During a recent conference of Early Childhood Development teachers, Sharmila Poudel recited a poem that recounted her struggles as a teacher, particularly about the low salary. The poem was applauded. More teachers took to the stage and shared their plights and how they are being oppressed by the state. They lamented that while the salary of primary level teachers has reached Rs30,000, theirs is only Rs6,000.

The government had introduced the early childhood development level centres a decade ago to attract children to school and improve the quality of teaching. Currently, there are over 36,500 teachers at these centres across the country and they all face a common problem: low remuneration.

“While even the inmates receive Rs300 as daily allowance, we get only Rs 200,” said Krishna Thapa, chair of the Early Childhood Development Teachers Associations’ Struggle Committee. “We have been oppressed by the state.”

In Parbat, all the Early Childhood Development teachers working in 300 schools are women. Thapa believes that it is because of the male domination in all hierarchies of governance that their concerns have gone unheeded. “If the teachers were men, their concerns would have already been addressed,” she said. “We have our own children to take care of, so we can’t hold large protests. But in this country, unless there’s a sea of people protesting, no change comes.”

Shanti Kafle, chair of the Farwest Childhood Development Teachers’ Association, said that the government should rather dismiss the whole programme. “If the state considers us inessential then we are ready to seek other jobs,” she said. “But if it wants us to continue, then we can’t make do with Rs200 per day as remuneration.”

Another teacher, Chun Devi Chhetri, said that since they have already spent around a decade on the job, it’s high time the state paid attention to their concerns. According to Chhetri, even though the government started to distribute uniforms to teachers last year, its cost is being deducted from their salary.

Following widespread complaints, the government decided to increase the salary by Rs1,000 last year. The salary of regular teachers at public schools increases every two years, but ECD teachers’ salary does not, said Chhetri.

If the government continues to turn a deaf ear to the problem, then over 36, 000 ECD teachers will soon hit the streets, warned Thapa, the chair of the struggle committee. “We have repeatedly filed complaints at the Ministry of Education, but we haven’t heard anything from them yet,” she said.

In 2016, the government had planned to transfer ECD teachers to the post of primary level teachers, according to Rajendra Bahadur Chhetri, an education officer in Kushma. But the plan did not materialise. The district has a total of 307 ECD teachers.

Following widespread complaints, some local units in Parbat have raised the salary of ECD teachers by Rs1,000 last year, according to Sita Kafle Lamichhane, deputy mayor of Kushma. But this year, the salary could not be raised because of insufficient budget, she added. “We understand their plight, and are coordinating with the ministry to address their concern,” Kafle Lamichhane said.

Chhetri, the education officer, said that the government should take up this issue. “Local units invest millions in infrastructure development annually. But they haven’t paid attention to the development of education, which is the first step of development,” he said. “The government’s oversight on this issue is embarrassing.”