KATHMANDU, Sept 13: Private higher secondary (HS) schools across the nation were shut down for four days from Sunday due to a strike called by the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R). The private schools were forced to close even though all 13 demands put forth by the Maoist student union are related to community-run higher secondary schools. [break]
This is the second time in a month that the Maoist students targeted private higher secondary schools on irrelevant grounds. The strike has affected 271,780 students. Earlier, the Maoist union had called a three-day education strike, that also included higher secondary schools, over PCL phase-out dispute.
General Secretary of the union Himal Sharma said the closure of the private higher secondary schools for the cause of the community-run schools is a deliberate step. "It is due to the private sector that the quality of public sector has deteriorated," he said, alleging that government officials, Higher Secondary Board (HSEB) officials and political leaders do have investment in private schools and do not bother to look after the community-run schools.
A total of 515 higher secondary schools that cater to 48 percent students remain closed from Sunday. "It is a hard blow to us. The private sector has always been targeted at first no matter what the issue is," said Yubaraj Sharma, general secretary of Higher Secondary Schools´ Association of Nepal (HISSAN). "It directly affects thousands of students and parents and a four-day closure poses a huge hurdle to our academic calendar."
The demands of the Maoist student union include provision of subsidized quota for five teachers for each community-run school, nullification of the deposit provision for admission, adequate facilities to the schools of remote areas and funding for non-academic staffs.
ANNISU-R said the last two days of the strike will also hit the community-run schools. "This is an issue of broader public interest, so we need support from public institutes too," said Ratna Dhakal, central member and office secretary of ANNISU-R. There are a total of 2,491 higher secondary schools where 566,000 students have been enrolled.
HISSAN has protested the strike through its First National Convention that started on Sunday in Chitwan. The two-day convention is expected to take some decisions in this connection, said general secretary Yubaraj Sharma. "It is an naked attack on us," he said. "Though we publicly appealed to them to withdraw the strike for the sake of the students´ future, they did not heed to our appeal."
Sharma demanded that HSEB take immediate measures to resolve the problem. The HSEB has, however, taken no initiative to resolve the issue yet.
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