KATHMANDU: Nepal Relief Teachers Central Struggle Committee (NRTCSC) is going to organise a three-day-long education strike throughout the nation next week. The decision was announced a week in advance through a press conference here today.

Arguing that the government failed to heed their genuine demands and was not serious enough, Surendra Gautam, president of NRTCSC, said that they were compelled to organise the nationwide educational strike on February 7, 8 and 9 to draw its attention.

"Along with strike, we will be staging sit-in before the Ministry of Education (MoE) for three days," he said.

"Despite frequent submission of memorandum to education minister and various peaceful protest programmes held in the past, the concerned agency was mum. Thus, we felt the need for the strike to exert pressure on the government," he added.

The relief teachers have demanded permanent status through internal competition taking into consideration their service tenure irrespective of age bar. They further demand that the agreement reached between teachers and MoE on October 28, 2009 be scrapped and that the relief quota be transformed into general quota to facilitate the process of giving permanent status to teachers.

Chunni Saran Yadav, general secretary, Nepal Teachers Union, who had signed the agreement with MoE said, "The problems of relief teachers would be resolved soon as the ministry was doing necessary homework to address their demands."

Meanwhile, other speakers, including those from All Nepal Teachers' Organisation, Nepal Educational Republic Forum, pledged their solidarity with NRTCSC demands and protest programmes. According to NRTCS, there are more than 40,000 relief teachers across the country.