KATHMANDU, May 12: The government has pledged to pass the School Education Bill from the House of Representatives by June 29, in line with its agreement with the Nepal Teachers' Federation. This commitment was reiterated in the government's policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.
However, several provisions in the bill have become increasingly controversial. One of the most debated issues is the integration of early childhood education into the school system. The government has cited a lack of budgetary resources as the reason for its reluctance to implement this provision.
Another major sticking point involves transferring authority over school education up to the secondary level to local governments, as mandated by the Constitution. Although lawmakers are required to reflect this constitutional provision in the School Education Act, teachers have opposed the move, making it one of their key demands in ongoing negotiations.
The bill also originally required private schools to convert into public trusts within five years. Lawmakers later revised this clause to make the conversion voluntary, a change that has sparked renewed controversy and divided opinion.
Teachers reject parliamentary subcommittee’s School Education B...
Lawmakers have also flagged the provision for “compulsory and free education,” guaranteed under Article 31 of the Constitution, as a critical but unresolved issue.
A subcommittee under the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee is currently reviewing the bill. While the subcommittee has started drafting its report, members acknowledge that many contentious issues remain unresolved. The subcommittee has set a deadline of May 16 to submit its report and is working to meet that target.
Ram Prasad Dhakal, Deputy General Secretary of the Nepal Teachers' Federation, said the federation remains concerned about unresolved issues. “Our 29-day protest led to a nine-point agreement, which the Cabinet can implement. However, key demands, such as converting private schools into public trusts, enforcing compulsory and free education, and placing secondary education under local governments, require the bill’s passage,” he said.
Dhakal also noted that the government has agreed to allocate Rs 13 billion in the upcoming budget to meet the federation's demands, including those related to early childhood educators. “The state must integrate early childhood educators into the school system, even if it needs to explore alternative funding sources,” he added.
Shankar Adhikari, President of the Unified All Nepal Teachers’ Organization, expressed concern that the government may be backtracking on its commitments. “The draft report appears overly broad and non-committal. Issues such as the status of 17 categories of teachers, periodic promotions, and pension benefits remain unresolved,” he said, warning that teachers would not accept the bill unless their concerns are addressed.
Subcommittee Chairperson Chhabi Lal Bishwakarma said discussions are ongoing and the subcommittee is drafting the report within the 35-day time frame allotted to it. He noted that deliberations on 163 sections of the bill have been completed and the report is progressing.
"Due to time constraints, we've requested an additional 10 days and will submit the report by May 16," Bishwakarma said. "We're drafting the report based on areas of consensus and documenting those agreements. For unresolved issues, we will follow the legal process to reach a conclusion."
