The recent political change in Nepal coincided with the incorporation of the Nepalese teacher unions into the EI EFAIDS Programme. Working in partnership, the Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA) and the Nepal Teachers’ Association (NTA) plan to carry out joint activities and training under the Nepal EI EFAIDS Programme.
A four day introductory planning workshop in Katmandu in late June strengthened the commitment of the teacher unions and enabled both unions to identify the challenges and opportunities for education and teacher unions in the new Nepal. Mr Babu Ram Adhikari of NNTA is confident that the EFAIDS Programme, “will add a dimension of teacher leadership in the communities for quality education”. Mr Birendra Prakash Sheresth, General Secretary of NTA noted that the EFAIDS Programme “is very important and based on the needs of our situation”.
The workshop, bringing together 24 unionists from both unions from across Nepal, had the enthusiastic support of the Presidents and General Secretaries. Scott Pulizzi from the Education Development Center USA, Alexandra Cogels from the EI Brussels office and Sagar Nath, EI Asia Pacific Coordinator facilitated the workshop. Alexandra Cogels welcomed “the spirit of optimism and cooperation so central to the success of the workshop and the launch of the EFAIDS Programme in Nepal”.
Through the EFAIDS Programme NTA and NNTA will work to break the taboo of HIV/AIDS and improve education quality. The General Secretary of NTA, Mr Birendra Prakash Sheresth and the General Secretary of NNTA, Mr Babu Ram Adhikari give further insight into the situation in Nepal and their hopes for the EFAIDS Programme in the interview below.