KATHMANDU: Education Minister Raghuji Panta has requested additional time to finalize the School Education Bill, citing unresolved issues within the ruling coalition and ongoing negotiations with the Nepal Teachers’ Federation.

Speaking at the House Education, Health, and Technology Committee meeting on Sunday, Minister Panta said, “There are one or two issues that have not been agreed upon yet. We need to hold discussions within the coalition. We apologize. We intended to pass the bill today, but we couldn’t. We need some more time.”

The committee had previously postponed the meeting on Ashar 16 (June 30) at the minister’s request for similar reasons. Meanwhile, committee members have urged for the bill’s swift passage, emphasizing its importance for the education sector.

Amid this backdrop, a heated confrontation broke out during the same meeting between Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire and CPN (Maoist Centre) lawmaker Rekha Sharma, highlighting deep procedural and political disagreements.

The clash began when Committee Chairperson Ammar Bahadur Thapa gave Ghimire time to speak in his capacity as chief whip.

Sharma objected strongly, arguing that chief whips do not have special authority in committee meetings and should not be given precedence over regular members. Chairperson Thapa later apologized for referring to Ghimire as chief whip instead of as a member.

Sharma also criticized the management of the meeting, accusing the chairperson of calling the session to pass the School Education Bill but then proposing to postpone it, and questioned, “Who controls this committee?”
Ghimire responded by expressing displeasure at Sharma’s tone and attempted to leave the meeting in protest, but Thapa urged him to stay.