KATHMANDU, July 3: Eight students' unions have decided to withdraw a three-day educational strike they had announced earlier, following a nine-point agreement reached with the government on Monday night. 

With the signing of the agreement with the Ministry of Education Science and Technology, all programmes of protests including the three-day educational strike have been withdrawn, said Alok Raymajhi, President of All Nepal National Independent Students Union (ANNISU-Revolutionary).Various students' unions had announced the programmes of educational strike from coming July 4-6, demanding an end to misconducts and fees hike in the education sector. 

They were convinced to cease all programmes of protest after the government expressed its readiness in writing to address their demands. With this, padlocks set on the account sections of institutional schools are to be removed today. As per the agreement, fees increased 'arbitrarily' shall be taken back through the implementation of Institutional School Fee Determination Guideline-2072 BS, initiation will be taken to formulate laws required to make basic education compulsory and free; and guarantee free education up to secondary level and a joint supervision also in participation of representatives from eight students' unions will be intensified to monitor whether or not all schools have received text books and have implemented the guideline. Similarly, effective enforcement of the provision of allotting 10 percent scholarship quota by institutional schools in a transparent manner, investigations into schools running against the existing laws and without meeting criteria and formulation of the draft of national curriculum by incorporating issues of natural and human resources are also incorporated in the agreement. 

Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Surya Prasad Gautam led the government side in the meeting which was attended by Director General of Department of Education, Baburam Poudel, acting chair of Private and Boarding Schools Organisation, Nepal (PABSON), DK Dhungana, Chair of Nepal Private and Boarding School Association, Nepal ( N-PABSAN), Rituraj Sapkota and Chair of Nepal National Guardians' Association, Dharma Dutta Devkota, among others. RSS

 
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