KATHMANDU, May 22: On the fourth day of sit-in by part-time teachers of Tribhuvan University, two protesters were injured in police action after they entered the restricted area near the prime minister's residence in Baluwatar.

Police used force to stop the protestors after around 175 of them tried to enter the prohibited zone,  according to the Nepal Part Time Teachers' Association (NPTTA).

 “General secretary of NPTTA Narendra Bhandari and zoology teacher at Trichandra Campus Mandira Sayami were injured in the scuffle,” said Sashi Kumar Sharma, president of the NPTTA. “Bhandari is seriously injured,” he added.

The part-time teachers of 60 constituent campuses under the TU have been staging protests since Thursday demanding implementation of the agreement signed between them, TU and the government. The part-time teachers have now insisted to get appointed on contract basis with monthly salary payment equivalent to third-class officer of civil service.

The protesters were carrying placards written: End intellectual exploitation, transform daily pay to monthly contracts, create academic atmosphere at TU and implement past agreements among others.

An agreement was signed between the part-time teachers and the government eight years ago when the part-time teachers were on a hunger strike. Similar agreement was also signed with the TU back then. The agreement included to form a working panel within a week, find exact number of part-time teachers within a year, prepare certain criteria for contract recommendation, appoint them on contract basis by fulfilling the set standards, and urge the TU to increase payment.

However, neither the government nor the TU take any initiative to address the demands of more than 1,200 part-time teachers, according to the NPTTA.

The part-time teachers are forced to cover 80 percent of the course while they are given a minimum payment, according to the part-time teachers. They are paid Rs 220 per period and have to pay 15 percent taxes but the permanent teachers do not have to pay any taxes. 

According to the TU, it has recommended 1,420 new quotas to manage the teachers in TU constituent campuses. The proposal was forwarded to the University Grants Commission, which approved it and forwarded to the Ministry of Education (MoE). The MoE needs to get approval from the Ministry of Finance before submitting it to the cabinet for the final approval.

Following clashes of protesters with the police on Thursday, talks were held between agitating teachers and Ramesh Malla, personal secretary of PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal. 

“Malla said that they would address our demands by allocating quota for us and urged us to end the protest,” said Sharma. “We rejected his proposal saying that we won't backtrack until the recommendation of TU for additional quota of 1,420 teachers is approved,” he added.

 
• narendra bhandari
 
• mandira sayami
 
• tribhuvan university
 
• injured
 
• protest