labor Act through the union. We have not examined how the budget came about. We had proposed that the minimum wage should be provided by the center itself. It remains to be seen what is included in the budget." He said that the ministry is committed to providing a salary of 19.5 thousand.

 "The local level is not getting enough, so it is necessary to increase it. Even now, if the funds are insufficient, the minimum wage should be provided to ECD teachers and school employees by increasing the partnership between the union and the locals,' said Spokesperson Sapkota. He also requested to understand the financial strength of the government.

The School Employees Council has stated that the government has ignored the issues of salary, stability and social security of school employees who have been working for years with low salaries, insecure future and without service facilities. 'Thousands of school employees are continuously working as an integral part of school operations. But the state's continuous neglect of their labor contribution and future is unjust and discriminatory behavior,' said a statement issued by Chairman Gangaram Tiwari, 'We demand that the demands related to salary, stability, social security and service facilities be clearly addressed at the stage of discussion on the budget.'