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The recent month-long teachers’ movement, which was driven by the demand for the immediate enactment of the Education Act, has underscored the need for urgent reforms in Nepal’s community education system. While the movement primarily focused on securing professional rights and employment stability, it largely sidelined issues related to the quality of education—raising concerns about whether such protests truly contribute to meaningful educational reform.

Although the movement did not directly address systemic improvements, some of its outcomes are expected to indirectly benefit school education. However, once the protest gained momentum, discussions around key policy issues that should have been addressed in the Education Act were overshadowed by demands for teachers’ rights and benefits. Experts argue that workplace stability and social security are key to unlocking educators' full potential.

Despite this understanding, various categories of teachers have been created over time—often due to political favoritism and donor-driven programs—leading to further complications. A lack of timely problem-solving by authorities has emboldened protestors, allowing them to dominate education discourse more than the official mechanisms.

Two major factors are seen as the primary reasons behind the delay in passing the Education Act. First, existing education policy mandates that institutional schools be converted into trusts after a certain period, a point of contention. Second, the government has yet to clearly decide whether to enforce the constitutional provision of free school education or to redefine the objective of school education altogether.

This delay is further complicated by a conflict of interest. Many political leaders own institutional schools and hold influential positions in the education sector. This dual role hinders the creation of unbiased legislation. Moreover, although the constitution and laws guarantee compulsory and free education up to grade eight, in practice, community schools continue to charge parents monthly fees under various pretexts, including for “support” and administrative costs. Even the Examination Board collects fees under the guise of registration and exam charges.

Given these realities, there is growing acknowledgment within the current leadership that making school education entirely free may not be feasible without compromising quality. As the debate continued following the submission of a parliamentary subcommittee’s report, attention remained fixed on teacher adjustments—such as increasing the number of positions and making temporary or contract-based teachers permanent—rather than addressing deeper issues within the education system.

Meanwhile, data from the Economic Survey sheds light on structural challenges within community schools. Of the 27,990 community schools operating nationwide, 15,965 have fewer than 100 students. Organizing proper teaching and staffing for such small student populations is highly complex. Another 9,704 schools have between 100 and 500 students, while only around 1,600 schools enroll more than 1,000 students—suggesting that only a small fraction meet the criteria for being considered standard schools.

This data indicates that the current focus of debate is detached from the pressing needs of the education sector. In light of this, restructuring and consolidating schools should be part of the broader reform agenda. While merging schools may be necessary, it alone cannot solve the problem. Instead, implementing multi-grade teaching systems with appropriate teacher training in sparsely populated areas could address the challenges more effectively.

As the government prepares to introduce the new School Education Act, it is crucial to base reforms on ground realities. A task force composed of independent experts should be formed to study the actual conditions of community schools. Without considering factors such as Nepal’s diverse geography, migration patterns, and shifting parental attitudes, any hastily prepared legislation risks exacerbating existing problems. While the government has proposed issuing the act by July 29, education stakeholders argue that taking four to six additional months to develop a more comprehensive and responsive law would be more beneficial in the long run.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 600 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 189, 300 per tola today.

Meanwhile, the price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 2, 005 per tola today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 2. 53 points to close at 2,677. 30 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1. 25 points to close at 457. 34 points.

A total of 14,299,394-unit shares of 318 companies were traded for Rs 6. 53 billion.

Meanwhile, Corporate Development Bank Limited (CORBL), Om Megashree Pharmaceuticals Limited (OMPL), 
Green Development Bank Ltd. (GRDBL) and Bhugol Energy Development Company Limited (BEDC)​​​​​​​ were the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) was the top loser as its price fell by 8. 01 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 45 trillion.

The recent report by the public auditor reveals that local governments in Pyuthan have shown excessive interest in fuel expenditures. According to Point 7 of the Public Expenditure Standards, Procedures, and Guidelines on Economy, 2018, when providing fuel to officials and employees who receive vehicle facilities, offices must determine a monthly fuel quota (in liters of diesel/petrol) and a quarterly quota for mobile and brake oil based on the recipient’s position, and must maintain updated records accordingly.

Swargadwari Municipality spent Rs 2,898,015 under the fuel expenditure heading and also used contingency funds to cover fuel costs. Sarumarani Rural Municipality spent Rs 189,947 on fuel and similarly tapped into contingency funds. Mandavi Rural Municipality recorded Rs 269,871 under fuel expenses, again drawing from contingency funds. Airawati Rural Municipality spent Rs 1,668,620 on fuel, with part of the expenditure also covered through contingency funds.

According to Section 4(2) of the Act to Amend and Consolidate the Laws Relating to Facilities Available to Local Level Officials and Members—enacted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of Lumbini Province in 2019—if a local government does not provide a vehicle, officials are entitled to transportation allowances as per a prescribed schedule. However, even though a vehicle is provided for official use by the rural municipality chairperson, it was found that Sarumarani Rural Municipality Chairperson Jhaga Bahadur Bishwakarma received transportation allowances totaling Rs 144,000 (Rs 12,000 per month) in violation of this provision. The audit report highlights this as irregular.

Similarly, the mayor of Pyuthan Municipality, Bishnu Bahadur Yogi, received transportation allowances in addition to vehicle and fuel facilities. The final audit report notes that he received Rs 12,000 per month from May 2022 to June 2023, totaling 14 months. Since these dual benefits fall under the same expenditure heading, the report recommends that the excess payment be recovered.

The Policy Guidelines for Maintaining Economy and Effectiveness in Public Expenditure, 2018 require all provincial and local offices, as well as their officials and employees, to exercise economic and effective spending. The Act on Facilities of Local Level Officials and Members, 2019 also provides guidelines on transportation facilities for officials.

In addition to receiving vehicles and fuel, some municipalities have also rented vehicles. Airawati Rural Municipality, which spent Rs 1,668,620 on fuel and transportation facilities, rented a vehicle at a monthly cost of Rs 90,000 in fiscal year 2022/23—an annual outlay of Rs 1,080,000. This expenditure, according to the final audit report from the Office of the Auditor General, violates existing regulations.

Responding to the report, Airawati Rural Municipality Chairperson Nabil Bikram Shah said the vehicle was rented instead of purchased to reduce costs, as the existing vehicle was old and in poor condition. “That vehicle is old and broken,” he said. “The chairperson, vice-chairperson, and chief administrative officer all travel frequently. We opted to rent a multipurpose vehicle as it was more cost-effective.” He added that a team, including a medical officer, visits 10 health institutions within the municipality each month to provide services such as video X-rays.