Members of the Nepal Teachers’ Association (NTA) staged a demonstration on Friday protesting against the provisions included in the School Education Bill, which was registered in the Parliament earlier this week.

The teachers also made public an 18-point demand amid a press meet in Kathmandu on Friday.

Failure to meet the demands will result in the teachers walking out in protest from 20 September onwards, said Kamala Tuladhar, president of the organisation.

The government on Wednesday registered the School Education Bill in the House of Representatives. According to the bill, the local-level government will be vested with the authority to recruit, transfer, and demote or promote a teacher. However, educators argue that such authority should only be given to the education ministry.

The bill proposes that the authority of transferring and evaluating teachers be given to respective municipalities. If the bill is passed by the house, teacher’s job security and development will be in danger, the association argues.

“For the past five years, teachers have been made to act as per the demands of the local level even without the bill,” Tuladhar said. “If the bill is passed, there will be no job security for the teachers.”

Giving the responsibility of recruiting the school principal to the local body will lead to favouritism. Instead, candidates for the post of principal should be selected by the Teacher Service Commission, the NTA said.

The NTA members say that their demands have fallen on deaf ears, even after meeting with the prime minister, other ministers, and political leaders.

“We are not against the local government. We are only demanding that the authority be given to the provincial level,” Tuladhar added.

The NTA has also demanded that the teachers be given trade union rights. NTA chairman Somnath Giri says they agitated as the proposed bill curtailed such rights.

“The government registered the bill against any prior agreement. We will return to the classroom only after our demands are met,” Giri said.

The teachers have stated that the classes would only resume after the bill, which puts the future of the students in danger, is withdrawn. Other teacher organisations have also extended their support for the protest.