Nepal Teachers Federation demands 20 percent budget and new Education Act, supports two-day holiday

Nepal Teachers Federation demands 20 percent budget and new Education Act, supports two-day holiday ​Kathmandu, April 17 The Nepal Teachers Federation has demanded that the government allocate 20 percent of the total budget for the education sector in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84. The national committee of the federation has issued a statement, making public its official views on the academic session, teachers' problems and current issues. ​The main points mentioned in the statement are as follows: ​1. Support for two-day public holidays ​The federation has welcomed the decision of the Nepal government to grant two public holidays (Saturday and Sunday) in a week as a trial. The federation has urged all parties concerned for the effective implementation of this decision. ​2. Demand for budget and education act ​The federation has demanded that 20 percent of the budget be allocated for education in the upcoming budget and has pressed for the immediate promulgation of the long-awaited 'School Education Act'. The Federation demands that an act be brought to permanently address the problems of teachers and school employees working in relief, contract, former secondary schools, teaching and learning grants, childcare and special education as per the agreements reached between the government and the Federation in the past. ​3. Withheld salaries and teacher security ​The Federation has expressed serious objection to the problems faced by teachers at various local levels of the country: ​Salary allowance problem: The Federation has demanded that the government immediately make arrangements for payment, saying that teachers and employees in areas such as Lahan Municipality of Siraha, Kamalamai Municipality of Dhanusha and Budhiganga Municipality of Bajura have not received their salaries for months. ​Unjustified dismissal and transfer: The Federation has strongly condemned the actions of removing teachers from service and transferring them to unsuitable places without reason in places such as Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu. The government has been urged to immediately stop such actions and take initiatives to resolve the problem.

4. Demand for implementation of the 9-point decision The Federation has also drawn the attention of the government to immediately implement the 9-point decision taken by the Council of Ministers on 17 Baisakh 2082. The statement, signed by the Federation's General Secretary Tula Bahadur Thapa and President Laxmikishore Subedi, states that the Federation has always been committed to the professional rights and interests of teachers and employees.