The School Management Committee of Ramdev Secondary School, located in Simkot Rural Municipality-2, has locked the school over the issue of transferring certain teachers. Out of 17 teachers at Ramdev Secondary School, five are local to the village, and the committee alleges that they are unable to provide quality education. Despite attempts to transfer them, the local teachers reportedly refused to move, leading the committee to close the school from April 2.
According to local resident Ravi Bhandari, the transfer process of these teachers had been initiated on January 13 based on a decision by the School Management Committee and the principal, due to concerns that the five local teachers were not showing sufficient interest in school activities. Even after about three months since the transfer process began, the local teachers reportedly refused to leave the village, and external teachers were also not allowed to come to Ramdev Secondary School. This, the committee claims, has hindered the provision of quality education, prompting the school closure from April 2.
Kishnprasad Acharya, Chief of the Education, Youth, and Sports Branch of Simkot Rural Municipality, stated that he has not received any official information regarding the five-day school closure. He added that locking the school in a way that disrupts teaching and learning is not appropriate. The school has 17 teachers, nine permanent and eight temporary, and 172 students.
Principal Tikaram Paudel explained that he recently came to the Simkot headquarters for official work and does not have detailed information about the school closure.
The chairman of the School Management Committee, Nar Bhandari, said that the negligence of the teachers has obstructed students’ learning and that teacher engagement is essential to ensure quality education, which is why the school had to be closed.