Kathmandu, March 3

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has written a letter to the Ministry of Education, requesting it to give directives to district education offices to ensure the presence of all teachers and supporting staff to continue their day-to-day work in the concerned schools.

In the letter written to the MoE on February 8, the MoFALD sought the intervention of the education ministry to ensure the return of teachers and staff to the schools where they were previously posted within 15 days.

“It is utmost necessary that schools have adequate number of teachers and staff to make the teaching-learning activities systematic and smoothly run classes. However, teachers and administrative staff of some schools are on deputation to other schools outside the concerned local levels where they were posted. In addition, some of them are working as resource person causing severe shortage human resources in schools, mainly in remote areas.

The MoFALD warned that this situation had deprived the students of their right to read and write in an education-friendly environment. Concentration of teachers and staff in district headquarters and accessible areas has resulted in the lack of subject teachers to take classes.

“Therefore, we request you to make such teachers and staff return to their concerned schools within 15 days wherever they are and whatever they may be doing. When teachers and supporting staff of one local level work in other local level, it is also likely to lead to difficulties in paying their remuneration and allowances,” the letter to the education ministry reads.

The Local Government Operation Act, 2017 and Schedule-8 of the constitution has vested the powers to manage basic and secondary level education in the local levels. It includes providing remuneration of teachers and staff, issuing school operation licence, and upgrading and monitoring schools.

In the changed context, the MoE has also deployed its employees to the local levels to facilitate them in the management of schools.

This paradigm shift in governance can work in favour of public schools which will be run under the scrutiny of people’s elected representatives since it is expected minimise negligence that has haunted the public education system in Nepal so far.

Earlier, the MoFALD had issued a circular to 753 local levels, directing them to ensure that all students of community schools get textbooks before the start of the new academic session.

The local levels have also been told to monitor schools to ascertain whether or not the students are deprived of textbooks.