The Grade 12 examinations, scheduled to begin on Thursday (April 24), have been postponed. The exams will now begin on May 4.
National Examinations Board (NEB) Chairman Mahashram Sharma said that it was decided to hold the Grade 12 exams from May 4 following Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's instruction to postpone the exams on Tuesday evening.
NEB Chairman Sharma and Education Secretary Deepak Kafle had visited Baluwatar on Tuesday to meet PM Oli. During the meeting, the prime minister instructed them to postpone the exams for a few days.
Teachers from community schools across the country have been holding Kathmandu-centered protests, led by the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, since April 2 demanding that the government immediately issue the School Education Act incorporating previous agreements reached with them.
With just two days left before the Grade 12 exams were scheduled to begin, the government has failed to address the protesting teachers' demands.
Minister for Education, Science, and Technology Bidya Bhattarai submitted her resignation to PM Oli on Monday. Minister Bhattarai, who was preparing to present various proposals in the Cabinet for addressing the teachers' demands, resigned after failing to secure support from Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and PM Oli.
Amid the teachers' street protests and educational strikes, concerns have arisen over how the government would conduct the examinations.
Earlier on Tuesday, the NEB also held a meeting to discuss the Grade 12 exams. It was in favor of conducting the exams—even by mobilizing civil servants—if teachers refused to return to schools.
However, PM Oli instructed NEB Chairman Sharma and Education Secretary Kafle to postpone the exams during their meeting on Tuesday evening.
