Teacher, school staff pay hike to require Rs 4.69 billion

The Nepalese government has approved a decision to raise the salaries of teachers working under federal grants, early childhood development (ECD) facilitators, and school employees, necessitating an additional budget of approximately 4.69 billion Nepalese rupees for the current fiscal year. The Cabinet's decision on Wednesday entails a 10 percent increase in the existing remuneration grant for teachers employed under the federal teaching support grant. Consequently, the monthly salary for secondary-level teachers has risen from 43,669 to 48,058 rupees, and for basic-level teachers, from 34,730 to 38,203 rupees. The federal government has also boosted the monthly remuneration grant for ECD facilitators, school employees, and school support staff by 5,000 rupees each. Shree Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education and Sports, confirmed that the additional funds are required to implement these revised rates and that the ministry has requested approval from the Finance Ministry to arrange the necessary budget. The pay increase is contingent upon the Finance Ministry's final approval. Under the new structure, ECD facilitators will now earn 17,000 rupees monthly, up from 12,000; school support staff will receive 15,000 rupees, an increase from 10,000; and school employees handling accounting duties will get 20,000 rupees, up from 15,000. Hansa Bahadur Shahi, president of the Nepal National Teachers’ Organisation, described the 10 percent increase as natural and positive, aligning with raises given to other government employees. However, he advocated for a higher minimum monthly remuneration of 23,000 rupees for ECD facilitators, school employees, and school support staff. Ganga Ram Tiwari, president of the School Employees Council, expressed gratitude for the pay increase but urged the government to provide permanent positions for school employees.

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A 10 percent increase in line with the raise provided to other government employees was natural and positive.