The National Examination Board has postponed the Grade 12 national exams by 10 days as school teachers remain adamant about boycotting the examination process until the promulgation of the School Education Act.

The tests, originally slated to commence on Thursday, have been postponed until May 4. A meeting of the board on Tuesday evening took the decision to defer the examinations following a request from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Earlier in the morning, the board had decided to continue with the tests as scheduled, a move that was met with criticism.

In response, Oli held meetings with Mahashram Sharma, the NEB chair, and Education Secretary Deepak Kafle and asked them to postpone tests by a few days.

“The examinations have been postponed by 10 days, to May 4,” Krishna Prasad Sharma, examination controller at the NEB, told the Post. “Deferral was necessary as the teachers were not ready to be involved in the process.” As many as 550,000 students are taking the tests.

Earlier, while deciding to continue the test, the board had said it would urge teachers to cooperate. If they refused, the board planned to conduct the exams with the help of civil servants and local units. However, the decision was revoked in less than 10 hours.

“The government tried to intimidate us by announcing that it would hold the examinations using civil servants. But it could not stick to that decision even for a few hours,” Nanu Maya Parajuli, co-chair of the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, told the Post. “It is good that the government has revoked the decision. I want to warn them not to make such silly decisions in the future.”

United under the federation, the school teachers have been protesting in the federal capital for the past 21 days demanding immediate promulgation of the School Education Act by incorporating their concerns. They want pay and perks on par with civil servants.

The federation, announcing the educational strike, has decided not to evaluate the answer sheets of the Secondary Education Examinations, and shun any involvement in the school enrolment campaign or the Grade 12 tests.

Amid mounting uncertainty in the academic sector, Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned from her position on Monday. Although she cited poor health for the resignation, pressure from the teachers and non-cooperation from the prime minister and finance minister in releasing the budget to address teachers’ demands are believed to be the actual cause.

The agitating teachers say they will return to their jobs immediately after the Act is promulgated. As the winter session of the federal parliament is starting Friday, they expect the pending bill to be endorsed by earlier next week. “Successive governments compelled us to come to Kathmandu. This time we are not returning without the Act,” said Parajuli.

The teachers are unhappy with the remarks of Oli who they claim has been making demeaning statements about their protest.

Earlier, issuing a statement on Tuesday, the federation accused the district-level examination coordination committees led by the Chief District Officers and the NEB of threatening the teachers and the principals to support in the conduction of grade 12 tests. The Nepal School Employees Council also has asked all school staff to close their respective schools and head for Kathmandu with the keys within 24 hours.

“As we have received reports that school staff are being assigned tasks such as student admissions, publication of results, and involvement in the Grade 12 examinations during the ongoing movement, all staff concerned are requested to compulsorily participate in the historic movement currently taking place in Kathmandu by bringing the school keys within 24 hours of receiving this notice,” reads the notice.

The private school operators said they want timely examinations and are ready to support the NEB for it.

Yuvraj Sharma, senior vice chairperson of Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN), a national-level umbrella association of privately funded Secondary Schools' and higher institutions, has welcomed the NEB’s decision. “We welcome the decision of the board, and HISSAN is ready to cooperate in holding the examinations,” he wrote on Facebook.