Education Minister Bhattarai Resigns Amid Ongoing Teachers’ Protest

Kathmandu: Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai has submitted her resignation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli amid mounting pressure from ongoing teachers’ protests across the country.

According to sources close to Baluwatar, Bhattarai met with the Prime Minister earlier on Monday to formally hand over her resignation letter. The decision comes at a time when teachers have been staging continuous street protests, demanding educational reforms including the School Education Act.

A Cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held later today, where her resignation is expected to be officially approved.

Minister Bhattarai, who had been under increasing scrutiny due to the deadlock in negotiations with the Teachers’ Federation, was frequently engaging in dialogue but failed to reach any breakthrough. Her inability to resolve the crisis had put her in a politically vulnerable position.

Bhattarai was appointed as Minister for Education, Science, and Technology on Asar 31, 2080 (mid-July 2023). A two-time elected Member of Parliament from Kaski-2, she had previously served on the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee in the federal parliament.

She entered politics following the tragic death of her husband, former Minister of Culture and Tourism Rabindra Adhikari, in a helicopter crash near Pathibhara in 2019. At the time, Bhattarai resigned from her position as an associate professor and later successfully contested the by-election in Kaski.