SINDHULI, Sep.1: Rima Khatri, a toddlers' teacher at the Child Development Center of Kalika Primary School, Fikkal Rural Municipality in the district has been forced to quit her job for getting married to a man of another local unit, Golanjor Rural Municipality.
On May 16, 2017, Khatri married a man of Dudbhanjyang of Golanjor Rural Municipality. However, the school management committee of the school and the ward office relived her from the job after a few days.
"I resumed my duties at the school just after two days of my marriage," said Khatri, a resident of Kholagaon of Fikkal Rural Municipality. "But they handed me a letter sacking me in October/November, 2017," she added.
Then Khatri contacted the District Education Office for help. After suggestion from the government officials including district education officer, she continued to teach at the school. Her performance was monitored by the school after her marriage.
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"Is it wrong to marry? It has not harmed my profession in any manner," she said. After direction from the district education officer, she was allowed to mark her attendance signature on a separate register.
According to Khatri, the ward chairperson and chairman of the school management committee sacked her so that they could appoint their own candidate in her place. To Khatri's dismay, the school has now announced a vacancy for the post, claiming that the post is lying vacant.
The letter handed to her says that she was relieved from the job as she had gone to another village after getting married, which affected the teaching learning process. It is necessary to appoint a local woman to teach the students at the school, according to the letter.
Khatri moved the court for justice recently. The bench of Judge Kiran Prasad Siwakoti of the district court has issued an interim order, asking the the school management committee chair, ward chair and rural municipality not to remove her from the job. The court has asked them to allow her to continue her job and not call any vacancy.
The local bodies, in the pretext of federalism and their rights to work in the local body, has gone irrational, said Krishna Dhungel, secretary at Nepal Teachers Union, Sindhuli. "It is unjust to relieve anyone from their job for marrying. Khatri is from an economically disadvantaged family," he added.
Man Bahadur Katuwal, chairman of the school management committee, was unavailable for a comment when he was contacted.
Meanwhile, Golanjor Rural Municipality relieved resource persons Yangya Rai and Sharad Aryal from their responsibilities and asked them to go back to their assigned office. Earlier they used to be assigned at the District Education Office to monitor schools.
