Private School Fee and Salary Management Unclear:
With the school failing to reopen due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the management of alternative tuition fees and teacher salaries in private schools has become a complex issue. In the virtual debate on 'Alternative System Learning and Regulation of Private Schools' organized by the Education Journalists' Society on Saturday, the participants said that some issues are still unclear even though the Student Facilitation Guideline 2077 issued by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology on 19th Bhadra.
It was requested that with the issuance of the guideline, the learning of all the students should be ensured and the learning should be made more systematic by making proper use of local materials and resources.
To provide proper facilitation for private school (institutional) school operators and to protect the professional rights of teachers working there; Stating that the government should take the necessary initiative, the participants also suggested to spend the money allocated for lunch, scholarship, sanitary pads, etc. on the availability of information and communication technology. It has also been stated that the procedure for the fee criteria of the alternative system should be prepared and sent to the local level and by making such criteria, it should be analyzed on the basis of cost assessment and implemented scientifically.
Geeta Rana, former president of the National Private and Residential Schools Association (NPABSON), said that the main source of income for private schools is fees. Bhoj Bahadur Shah, former chairman of the Private and Residential Schools Organization (PABSON), recalled that private schools also conducted classes on television and said that the government should further facilitate alternative education to the rural level.
Chairman of the Association of Nepal Municipalities, Ashok Vyanju, informed that work is being done in coordination between the three levels of government to increase the access of students and the problems of investors in the education sector. Director of the Center for Education and Human Resource Development, Gehnath Gautam, said that homework was being done to ensure the continuity of the alternative curriculum by adjusting the curriculum.
President of the Federation of Nepali Parents, Suprabhat Bhandari, suggested that the new directive be helpful for the continuation of the academic session, but it would not be justified if most of the students could not participate in the alternative system. Hom Kumar Thapa, president of the Institutional School Teachers' Union (ISTU), said that 57 percent of teachers of about 600 private schools have not been paid since last December and only two percent of teachers have received a full salary.
Secretary of PABSON Madhu Lohani claimed that in a difficult situation, private schools need facilitation rather than regulation. Currently, around 7.6 million students are studying at the school level across the country.
