School Staff Council Meets with Education Minister

The Nepal School Staff Council has presented a set of demands to the Minister for Education, Science, and Technology, Mahavir Pun. The demands include permanently integrating staff of community schools into the government's structured payroll system.

Presentation of Long-Standing Issues

The Council met with Minister Pun at the ministry located in Keshar Mahal today. They drew his attention to the long-standing problems faced by school staff and urged for a resolution based on past agreements made with the government. The central chairman of the Council, Gangaram Tiwari, reported that Minister Pun acknowledged being aware of the issues. The Minister assured them that after the upcoming festivals, they would sit together to discuss what solutions could be implemented.

Specific Demands and Challenges

Minister Pun also requested that expectations be managed, as the current government's primary responsibility is to conduct elections. The president of the Council's Bagmati Province Committee, Ramsaran Fuyal, provided a specific suggestion regarding the Minister's recent directive for one computer teacher position per community school. He suggested that accounting staff already skilled in computers could be converted to fill these positions. He also emphasized that the ministry must seriously consider how staff can support their families on their current low salaries.

Current Situation and Legislative Hurdles

Despite a Supreme Court order from 2010 that called for the creation of a service law to regulate their employment terms and benefits, school accountants currently receive a monthly salary of only 15,000 rupees, and office assistants get 10,000 rupees. Although a School Education Bill addressing these staff issues was under consideration in the federal parliament, the dissolution of the House of Representatives has currently halted the process of it becoming law.