Parliament recently passed the seventh amendment to the Education Act, which the Nepal Teachers' Organisation (NTO) and the Nepal National Teachers Association (NNTA) have both vehemently opposed. The organisations claim that this amendment will destroy the education sector, which is already in shambles, and they are both now preparing to start an agitation against the bill. On 20 October, the two organisations presented a protest letter to the Ministry of Education and Sports.

Many teachers formerly aligned with Nepali Congress-supported NTO are now slowly leaving the party. Already 350 members of the organisation have left the party in Nawalparasi, 147 in Surkhet, 129 in Bara, 32 in Dang and 1,200 in Kavre. This is happening in other districts too. According to the seventh amendment, teachers will be asked to retire if they indulge in politics, are members of any political party, canvass for political parties or start publicly expressing their political affiliations. It is because of these clauses that many teachers have now started deserting the Nepali Congress, says NTO President Bhattarai.

But both the major teachers' associations claim that this is not the only reason they are starting an agitation. The new amendment clearly states that all aspects of running schools-especially those concerned with salaries, allowances, pensions and provident funds-will be handed over to public school management committees. The teachers have made this the main agenda of their protest.

They say they are also protesting the proposed system of licenses, which permanent teachers will have to take exams to obtain if they want to keep their jobs. They feel that asking teachers to take exams is an insult and that it is detrimental to those who have been teaching for over 30 years and are now close to retirement age. Many teachers say such a move is against the law.

The teachers state that the examination is not necessary for teachers who have passed the Public Service Commission examinations. Earlier the NTO and the NNTA had asked that teachers be provided with teaching permits. To clear the mess in the education system the government has taken the easy way out. To weed out teachers who have acquired fake certificates, the government will now require all teachers to take an examination within five years of being hired. If they do not, they will be dismissed. Teachers think that this is an insult to them.

The teachers also believe that the amendment will increase politicisation of the education sector. People on the managing committees of schools feel that education should not be held completely in the hands of the government but should be the responsibility of the community, and this is the best way to decide what is best for community schools. They feel that parents will also certainly take an interest in the management of the schools once they are given a voice in the day-to-day affairs of the institutions. The active interest of parents and communities as a whole will be beneficial for the whole education sector.

Efforts are also being made to institutionalise all private and community schools. The government will give all new teachers temporary teaching permission within six months of their being hired. Teachers will have to take the government-administered examination within five years of receiving teaching permission. If they do not, they will automatically be dismissed.