Kathmandu - There was the news that teachers are going to be included in the Pension Fund according to the Pension Fund Act, 2019 from mid of April 2025. The news mentioned that this provision has been made in the 'Bill made to amend some Nepal Acts related to Good Governance Promotion and Public Service Delivery. The Pension Fund Act, 2019 has the provision of providing pension based on contributions made to the social fund. The government had proposed on the Ordinance of 2025 January to include teachers from the back date of implementation of this act on 18 March 2019. After the Nepal Teachers' Federation (NTF) protested against the Ordinance, government backed down from its decision, mentioned the news.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the Maoist Center and Leader of the Main Opposition in the Parliament, has said that the government should take the demands of the agitating teachers seriously, there was the news. In a meeting with a delegation of the NTF at his residence, Dahal said that if teachers are underestimated, the results will not be good, the Gorakhapatra published the news.

NTF is in a phased protest over the delay for tabling the School Education Bill (SEB) in the parliament. Parliament's Opposition leader has extended its support. It's an old game for parties to appease teachers to secure their vote bank. Instead of resolving the complex issues of the Bill that is under discussion in the parliamentary committee in the national interest, but trying to appease teachers is not a desired the behavior of a responsible political party or its leaders.

It has been more than a year and a half since the SEB was registered in the Parliament and the process of discussion in the Parliamentary Committee began. It seems that the Committee does not feel an urgency to finalize the complex issues in the Bill and submit it to the Parliament. It feels that the Committee has been down playing the SEB from time to time. 

Discussions on any Bills in the parliamentary committees should proceed between the two sessions of the Parliament, but the Committees do not seem to be engaged in discussions on the Bills in that time. The SEB has also fallen into such a predicament. The complex issues that need to be resolved by the SEB are still going hay way.

This has cast doubts about the protest of the NTF if they are taking advantage of an opportunity to exert pressure to implement the agreement reached with the governments in the past that hovers around the improvements of teachers' services, facilities, and interests. Among the complex issues that need to be resolved by the Bill are issues related to teachers. 

There is no scope for school reform without addressing issues of the existing mess of various teacher-types, how to make teachers accountable, how to attract competent people to teaching profession, and how to keep them updated. Teachers are undermining the constitutional provision that schools are under the jurisdiction of local governments.

As the discussion on the SEB progressed, it has been apparent that there is no strong argument for the teachers' demands. They may have realized that the weight of their demands is diminishing as the Bill lingers. If put it bluntly, even if teachers alone may not be the ones who ruined everything, they are responsible to a large extent for the collapse of public education that they have never conceded. The public in general have remained sympathetic to teachers on humanitarian grounds while the government was trapped with the same sentiment over years. Let alone the nexus of teachers and politicians for historical reasons.  

Whether or not the teachers' demands are met through such protests, status of public education will certainly decline. Whether they realize it or not it's another way of compelling parents to take their children to private schools. There is not even the slightest hope amongst the public that anything will improve even if all the teachers' demands are met. Ultimately, no matter what happens, the government reflects the moral strength of the people. It is not always the case that people will vote for the leader whom teachers tell them to vote for. After all, more and more well-to-do and influential parents take their children to private schools. Wouldn't it be better for the teachers to strive for building their own image a little? The teacher themselves are a knowledgeable group of people. What is worth preaching them more?!

Some speculate that senior teachers may have felt a need to rush to finalize their promotion and service benefits before their retirement. In fact, once the government submitted the Bill to the Parliament, all agreements with the government should be null and void - the government no longer has the authority over the contents of the Bill. Of course, the government may withdraw the Bill.

In this connection, Mr Baburam Bishwakarma wrote an article in OnlineKhabar news portal that teachers working in government schools want all their demands met through the Bill. He asserts that the teachers' demands include only their perks but no educational reform or the broader interests of the school education, mentioned the article.

The Education, Health and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representative (EHITC) have formed a subcommittee to discuss the SEB clause-wise. It has been decided to form an 11-member Subcommittee under the coordination MP Mr. Chhabilal Bishwakarma who represent UML, to submit a report within 35 days, the news mentioned. The Subcommittee has been asked to finalize the decision in consultation with other committees, experts and other stakeholders, quoted the news. Clause-wise discussions on the bill have begun in the committee, another news mentioned.

Arjun Khadka has written an article in Gorkhapatra, embracing the sentiments of all stakeholders, urging to pass the SEB without delay. 

Photos and videos of students climbing boundary walls to cheat during this year's School Education Examination (SEE) at the end of grade 10 have gone viral. Similarly, cheating is also being done through digital means including WhatsApp and there have been reports of inspectors and guards who have committed such acts being arrested and their mobile phones being confiscated, the news published.

In an article titled 'SEE-constructed fear' published in Gorkhapatra, Kiran Adhikari wrote that the SEE exam, which is conducted for determining school-level grades, should be abolished forever, as it places a financial burden on parents and mental stress on students.

Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Bidya Bhattarai has given instructions to run SEE in dignified manner in an online meeting with the heads of the Education Development and Coordination Units of Madhesh Province, the report published.

There was the news that Madhesh Province Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh held a press conference and announced its withdrawal from the SEE examination process after the Examination Coordination Committees rejected the decision to appoint Exam Center Heads (Superintendents) through a lottery system and confiscate mobile phones found during the examination to make the exam fair and dignified.

Many questions have been raised and continue to be raised about the rationale for SEE. We have also been raising it. That is a separate issue. Importantly, in such an exam, cheating can easily be gtten rid of with a little effort. However, no effort is being made to move toward that direction. A minor effort would be to change the way the question is asked. For example, one way is to ask questions about the contents and meanings of poetry. If someone reads a poem about a cuckoo, the student is less likely to cheat if they were asked to write a poem about another bird they like around their homes! Why do you have to write about two interesting things about Lumbini when you read about Lumbini? Even if you have to, you can't cheat as much as you want, if you're asked to write about two interesting things about your village or settlement, as was done about Lumbini. 

If you were to ask a question about electric circuits, would you be able to cheat if you asked where this knowledge is used in your house? And asked why it is dangerous? Student can also write down few questions that concern them or they would like to ask their friends about all of the above topics. 

Raising this issue is not just to prevent cheating in exams. It’s a key for students to be creative and critical. Investing in training or orientation that asks questions in a different way than in security and administration costs might be less. What to say if the purpose of the exam is to create opportunities to spend money? Wouldn't it be improve if our teacher friends also put pressure on it? Or are they not allowed to do anything other than agitating for their facilities?

Prem Narayan Bhusal has wrote an article in Gorkhapatra that discusses the exam duration, syllabus size, question paper format or specification table, and studying old question papers to help prepare for competitive exams.

Education Minister Bhattarai has asked heads of some private schools to improve the process as there have been complaints that recruitment in their school is influenced by nepotism and favoritism along personal and political lines, mentioned the news.

There was report that the Free Students' Union (FSU) elections were peaceful in two-thirds of the affiliated campuses of Tribhuvan University (TU).

The FSU elections were affected by the lockout and threats against election committee members by student organizations close to the ruling Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), and the opposition - the Maoist Center. The Elections remain uncertain in 6 campuses in Kathmandu and 9 outside of Kathmandu of TU out of 62 campuses, quoted the news.

The Onlinekhabar has referred speech of Dr Swarnim Wagle in the Parliament regarding FSU elections. He questioned whether universities should be made of quality, research-oriented, and places for innovative ideas or they should be made into ‘party toys’ to destroy the higher education system, mentioned in the Onlinekhabar.

There are reports that the date of FSU elections at Midwest University (MU) announced which will be held on 31st March 2025. Similarly, the exam was postponed in the MU when the question papers were distributed and students were writing on answer sheets, citing the reason of announcement of  FSU elections.

A survey has been conducted among former students of Kathmandu School of Law (KSL) to urge an impartial investigation into Yubaraj Sangraula, the founder of the college, who has been accused of sexual misconduct. The news stated that in the online survey, 104 people identified themselves and 43 people without revealing their identities said that Sangraula should be investigated. In the survey, 43 people also said they had been sexually harrassed, the news mentioned. Sangraula also held a press conference claiming that he was subjected to mental torture by making false accusations, there was news. However, committee formed to investigate the abuse of students has submitted a report stating that it does not fall within its jurisdiction.

There was news that Prof. Dr. Achyut Wagle has been appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University.

A patriotic speech given by Abhishek Raut, a 10th grade student, on the anniversary of a school in Dhulabari, Jhapa, has gone viral, quoted the news. Few Indian media outlets have made news of his viral speech by comparing its tone and style to that of Adolf Hitler, the German dictator during World War II, the news mentioned.

Himalayan TV reports that community and private campuses affiliated with Tribhuvan University are on the verge of closing due to a decrease in student numbers.

There was news that a corruption case has been filed against four people at Kuleshwor Secondary School (SS) in Kathmandu on charges of placing a relative in the place of an absentee teacher. After a complaint was received that a relative was hired instead of a teacher being present at the school and that the salary was paid in the name of the absentee teacher, a case has been filed against Principal Sanukanchha Nepal, Assistant Principal Shivahari Ghimire, Assistant Accountant Smriti Regmi, and Ambika Ghimire alias Shruti Bhandari, who taught as a teacher, mentioned the news.

Pavitra Subedi and Ram Sharan Sapkota have been appointed to the vacant member positions of the Teachers Service Commission, the news published.

The Education, Human Resources and Resource Development Center has selected five schools in Gorkha - Dullabh SS, Ghyampesal, Mahendra SS, Kundur, Surya Jyoti SS, Takukot, Paropkar Adarsh SS, Jauwari, and Amarjyoti SS, (Luintel School) - for the model school and provided millions of rupees in grants annually, the quality of education has not improved in the past five years, there was the news.

Purpose of this news review is to classify and synthesize the educational content of the week and provide objective comments from the point of view of social justice and creative pedagogy including the environment. It is aimed to the policy makers and stakeholders to help make informed decisions. In this joint effort of the Center for Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP) and EduKhabar, material from daily newspapers - Kantipur, Gorkhapatra and The Himalayan Times, online news portals - Online Khabar, Setopati and Ratopati and the 8 o'clock news of Nepal Television and 7 o'clock news of Himalaya Television is summarized and presented with commentary on relevant issues. We have covered the contents from 15-22 March 2025 in this issue - The Editor.

Read last week's analysis in Nepali : शिक्षक आन्दोलनको औचित्य ?! [विश्लेषणात्मक भिडियो सहित]

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