Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Minister for Education and Sports Sasmit Pokharel had reached Aurahi Rural Municipality of Siraha on Saturday to attend a discussion on proposed changes to the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2019.
The meeting, however, descended into a dispute before the discussion could properly begin. Because of the dispute, Minister Pokharel walked out of the event midway.
A local leader of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who attended the discussion, said the event was poorly organized. He said there was no preparation for how the program would be conducted. “There was no clear arrangement over who would be invited to the stage, who would speak or how the formal session would proceed,” he said. “District Coordination Committee Chair Dinesh Mahato had been invited to the event but was not even given a seat on the stage.”
The lack of coordination created tension even before the substantive discussion on the curriculum began.
The situation worsened when a member of Minister Pokharel’s secretariat began giving instructions to participants.
The RSP leader said the person accompanying the minister started speaking to participants in what they described as a directive manner.
The program had been organized for consultation on the curriculum, the participant said, but the manner in which instructions were being issued contributed to the dispute.
The confrontation intensified after the minister’s security personnel allegedly tried to take the mobile phone of Santosh Yadav, the RSP chair of Aurahi Rural Municipality. Yadav was sitting in the front row and was reportedly recording the event on his phone. According to the RSP local leader, a security personnel accompanying the minister tried to take the phone from him.
By that point, RSP local leaders and activists were insisting that the program should not proceed, saying they felt insulted by the alleged attempt to take the phone and the lack of coordination with local leaders.
Pokharel had already taken the podium and started speaking when the dispute unfolded. He reportedly spoke for only a minute or two before saying “that’s enough” and leaving the venue.
Two members of the House of Representatives, who had accompanied Pokharel—Shiva Yadav, who was elected from the constituency, and RSP joint-general secretary Purushottam Yadav—also left the venue with the minister.
The dispute, however, was not primarily over the proposed changes to the curriculum. Participants say the meeting was disrupted by disagreements over the conduct and organization of the event.
RSP local leaders also criticized the lawmakers accompanying the minister for the lack of coordination beforehand. They argued that a consultation on an issue as important as the school curriculum should have included discussions with local leaders and stakeholders before the minister arrived.
