The ruling CPN has called secretariat meeting Sunday afternoon to finalize heads of its departments and sister organizations.
The leaders have already agreed on heads of 32 out of the 33 party departments but they have yet to decide whether the school department should be headed by leaders from erstwhile CPN-UML or CPN (Maoist Center).
Secretariat meeting has already been postponed twice after Chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal failed to agree on leadership of the department.
Oli is adamant that secretariat member Ishwore Pokharel should lead the school department while Dahal insists that another secretariat member Narayan Kaji Shrestha should get the department.
Former Maoist leaders vehemently oppose appointment of Pokharel saying a person who has been lobbying to make people's multiparty democracy the united party's guiding principle should not be made chief of the school department but former UML leaders are not unanimous on Pokharel.
Senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal, who is also a member of the nine-strong secretariat, has already stated that he will accept the responsibility if the party decides to hand over the department to him despite already agreeing to head the policy and academy department.
"Discussions will be held keeping the school department at center in today's meeting," a secretariat member told Setopati. "It will be easier to discuss on other issues only if we can resolve the issue of school department."
There were separate meetings between the two chairmen, the former UML leaders and the former Maoist leaders in the past week to discuss about the school department. Secretariat meeting has been called for today after those meetings were not much fruitful.
The leaders will first try to forge consensus on either Pokharel or Shrestha in today's meeting. The party may look for another leader from the secretariat to head the department or keep it with the chairmen if they fail to do so.
A secretariat source claimed with Setopati that there is very little chance of the department leadership going to leaders outside the secretariat.
Oli was head of the department in erstwhile UML and Shrestha in the Maoist Center.
