Minister for Education Ramchandra Kushwaha urged the Maoist-affiliated teachers not to imperil the future of the students. "What good will you do playing with the life of students?" he asked. "The government is ready to fulfill the just demands of the teachers."
Speaking at an interaction organized here, president of Higher Secondary School Association (HISAN) Umesh Shrestha insisted on withdrawal of the school closure, saying that frequent strikes have led to frustration among students and parents and resulted in increasing numbers of students going abroad.
Meanwhile, president of Education Republican Forum (ERF) RB Bhandari warned of more strident action if the government did not pay due attention to the concerns of the teachers. ERF has called for the three-day school closure. ERF demands, among other things, the implementation of agreements reached between the government and different teachers´ organizations in the past.
President of Private and Boarding Schools Organization of Nepal (PABSON) Bhoj Bahadur Shah has demanded that the education sector be declared a zone of peace.
Education Journalists Group (EJG) also gathered together some stakeholders in the education sector Tuesday in the context of the ERF campaign. They said that shutting down schools is against the universally accepted values of human rights.
The school closure covering all public and private schools will cause a colossal loss of more than Rs 110 million over the three days, says PABSON president Shah. ERF is an umbrella organization of 10 different Maoist-affiliated wings including All Nepal Teachers Organization, Nepal School Staff Council, Temporary Teachers Movement Central Committee and Nepal Institutional School Teachers Union.
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