KATHMANDU, April 29: Teachers from across the nation have been protesting in the capital for the past four weeks, and the Ministry of Education has stated that the government will incur an additional financial obligation of around Rs 65 billion to address all of their demands. This includes both immediate and long-term expenses, with the final amount depending on the government's commitment to fulfilling various demands.
The teachers are demanding changes to the Education Act, while the government will need to allocate additional funds to meet the various demands of agitating teachers. Currently, the government spends around Rs 1.25 trillion annually on the salaries of teachers and staff at various educational levels.
A senior official from the Ministry of Education stated, "Addressing all of the teachers' demands will create an additional financial obligation of Rs 65 billion. However, uncertainty remains about which level of demands will be addressed."
The final amount of additional financial responsibility will be determined through negotiations between the government and teachers, with costs rising proportionally as demands are met. The government's ability to manage these costs will depend on its financial capacity.
For the current fiscal year 2023/24, the government has allocated a budget of Rs 236.6 billion for the education sector. Nilkantha Dhakal, the Ministry's information officer, explained that the government currently spends around 122 billion rupees annually on teacher salaries. Addressing the teachers' demands would add approximately 50 per cent to the current salary costs, making the government hesitant to proceed.
The Nepal Teachers' Association (NTA), which is leading the protests, has put forward a 22-point demand, including promoting temporary and relief teachers, school staff (accountants), preschool teachers, and school helpers (attendants), increasing salaries and grades for permanent teachers; establishing permanent internal competition; improving pension schemes; calculating temporary service periods; and providing salary benefits upon gaining permanent status at higher levels.
The government is eager to address policy issues but has not reached an agreement with the teachers due to the significant financial burden it would create. For example, early childhood development (ECD) teachers currently earn an annual salary of Rs 10,000. A total of 30,409 ECD teachers are employed, and according to the Labor Act, raising the minimum wage for workers to Rs 17,300 would add an annual financial obligation of Rs 2.85 billion for ECD teachers alone, at a monthly rate of Rs 221.9 million.
Over Rs 35 billion will be needed to implement agreement with t...
Similarly, 7,076 school staff (accountants) currently receive a monthly salary of Rs 13,500. If the government raises their salary to Rs 32,000 per month, equivalent to that of a Kharidar (non-gazetted second-class government employee), it will create an additional annual financial obligation of Rs 1.7 billion.
At present, 25,959 school helpers earn a monthly salary of Rs 8,500. If their salary is increased to Rs 17,300, the additional annual financial burden will amount to Rs 3.13 billion.
The primary level currently has 80,176 approved teaching positions. Including 21,871 relief and grant-supported teachers, a total of 102,047 teachers are working at the primary level. In the civil service, a kharidar (junior clerk) enjoys the benefits of 10 grades, while primary-level teachers currently receive only 6 grades. Teachers have demanded parity with civil servants, which would require granting four additional grades to each of the 102,047 primary-level teachers. One grade equals one day's salary.
At the lower secondary level, there are 16,224 approved teaching positions. With 9,609 relief and grant-supported teachers, a total of 25,833 teachers are employed. Lower secondary teachers currently receive 8 grades, while a Nayab Subba (non-gazetted first-class government employee) in the civil service receives 10 grades. To ensure parity, the government would need to add two grades for lower secondary teachers.
At the secondary level, there are 12,730 approved teaching positions, including 6,898 relief and grant-supported teachers, a total of 19,628 teachers are employed. At the higher secondary level, there are 2,000 approved positions, and with 4,000 relief and grant-supported teachers, the total is 6,000 teachers.
Teachers at both the secondary and higher secondary levels currently receive 8 grades, while civil servants receive 10 grades. These teachers have demanded two additional grades as well. Granting these additional grades would create a financial burden amounting to billions of rupees. Teachers gain one additional grade each year after joining the service.
Once teachers reach the designated grade, they no longer receive additional benefits. In addition to grade adjustments, teachers have also demanded timely promotions, pointing out that while civil servants receive promotions after a set period, teachers often wait years without advancement. Granting such promotions would also create additional financial obligations for the government.
The teachers initially launched their protest with a 22-point demand. However, after the government failed to respond for a long time, they focused on securing commitments on nine key points. These revised demands include increasing the salaries of ECD teachers and school staff, adjusting grades, providing local allowances for relief teachers in remote areas, and granting access to treatment services at the Civil Service Hospital.
Somnath Giri, president of the NTA, claimed that fulfilling teachers' immediate demands would cost the government only about Rs 10 billion. "This is not a heavy burden for the government," Giri said. "If the government skips building just two permanent bridges in a year, it can cover the cost."
Teachers have also demanded the introduction of a four-tier promotion system (third, second, first, and special classes) with an increased promotion ratio (60:20:10:5). They seek a provision for periodic promotions every 10 years and a system that allows qualified teachers with the required academic credentials and licenses to move between teaching levels (from primary to lower secondary and from lower secondary to secondary).
In addition to financial commitments, teachers are also pushing for several policy changes. The NTA has raised issues such as evaluating teacher and staff performance, transferring teachers and staff, setting an age limit for entering the profession, forming school management committees, establishing education units at the district level, adjusting positions, transferring school property, and implementing a technical grading system. The NTA has also called for the Education Act to include provisions on teachers' ranking, approval of teacher positions, recognition of the NTA, teacher participation in educational administration, and financial support for further studies.
The protesting teachers have demanded that the government convert relief teachers, former higher secondary teachers, teaching-learning grant-supported teachers, technical stream teachers, and special education teachers into approved permanent positions without imposing an age limit.
They have also called for a golden handshake arrangement for those who cannot be made permanent, which would add to the government's financial obligations. Additionally, teachers have insisted that the government regularize teachers working under relief or contract terms by granting them permanent status.
Teachers have demanded that the government calculate and recognize the broken service periods of conflict-affected teachers and those who served for long years in professional teacher organizations, and provide them with gratuities or pensions according to regulations. Estimates suggest that providing gratuities and pensions to teachers injured during the People's Movement and to conflict-affected teachers would cost around Rs 300 million. Teachers have also called for the government to arrange leave and financial support for higher studies, research, and writing.
Even though chief whips from the three major political parties have pledged to pass the new Education Act by a set date, teachers have refused to halt their protests. While the movement had remained peaceful, clashes between teachers and police occurred during Sunday's demonstration. Teachers have announced that they will escalate their protests by breaking through police barricades on Tuesday.
