Twenty-six persons, including teachers, police officers and a journalist, were injured during a teacher’s protest in Kathmandu on Sunday. A clash erupted after the agitating teachers broke the security barricade and tried to enter the restricted area at New Baneshwor, near the federal parliament building. The school teachers gathered in thousands from across Nepal and staged protests in the Kathmandu Maiti Ghar. The protestors breached security demarcation, which resulted in clashes injuring five police officers, one journalist and 20 teachers. The injured ones are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley. The police had to use water cannons to disperse the agitated teachers. The school teachers have continued protesting for over three weeks as there has been no serious commitment from the government side to address their demand for enacting a new school education act. Presently, the school education is conducted under the law created during the Monarch era of the partyless panchayat system. Sonali Upadhyay government teacher from Ramechhap, says the bill is 53 years old and needs to be amended.

Devika Karki, a school teacher, says being under local government gives them a hard time as transfer and posting are all governed by favouritism and is influenced by local political parties. The teachers’ unions and associations have argued that the government shirked the implementation of agreements they had signed three times previously.

In the parliament meeting, the lawmakers have voiced for the immediate address of the genuine demands of the teachers while E,ducation Minister Bidya Bhattarai had submitted her resignation following the refusal by PM Oli and Finance Minister Paudel to address teachers’ demands on perks and benefits amid teachers’ protest in Kathmandu on April 22.