HISTUN to Launch Protest Demanding Job Security for Teachers and Staff

Lalitpur — The Secondary School Teachers’ Union Nepal (HISTUN) has decided to move forward with protest programs. This decision was made during an extended meeting of HISTUN’s Central Executive Committee. The union announced that it will coordinate and collaborate with all types of temporary school teachers and staff to launch pressure-based protest programs aimed at ensuring professional security and job guarantees.

HISTUN President Tika Prasad Neupane stated that if the Education Bill 2080, currently under discussion in the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Health, and Information Technology, is tabled in Parliament without addressing and implementing the previous agreements made by the government with teachers, it could lead to a situation of professional insecurity. In such a case, spontaneous protest programs will be held nationwide, including in all districts and at the central level, demanding the withdrawal of the bill. Furthermore, if the bill includes provisions to downgrade long-serving secondary-level teachers from Second Class to Third Class and subject them to limited competition, the organization will file a legal case in court. The central president has been authorized to carry out all necessary tasks on behalf of the organization.

A press statement issued after the meeting revealed that decisions were made on six key points. Expressing regret over the disrespectful remarks made by some members of the parliamentary committee towards teachers, and the incitement of the public against teachers’ voices, the union reminded the government and all stakeholders that under Nepal’s constitutional provisions, school education (grades 1 to 12) is a fundamental right and should be free. However, the state has failed in this area. The union emphasized the need to create over 50,000 new teaching positions to address the current shortage and to provide opportunities in education and employment for the new generation.

To support this cause, HISTUN plans to urge parents and students across the country not to pay any fees for grades 11 and 12 in public schools starting from this academic year and to launch various pressure programs accordingly.

HISTUN also aims to pressure the government to implement the social security fund provisions for temporary teachers as announced in the 2082/83 budget, as well as the nine-point agreement signed on Baisakh 17, 2082 between the government and the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, which was acknowledged by the current Education Minister.

Recognizing that a long time has already passed, HISTUN demands that the state should create a favorable environment for the continuation of service for 100% of teachers who have been serving in school education for over two decades, based on proper evaluation and simplified procedures. Teachers currently working in sanctioned and grant-supported posts at the upper secondary level, who have been deprived of the benefits granted under Section 11-Cha of the 8th Amendment to the Education Act 2028, and who have never been given any opportunity for professional permanency by the state, must not be subjected to provisions in the new Education Act that go against their interests.

If such provisions are included, the union has decided to call on all its members nationwide to unite and continue resistance against the entire state and the leadership of major political parties.

The union has also resolved to continue lobbying with all concerned stakeholders in favor of teachers’ professional rights and future, and to conduct public interaction programs, press conferences, and other related events. The office has been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out all necessary tasks to support these initiatives.