'Shut Schools, Colleges and Save Whole Lot of Money'

Asking tough questions to teachers isn’t easy. Fully aware of this, Nepal Verified News caught up with Somnath Giri, acting president of the Nepal Teachers’ Association Federal Working Committee, which has been taking part in a roughly month-long Kathmandu-centric teachers’ protest as part of ongoing efforts to make the government implement agreements reached with the teachers in the past, to ask some tough questions. 
Here’s the full text of a tough conversation:

The teachers’ protest is very much on? 

Yes. Yesterday’s talks were inconclusive, so the movement continues.

What kind of protests are you organizing in the coming days? 

Peaceful sit-ins, protests, that’s all.

Recent incidents indicate that your protests have ceased to be peaceful. Which side is to blame—the teachers or the state?

The state has resorted to infiltration, so it is to blame, it is the culprit. It is but natural for minor incidents to occur between teachers  because of mistaken identities.

So the movement is under the organizers’ control?

Certainly.

When untoward incidents happen, shouldn’t the organizers be held at least partially responsible?

The state has mobilized infiltrators and spread terror, so it should be held accountable.

Do you have some damning proof of the 'state-sponsored infiltration'? 
 

Video clips showing the state’s involvement are out there in the public domain. Haven’t you seen them?

So the teachers’ movement continues indefinitely? This means, in the near term, the postponement of grade XII exams, again?

This movement will continue till the introduction of the School Education Act.

When lakhs of people hit the streets, the state has no option but to agree to meet their demands. Some studies show that fulfilling your demand means the state has to bear the yearly additional burden of Rs 65 billion. Don’t you think the taxpayer will be averse to your movement, ultimately?

If the state fears the costs so much, how about shutting down schools and colleges? That way, the state can save a lot of money.

What about the taxpayer, who has to shell out their hard-earned money in all this?

What do we do? The state reached deals with us in the past, now it is reneging on its promises. The state is to blame here. Teachers will leave the streets once the state implements the deals.