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Nepal: Protests Demanding Endorsement Of School Education Bill Continue

Teachers in Kathmandu persist with protests, urging the government to pass the School Education Bill, local media report.

Sentinel Digital Desk

Kathmandu: Nepal Teachers' Federation continued their protest on Sunday in Kathmandu demanding endorsement of the School Education bill, local media reported.

The federation decided not to withdraw the protest despite recent assurances from Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nepal, Devraj Ghimire.

Recently, the Nepal government agreed to address the demand of protesting teachers in the country as they decided to summon a parliamentary session on April 25 to pass the School Education Bill, according to a report by the leading Nepali daily, The Kathmandu Post.

PM Oli on Friday held a meeting with office-bearers of the Confederation of Nepalese Teachers (CNT) to explore solutions to the ongoing teachers' agitation centered in Kathmandu.

He urged the teachers' representatives to withdraw their agitation and assured them that the government would make maximum effort to address their demands.

"The House session was called early to discuss the bill. However, I cannot give the exact day of its endorsement as it is the legislature which decides," Oli was quoted as saying by a participant in the meeting.

"The Speaker said he was ready to put the bill to a vote the very next day it is tabled in the House of Representatives," said Nanu Maya Parajuli, co-chair of the federation and coordinator of the struggle committee.

However, the federation decided not to withdraw the protest, though they termed the meetings with Oli and Ghimire as positive.

"Though the meetings with the Prime Minister and the Speaker were positive, we have decided to continue the symbolic protest on Sunday. We will sit on Sunday to decide what to do in the days to come," said Parajuli.

Thousands of teachers continued the agitation as usual on Saturday afternoon and decided to continue with the protest for a few hours on Sunday.

"Our protest is not against the government. We are fighting only for the new Act," Parajuli added.  (IANS)

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