Kathmandu: Nepal’s National Examination Board (NEB) has announced the postponement of the Class 12 national examinations, originally scheduled to begin Thursday, pushing the start date to May 4 amid an escalating teachers’ protest.
The decision follows continued boycotts by government school teachers, who have refused to participate in the exam process until the School Education Bill is passed.
The NEB’s announcement came after a high-level meeting held Tuesday evening, following a request from Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, according to local media.
During the meeting with NEB Chair Mahashram Sharma and Education Secretary Deepak Kafle, Oli urged the board to delay the exams by a few days.
“The examinations have been postponed by 10 days to May 4. Deferral was necessary as the teachers were not ready to be involved in the process,” said Krishna Prasad Sharma, NEB Examination Controller.
Approximately 550,000 students across Nepal were slated to sit for the examination.
Initially, the NEB had considered deploying civil servants and local authorities to conduct the exams in the absence of teachers.
However, the decision was rescinded within 10 hours, drawing criticism from the Nepal Teachers’ Federation.
“The government tried to intimidate us with the decision to use civil servants, but couldn’t hold onto it even for a few hours. We welcome its reversal and caution against such impulsive decisions in the future,” said Nanu Maya Parajuli, Federation Co-Chair.
The Federation also accused district-level examination coordination committees and the NEB of coercing teachers and principals into supporting the examination process.
Meanwhile, the Nepal School Employees Council has issued a directive for all school staff to lock their schools and head to Kathmandu within 24 hours in solidarity.
“All staff are instructed to join the ongoing protest by bringing their school keys to Kathmandu within 24 hours of receiving this notice,” read the Council’s statement.
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Adding to the turmoil, Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned recently amid disagreements with Prime Minister Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel over the teachers’ demands for improved benefits and working conditions.
Protests and sit-ins, centered in the Maitighar-Naya Baneshwor area since April 2, have paralyzed the academic calendar, delaying the national enrollment drive and key processes like grading of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) papers.
Teachers have also defied government directives to begin student enrollment for the new academic year, which started on April 15.
