KATHMANDU, April 29: The talks held between the government and the Nepal Teachers' Federation (NTF) on Tuesday evening ended inconclusively.
The two sides, however, have agreed to hold another round of talks on Wednesday to finalize the agreement, during a meeting held at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Singha Durbar.
General Secretary of the NTF, Tula Bahadur Thapa, said that the talks held with Education Minister Raghuji Pant concluded with a plan to finalize the matter on Wednesday.
Talks between govt and agitating Teachers' Federation begins
The two sides initiated what are being described as 'decisive' talks on Tuesday in an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute. A delegation from the NTF reached the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Singha Durbar at around 8 PM on Tuesday to begin negotiations.
The development came after the NTF had earlier rejected an invitation from the government for dialogue. However, in a meeting held throughout the day on Tuesday, the NTF decided to reconsider its protest strategy if the government fulfills key demands that can be addressed through a Cabinet decision.
The meeting further decided to simultaneously continue both protests and talks with the government. "The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has prepared a nine-point draft agreement. If the Cabinet endorses it, we are ready to modify the form of our protest. A decision has also been made to continue the dialogue process," said an NTF leader.
Public school teachers have been protesting in Kathmandu for 28 consecutive days, demanding the enactment of a new Education Act that reflects their concerns.
With both sides quietly working on the draft agreement over the past few days, Tuesday’s talks were widely expected to result in a breakthrough. Negotiations between the two sides continued for almost three hours, beginning at 8 PM on Tuesday.
