Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has directed the National Examinations Board (NEB) to postpone the upcoming grade 12 examinations.

According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Oli instructed the Board Chair Mahashram Sharma and Education Secretary Dipak Kafle to that end during a meeting at Baluwatar on Tuesday.

Secretary Kafle confirmed the meeting and said the board would convene soon to decide on the matter. The exams, scheduled to begin on April 24, are now likely to be postponed.

The exams have been thrown into uncertainty amid continued protests by teachers in Kathmandu for the past three weeks. Thousands of teachers have been staging rallies in Kathmandu since April 2, calling for the new education law to address their longstanding demands, including job security and recognition of past agreements with previous governments.

The Nepal Teachers’ Federation, which has been leading the protest, has urged teachers and staff not to participate in exam-related duties.