There's another potential upheaval in store for Nepal's long-suffering education sector. Nearly 150,000 public school teachers are threatening to take to the streets soon. The teachers, organised under the Nepal National Teachers Association (NNTA) and the Nepal Teachers' Organisation (NTO), are unhappy with the seventh amendment to the Education Act approved by the House of Representative a month ago, especially the clause that requires them to sit for exams to acquire licences within five years of implementation of the amendment. Failing to do so would mean losing their jobs. The teachers plan to publish appeals, hold dialogues with parliamentarians and educationists, and wear black bands to work. If the government fails to respond positively, they will organise rallies and sit-in protests at district education offices starting 21 December. The NNTA and the NTO allege that the government is trying to evade its responsibility of providing education, and is encouraging the commercialisation of education. But that's as far as their like-mindedness goes. The Nepali Congress-supported NTO and UML-supported NNTA plan to protest separately.