Speaking at the program organized by Education Journalist Network, Guna Raj Lohani, president of All Nepal Teachers´ Organization, said the government had introduced a one-sided directive that did not address any concern of the teachers of community schools. The MoE had issued 23-point guidelines on Wednesday which restricts the teachers from attending political seminars, workshops or protest programs. The directive also makes it mandatory for the teachers to inform their respective District Education Offices before attending any seminars. [break]
Defending teachers´ involvement in political parties, Lohani claimed that the teachers did not carry party flag for vested interests, but were forced to do so by the bureaucracy. “Ensure the basic facilities for teachers, than we won´t need unions.”
Dismissing the initial statements of educationists and government officials who stated that teachers were the most responsible for the decline in the pass percentage in SLC, Lohani produced the MoE data which shows that 1.3 million students had enrolled in grade in 2002. But only 403,936 students appeared in the SLC exams held in 2013.
“Where are the remaining 70 percent students? Has government evaluated this trend?” Lohani questioned.
Similarly, Hom Kumar Thapa, president of Education Republic Forum, said that on an average per student the cost of education in private schools is Rs 1 lakh.
But the government spends only Rs 10 thousand per student in community schools, so the results of private schools can´t be compared with that of community schools.
The government has not decided the future of those temporary teachers who have been working for more than three decades, and it has weakened their confidence, he said.
“While finding teachers´ faults, everyone forgot that those 41.57 percent could pass because of teachers´ hard work,” said Thapa.
The MoE Assistant Spokesperson Raj Nath Pandey said that improving the education system has failed to become a matter of concern in our national politics as the eighth amendment to the Education Act is pending at the president´s office for over eight months now.
Likewise, Kumar Pokhrel, the director of DoE, urged the teachers to share the responsibility for the poor show in this year´s SLC.
“Teachers are the most important members of the education system. They should not confront the government but act as responsible agents.”
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