Of politics and teachers

The history of overt and covert allegiances of teachers to political groups spans many decades.

Recently, a debate about the participation of teachers in active politics has emerged in earnest in Nepal. This subject has been triggered by the intervention of prominent leaders of different political parties. They were alarmed by the Election Commission's warning on November 23 and the High Court ruling that teachers cannot take an active role in politics, not least in the propaganda work of the parties to which they owe their allegiance. This is not as simple as it may sound, and this is not a new debate, either. This has come as a hot topic now because the parties that have entered a new phase of political rivalry after a series of splits, legal battles, national conferences and reorganisations realise that they are in dire need of educated people to create the party mechanism. For that, the role of teachers with their clout among students and their guardians is deemed to be necessary. Though the teachers have not come out in hordes to join the political parties, the number of involved parties is significant. The history of overt and covert allegiances of teachers to political groups spans many decades.