Thimi, December 24:

Teachers affiliated with Higher Secondary Teachers’ Association Nepal (HISTAN), an association of higher secondary school teachers, today padlocked the Department of Education (DoE) and Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) indefinitely, demanding that their eight-point demands be fulfilled.

The lockout brought regular works of both the offices to a halt.

Talking to this daily today, HISTAN’s general secretary Deepak Raj Subedi said the two offices had been padlocked to pressurise the government to meet their eight-point

demands.

HISTAN has been demanding permanent affiliation for higher secondary schools which have fulfilled the criteria prescribed by the HSEB. HISTAN announced its protest programmes on November 22 after forming a struggle committee to lead their protest programmes.

They are also demanding the immediate implementation of the suggestions put forth by a team, led by Chaitanya Sharma, to provide necessary services, conditions and facilities for higher secondary teachers. Formation of the Teacher Service Commission is another demand of the agitating teachers.

“If the government failed to address our demands by December 29, we will shut higher secondary schools throughout the country and launch ‘let’s go to Kathmandu’ campaign to put further pressure on the government,” Subedi, who is also the co-ordinator of HISTAN’s central struggle committee, said.

Meanwhile, Confederation of Nepalese Professionals (CONEP) has expressed solidarity with the ongoing protest of higher secondary school teachers. “Depriving experienced teachers of permanent appointments and unequal salary and facilities in the education sectors denote unfair labour practices. Therefore HISTAN’s protest is a genuine one,” a press statement issued by CONEP said. It has also appealed all concerned to sort out the issue through dialogue.