60% of temporary teachers to be made permanent through internal competition

KATHMANDU: Only 60% of temporary, relief, and contract teachers working in community schools will be made permanent through internal competition. The remaining 40% will have to go through open competition.

A member of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee told Himal Press that a consensus has been reached within a subcommittee formed to deliberate on the School Education Bill.

The subcommittee had agreed on a 60% internal and 40% open competition model to regularize temporary, relief, and contract teachers. The Bill, however, originally proposed a 50/50 internal-open competition ratio for the management of temporary, relief, and contract teachers.

Earlier, the government and the Confederation of Nepalese Teachers (CNT) had reached an agreement to make 75% of teachers permanent through internal competition. However, the latest discussions suggest the 60/40 model could be adopted.

According to the member, the committee’s next meeting is expected to formally adopt the 60/40 provision.

Several lawmakers have said that consensus is still needed among political parties on some aspects of the Bill. The Nepali Congress (NC) has directed the committee to finalize the Bill with the 60/40 provision. NC Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka has been tasked with resolving contentious points in the Bill. “Khadka has told us to go ahead with the 60/40 formula,” the member said.

Shyam Kumar Ghimire, Chief Whip of the NC and a member of the Committee, said during the committee’s meeting on June 30 that it was NC that proposed the 60/40 model to regularize temporary teachers. The committee has not met since then.

The ruling CPN-UML and the main opposition, CPN (Maoist Centre), are in favor of managing relief and temporary teachers in line with the agreement reached with the CNT.

However, the Nepal Relief Teachers’ Central Committee has rejected the 60/40 proposal. “We reject the 60/40 model. It goes against past agreements and, hence, should be scrapped,” Chairperson Navin Singh Dhami said.

Amar Bahadur Thapa, chairperson of the house panel, said the committee will begin writing the report on the Bill starting Thursday. He added that the bill is expected to be endorsed in the committee’s meeting on July 6 and tabled in parliament on July 7.

“We will start drafting the report today, hold a meeting on July 6, and get it passed. If possible, we will present it in the House the very next day,” Thapa said.

He also informed that Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs will be formally brought under the school structure as a two-year program. “ECD will be part of the school system. It will be a two-year program. Most committee members agree that these educators should be called ‘teachers’ and not ‘facilitators’,” he added.

Committee member Sumana Shrestha the committee will now seek a written commitment from the CNT on its demands so that there won’t be repeated amendments.

While the CNT has been accused of sidelining the interests of students and parents, committee members maintain that the new law is being framed with the best interests of students and guardians in mind.