Neo-liberal educational reform and the role of teachers’ unions in the context of private schools in Nepal: Possibility or paralysis?

Abstract

Nepal experienced political change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1990 and finally to a republic in 2008. These changes in the political climate were followed by subsequent change in the educational policy as the incoming regimes tried to incorporate its ideology in the educational policy. This paper analyses the role of teachers’ unions in the educational reform in Nepal since the 1990s with special focus on private schooling context. This paper draws information collected through qualitative interviews with teachers, administrators and principals of two private schools in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. It also uses documentary sources including newspaper articles and other documents related to private schooling in general and teachers’ unions in particular. This study found that teachers’ unions in the context of private schools in Nepal are still struggling for survival due to lack of support from the stakeholders of private schools.

Job satisfaction, professional growth, and mathematics teachers’ impressions about school environment

“…This study revealed that the school education system, teaching profession, and procedure to form SMC must be free from politics, supporting Shrestha's findings (2005) and Brinkmann's (2018) findings. The findings are also consistent with Poudel's (2015) report, which found that teachers' unions in Nepal were not working for teachers' welfare. Similarly, this study revealed that the SMC did not treat teachers fairly and equally.…”

“…In fact, the relationship between the SMC and teachers, in general, was very poor and tense, and SMCs were being politicized by political parties (Shrestha, 2005). Similarly, Poudel (2015) reported that various teachers' unions are associated with political parties and carry their political parties' ideologies rather than working for the benefits and welfare of Nepalese teachers. Therefore, this study sought to examine the factors affecting high school mathematics teachers' job satisfaction, important factors affecting teachers' professional growth, and teachers' impressions of the school environment.…”

“…Thus, teachers' unions in the context of Nepal, however, still seem to be busy promoting their political party's ideology rather than working for the benefits and welfare of Nepalese teachers. Neither did such organizations work for educational reform (Poudel, 2015). Political intervention in teachers' unions is one of the major causes of the deterioration in the quality of public schools in Nepal (Shrestha, 2014).…”

Nepali private schools and tolerated illegality: A Foucauldian analysis of privatisation of education in Nepal

“…The Nepali Congress is a liberal political party that dominated the political scene of Nepal soon after Nepal became a democratic country in the early 1990s. It is a good example of neoliberalism and privatisation of education in Nepal (Sharma Poudyal, 2013a, 2015). However, with the Maoists becoming a dominant political force, private schools of Nepal came under constant attack (Act governing private schools sought, 2010; Don’t commercialise education, 2010; Thapa, 2011).…”