Golden handshake for 7000 plus teachers in first phase

KATHMANDU, July 15: A long wait for golden handshake might come to an end for over 7000 temporary teachers this year, if the parliament endorses a proposed amendment to the Education Act 1971.

Speaking at a function in Kathmandu on Wednesday, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Education Lav Deo Awasthi said that the ministry would begin the process for golden handshake in phases, as soon as the amendment is endorsed by parliament."The ministry is adopting the golden handshake policy to bid farewell to long-serving termporary teachers and appoint new teachers," said Awasthi. In the first phase, up to 10,000 teachers could be covered under the golden handshake scheme, he added. However, the MoE has yet to calculate the funds required for implementing the scheme.

Tilak Kunwar, the general secretary of the Nepal Teacher's Federation (NTF), an umbrella organization of teachers, said that the government move to address the teachers' demand is a welcome move. However, the continuous delay in amending the act has made the teachers doubt whether the scheme will be implemented at all, he added.

Temporary teachers have long been demanding that the government offer golden handshake to those who are willing to retire. In 2012, the government had also signed an agreement with the temporary teachers to make them permanent through new vacancy announcement.

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