Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai's shock exit from the government has exposed a misguided government's strategy and priority in tackling reforms in the education sector by resolving the agitating teachers' long-running protests. Although Bhattarai officially resigned on health grounds, her resignation is believed to have come allegedly after not getting the backing of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The resignation comes at a time when people's faith in the government and political parties stands probably at its lowest point. Rather than rallying support for a minister who was actively engaging with stakeholders, the government let the opportunity slip. Bhattarai is learned to have been trying to push through the long-pending School Education Act. A teacher herself, she did have a good understanding of the issues at stake, and was using her leverage to engage directly with protesting teachers.
Thousands of Nepal's educators have been on by and large peaceful protests for the past three weeks. They are demanding timely implementation of as many as three agreements signed by the government in the course of the past six or seven years. Their key demands include salary adjustment, respect for Early Childhood Development (ECD) instructors, allowances for remote areas, and improved social security. These are not new demands. All successive governments have inked the agreements one after another. —Commitments are made but not fulfilled. Bhattarai attempted to distill these into a functional seven-point resolution to present to the Cabinet. Her course of action, it appears, did not synchronize well with the Prime Minister's mind. Not responding to the grievances of the teachers does more than extend a strike. It erodes public faith in the state's priority for education. The schools have been closed now for weeks and students are not getting to go to school. Bhattarai attempted to enforce a practical solution by inviting the former ministers and party leaders together to take a collective commitment – to no avail.
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There was sympathy for Bhattarai's 'activism'. Educationists commended her honesty and forthrightness while teachers' associations were grateful for her mediation initiatives bringing them to the negotiating table. But in a culture increasingly set to value compliance over competence, her independence seems to have worked against her. Her resignation will likely echo beyond the education sector. It definitely serves a blow to the Prime Minister, who is widely perceived to have sidelined an able minister. The Prime Minister himself felt the heat and clarified that the minister resigned on health grounds. The Prime Minister should immediately appoint a new education minister who could act as a mediator between the government and the educators, without allowing the protest to spiral out of control. The government should waste no time in extending an olive branch to the agitating teachers, legislate the law which the teachers have been demanding and address the key demands once and for all. Of course, the teachers should unconditionally respect the constitutional arrangements, including bringing community schools under the local levels. They must respect the fact that the country was transformed into a federal republic a decade ago.
Bhattarai's ouster leaves a void - one filled with anger and questions. What happens next will be determined by the manner in which the government comes forward with a response that is meaningful. The indications so far are not good. Rather than punish initiative demonstrated by others, the government must learn to listen, state its own position in no uncertain terms, and act. Bhattarai's resignation was unnecessary. Her effort at mediating and legislating was not a threat - it was a path forward. At this juncture, the entire country is set on the wait and watch mode as the government hopefully contemplates the next steps towards ending the stalemate.
