The Rastriya Swatantra Party on Thursday urged the agitating teachers not to impede the right to education of schoolchildren.

In a statement, Mukul Dhakal, general secretary of the party, who is also the party’s spokesperson, said the party supports the demands for professional development of the teachers while suggesting they seek an alternative to school closure.

“The party is ready to stand together in the demands of teachers for their professional development and sincerely requests all organisations not to hinder students’ right to education while there are other alternative ways to get the demands addressed,” said Dhakal.

Dhakal said the party has clearly stated its opinion on the School Education Bill and pledged to register an amendment to the bill during deliberations in the Parliament.

“We are clear that the quality of all public schools in Nepal should be improved and the quality of life of the teachers and the future of the students should be ensured,” he said.

“The country will get into a dire situation if the quality of education is not improved. The party believes the education in Nepal should be ethical, practical, employment-oriented and competitive at the international level.”

Hundreds of teachers associated with the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, an elected body of teachers across the country, continued their protest against the school education bill on Thursday.

The protest has affected the studies of seven million students in 34,000 schools, of which 6,000 are private. Over 20 percent of the students are enrolled in private schools.

The bill has met with criticism from several quarters since it was registered in the House of Representatives on September 13. The federation, which demonstrated against the bill on Friday, announced a series of protests starting Wednesday by closing schools.