Despite assurances from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Speaker Devraj Ghimire, the Nepal Teachers’ Federation has decided to continue its Kathmandu-centric protest until the endorsement of the School Education bill.

Fifteen days after their protest, Oli on Friday evening urged the teachers’ representatives to withdraw their agitation, assuring that the government would make maximum effort to address their demands. The prime minister said he would also discuss the matter with other parties, seeking their support in getting the bill endorsed at the earliest possible.

“The House session was called early to discuss the bill. However, I cannot give the exact day of its endorsement as it is the legislature which decides,” Oli was quoted as saying by a participant in the meeting.

At the meeting, Oli said he was positive on grades alignment, more payment for Early Childhood Development facilitators and the inclusion of teachers in order of precedence, which are among the agitating teachers’ demands.

Oli then held discussions with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday on various issues including those concerning the teachers.

Ghimire, who met them late Friday evening, said he was ready to put the bill to a vote in a fast-track process. “The Speaker said he was ready to put the bill to a vote the very next day it is tabled in the House of Representatives,” said Nanu Maya Parajuli, co-chair of the federation and coordinator of the struggle committee.

Parajuli said though the meetings with Oli and Ghimire were positive, the federation has decided not to withdraw the protest. Thousands of teachers continued the agitation as usual on Saturday afternoon. However, they have decided to protest only for three hours, from 9 am to 12 noon, on Sunday.

“As the Rastriya Prajatantra Party is protesting at the same place tomorrow [Sunday] we might be on the streets for just an hour or so,” said a leader of the federation. “Our protest is not against the government. We are fighting only for the new Act.”

Following the meetings with Oli and Ghimire, the federation discussed with the office bearers of district and provincial chapters of teachers’ unions to decide its future course.

“Though the meetings with the prime minister and the Speaker were positive, we have decided to continue the symbolic protest on Sunday. We will sit on Sunday to decide what to do in the days to come,” said Parajuli.

A teacher’s representative present in the meetings said there were mixed views among the protesters. While some are for continuing the protest in its current form, others are open to changing its modality following a positive response from the government and the Speaker.

Evaluation of the Secondary Education Examination answer sheets has not commenced while the government’s school enrolment campaign has become a non-starter due to the protest. Similarly, uncertainty looms over the grade 12 examinations slated to kick off on Thursday.

The new House session will commence on Friday. Even if the entire process moves ahead on a fast-track basis, it will take at least a week for the bill to get endorsed. This means the teachers will not resume their work for at least another two weeks if they stick to their demand of not returning to their work stations without the Act in hand.

“We see some seriousness both in the government and Parliament. However, we cannot call off the protest or change its modality without the consent of the majority of teachers,” said an office bearer of the federation.

A subcommittee of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives has expedited discussions over the bill. The 11-member panel chaired by Chhabilal Bishwakarma has already settled over 100 of the total 163 clauses. The panel is preparing to submit the bill to the full committee within a week.

It is working to find consensus on the main contentious issues in the bill related to private investment in school education and the management of public school teachers. The constitution guarantees school education as a fundamental right, mandating compulsory and free education up to the basic level and free education up to the secondary level.

Before implementing this constitutional provision, it is vital to resolve how to manage private investment in school education. Additionally, teachers' unions don’t want to stay under local governments.

The teachers blame bureaucrats for a wrong briefing to the prime minister and ministers for the delay in addressing their demands. “The bureaucracy wrongly reported that it would cost Rs200 billion to address our demands. In reality, the cost won’t exceed Rs13 billion. We can find a solution to the current problem overnight if everyone works with the right intent,” said the federation’s office bearer.