National PABSON Vice President Parajuli Warns: Two Weekly Holidays Could Disrupt Academic Calendar

March 6, Kathmandu – Following the government’s decision to introduce two weekly public holidays to reduce petroleum consumption and conserve foreign currency reserves, concerns have been raised over potential disruptions to the academic calendar.

Vishnu Parajuli, Vice President of the National Private and Residential Schools Association Nepal (National PABSON), pointed out that granting holidays on both Saturday and Sunday would total 104 holidays annually. Factoring in additional religious and cultural holidays, the number of non-working days would exceed working days, creating a risk that curricula mandated by the government might not be completed on time.

“Nepal’s curriculum is international in scope and comprehensive. Reducing working days and delaying the start of the academic session will hinder the achievement of our educational goals. The current youth government should reconsider this decision and limit weekly holidays to one day once the petroleum supply stabilizes,” Parajuli told News Agency Nepal.

He also expressed concern over the decision to postpone the academic session start date by 15 days, predicting it would exert further pressure. “With fewer instructional days and the session shifted from Baishakh 1 to Baishakh 15, there will be an additional 15 days without academic activities, which will increase costs,” he argued. Parajuli emphasized the need for long-term solutions over simply increasing holidays as a remedy for the crisis.

Furthermore, Parajuli criticized the government’s decision to set public service hours from 9 AM to 5 PM as impractical. He explained that for both employees and service users, arriving at the office at 9 AM is challenging because of domestic chores and childcare responsibilities during the morning hours.

“Another serious aspect of this decision is its social and economic impact,” he stated. “For daily wage laborers and working parents, two days off per week have become a burden. Children are increasingly becoming addicted to mobile phones; unsupervised, they may engage in misconduct and face higher security risks. Additionally, when one parent stays home to care for children, it directly affects daily family income.”