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Teachers pay 25pc of their salary, festival bonuses to Maoists
KATHMANDU, NOV 05 - Almost all teachers teaching in public schools countrywide pay 25 percent of their salaries and festival expenses to the Maoists to pre-empt possible threats from the Maoists, according to the statement made by teachers’ associations on Tuesday.
"With the exception of teachers in a few district headquarters and urban centres, almost all have been forced to part with a portion of their salary and festival bonuses," a source close to the Nepal National Teachers’ Association (NNTA) revealed here.
Hundreds of teachers in Bajura and Doti districts reportedly fled their schools a couple of days ago and were either living in the district headquarters or in their own hometowns after Maoists demanded from them a part of the salary they drew from the government.
Reports from the districts estimated that over 60 schools in Bajura and several others in Doti have remained closed for the last two weeks. However, officials concerned seemed to be unaware of the situation.
Ministry spokesman Laba Prasad Tripathee told The Kathmandu Post that the Ministry was yet to obtain details from the Regional Education Directorate (RED) and the District Education Office (DEO). "We have only heard about it from the media."
However, he admitted that several schools had been affected by the latest Maoist violence.
"It now rests with the civil society to have the schools opened for their children," Tripathee said.
According to another NNTA source, almost all teachers with the exception of those teaching in a few district headquarters and in urban centres have fallen victim to Maoist extortion spree. However, it failed to provide details on the number of teachers who fled their schools due to Maoist threats.
A Ministry source said an estimated 500 teachers had deserted their schools and many of them were in Kathmandu. However, it said it had directed the officials concerned to undertake the actual assessment of the situation in the districts.Posted on: 2003-11-04 09:01
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