- Teachers warn of fresh protests as School Education Bill faces delays despite prior agreement.
- Education Minister seeks changes to already agreed provisions, stalling committee progress.
- June 29 deadline looms with bill still missing from House calendar, raising doubts on timely passage.
As the deadline of June 29 draws near, the fate of ratifying Nepal's long-pending School Education Bill hangs in the balance, with the House Education, Health and Information Committee still to complete it for tabling in Parliament.
The delay is in spite of the formal understanding signed on April 30 among the chief whips of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML and the Nepal Teachers' Federation, which had persuaded teachers to call off their month-long countrywide protests. The deal had assured that the bill would be tabled by the lower house before the deadline. Still, the committee has not fixed the date for the next meeting.
“I’m still holding consultations. The meeting date will be finalized by Monday,” said Ammar Bahadur Thapa, chair of the House committee. Asked if the bill could still meet the deadline, he cautiously responded, “We’ll try.”
During the last month, a sub-panel of the Education Committee, chaired by UML lawmaker Chhabilal Bishwakarma, agreed upon the majority of the bill's 1,758 suggested amendments except for two major issues: how private schools would be regulated and early childhood education. Still, Education Minister Raghuji Pant has recently urged a revision in a number of provisions already agreed upon by the panel, slowing the pace once again.
One of the contentious issues is the suggestion to reinstate District Education Offices, which were dissolved in the first place under the federal setup in an effort to devolve power to provincial and local governments. According to Minister Pant, as education is a concurrent responsibility of the federal, provincial, and local governments, every district must have the offices. His stance has been criticized by committee members who see it as being unconstitutional.
Pant has also proposed substituting the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development set up in 2018 with the erstwhile dismantled Department of Education. Further, he suggests maintaining the Secondary Education Examination, albeit under provincial regulation, and being against compulsory conversion of private schools into trusts. Whereas many amendments are in favour of making such conversions obligatory in 5 to 20 years, Pant is in favour of such conversions remaining voluntary an approach consistent with private school associations' informed lobbying.
Thapa, the chair of the committee, has complained about Pant's reversal: "Some revisions are fine, but I will not allow a reversal of everything that's been agreed to."
The House calendar is finalized only until June 28, and the bill is not on the list, which is feeding skepticism among teachers. On Sunday, members of the Nepal Teachers' Federation met with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba to call for quick political action.
“We still hope the bill will be passed on time. But if it’s not, we’ll be forced to restart our protest,” warned Nani Maya Parajuli, Vice-Chair of the Federation.
Ruling party leaders still look hopeful despite the tensions. UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula reaffirmed the intention of passing the bill within the given deadline. "No bill is scheduled on the House calendar unless passed by the concerned committee. We are fully committed to fulfilling our promise," he stated.
