At the end of the Maoist insurgency, all the major political parties had agreed, in principle, to declare education institutions a protest-free zone. Dream on. It was always going to be a tall task given the thorough politicization of government bodies in Nepal. Nearly six years on, the very concept of ‘peace zone’ seems a wishful thinking. Student unions continue to shut down schools and colleges against ´unjust’ fees of private establishments. They will never be browbeaten into accepting ‘draconian’ attempts to cut student fees, the various school bodies in turn thunder. And just in case we forgot, school teachers are in the mix too. A fact all too well illustrated by their forced closure of schools around the country starting February 26.
As of now, the picture is not entirely clear. The teachers have put forth a 35-point demand asking the government, among other things, to make the ´temporary´ teachers ‘permanent´, implementation of their past agreements with the government, and introduction of a quota system for the teachers employed on various provisional basis. For its part, the Ministry of Education has rubbished the latest teacher strike, terming it ´pointless´ since the government has already tabled a bill in the parliament to address some of the same demands, including provisions for permanent status for teachers who have served for over 20 years and ´golden handshakes´ for those who want to retire.
Both sides have a (tentative) point. Many agreements have been worked out between various teacher unions and the government at various times post-2006. Since the two sides invariably settle on a stopgap ´compromise´ solution, the can is rolled further down the road. This is the reason substantial solutions have not been hammered on important issues like the much-needed revision of pay and perks for government teachers and the equally long-overdue course revisions.
This merry-go-around has to stop. But this entails consistent education policies that stay in place irrespective of the changes at the top, which unfortunately have come characterize Nepali governance of late. We believe that ultimately there has to be some kind of a merit-based system for appointment and promotion of school teachers. But that is easier said than done in a country still coming to grips with difficult issues of inclusion, gender neutrality and social equity, which are further complicated by the necessities of please-all transitional politics.
To quell tensions, we urge the government to show more restraint while dealing with disgruntled teachers—photos of women teachers splashed across national broadsheets, crying their eyes red from the effects of tear gas, hardly helps create an atmosphere of trust—and the teacher bodies to be more willing to engage in meaningful dialogues in a spirit of compromise. Yes, a compromise, again. We are afraid that is the best case scenario for the moment. Long terms solutions to the country’s educational hurdles will, regrettably, have to wait another day.
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