Far From the Classroom, Teachers Come to Teach Government A Lesson

Teachers have started hitting the streets once again, just days before the start of another academic session and right after the end of the Secondary Education Examination.

Against this backdrop, nepalverifiednews.com had a conversation with Somnath Giri, the president of the Nepal Teachers’ Association Federal Working Committee.

A one-point demand

According to Giri, the teachers have but one demand: the fulfillment of the agreement that the then government had made with them on September 2023.

—through incorporation of the promises made to us in the Education (Amendment) Act.  

What is in the deal?

The agreement, according to Giri, contains topics related to quality education, professional development of teachers, the guarantee of free and compulsory education stipulated in the Constitution,  establishment of linkages between education, the production sector and the market (Giri pointed out that the absence of such linkages is to blame for a downward slide of the country) and the introduction of an education system that is compatible with this day and age, so as to steer the country towards progress and prosperity.

A repeated demand

We have been urging the government to fulfill the promises it made with us 2080 BS (September 2023).
While we were spearheading our movement, the government came to us and said that our demands were genuine and pledged to fulfill them. Now, we urge the government to keep its promise.

We are not irresponsible

The Education Act is the concern not just of the teachers but of the whole country, including the fourth estate, Giri points out.  

“Let me take you back to Falgun 24 (March 8, 2025). That day (it was a Saturday, a public holiday), we staged a protest in Kathmandu. After taking classes on Friday (May 7), we came to Kathmandu by boarding night buses and staged a protest. And after the protest was over at around 4 pm, we returned and were in the classroom on Sunday. Teachers are not irresponsible.

SEE examinations are over now and there is a relative lull in academic activities.

So, we have come here to stage protests when there are no classes—and to remind the state to fulfill its commitments.  

Teachers are very sensitive, they want no disruption in teaching-learning activities, he says, asking the free press to press the state authorities to listen to the protesting teachers, reiterating that the Education Act is—and should be—a common concern of all Nepalis, not only of the teachers.

Return we won’t unless…..

We would not have hit the streets if the government had kept its promises. The state reached an agreement with us, now it should implement the agreement.

We came here to issue a warning to the state as it showed dishonesty when it comes to implementing the deal.

Unless and until the government introduces the Education Act, we will not mark SEE copies (answer sheets), we will not leave the streets. 
‘Vidhyalaya jane paristhiti chhaina (The environment is not conducive for returning to school)’, says Giri: Vidhyalaya nagain copi parikshan kasari hunxa?’
How can we mark the copies without returning to our respective schools?

Once the government introduces the Education Act, we will return and mark the copies. 

First, we conducted a movement during the Constitution Day, then when the new academic session was about to begin. People comment, all that is normal.

Our friends and colleagues have ensured the conclusion of SEE exams in a dignified and systematic manner. They are now in a Mahayagya and after its completion, the results will come out and the country will steer toward prosperity and growth. The leaders’ songs Samvriddha Nepal Sukhi Nepali and Sammunat Nepal Sammanit Nepali toward that move we will go.   

A sacred cause?

Currently, teachers and non-teaching staff of schools are in a Mahayagya ritual meant to make the country prosperous and developed by striving for the issuance of the Education Act, according to Giri. “And, all this is related with the future of the country.”     

“The expenses during such a mega ritual do not count. What matters is the success of the Mahayagya. Even if there are lapses in teaching-learning activities, we can fix them all once there is good governance in the education sector.