The guardians of the students and DoE agreed on Monday to send 71 students to Namuna Janata Higher Secondary School in Tansen of Palpa district. [break]
DoE Director Tek Narayan Pandey told Republica that the students would be sent to Tansen on Tuesday.
The students and guardians expressed satisfaction over the DoE decision and are preparing to leave for Palpa.
“We are happy that our children won´t have to suffer thrashings and abuses at school now,” said Lila Nath Pudasaini of Gorkha, whose son is among the victims.
The harassed students said that the teachers and local students saw them as "outsiders" and were rude to them from the very beginning.
The students were sent to Balmandir as part of the government initiative to provide free education to students from 22 districts of Mid Western Development Region.
Upset with the government´s scholarship scheme, the locals, including some teachers, used to torture the students to compel them to leave the school, the committee led by DoE Director Pandey had concluded a few days ago.
Ministry of Education had initially asked the students to return to the same school, but the students were unwilling to go back.
Around 60 students and their guardians had been staging protest at the Ministry of Education (MoE) and DoE in Kathmandu since April 3. Similarly, the group had been staging 24 hours sit-in protest at the DoE premises since April 22.
“They have tolerated a lot and their decision to leave school was obvious,” said Krishna Prasad Tiwari, the only teacher of Balmandir who has spoken up for the students.
Meanwhile, the Regional Education Directorate, Pokhara has suspended Dayaram Subedi, the headmaster of Balmandir, and the hostel warden until the investigation is over.
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