Top Stories»
Strike hits edu institutions
KATHMANDU, AUG 05 -
Educational institutions across the country remained closed on Thursday due to a strike called by 11 student unions affiliated to various political parties.
The unions enforced a one-day strike to protest the decision of the Tribhuwan University (TU) to phase out the Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL) from the university system.
The student unions affiliated with Madhes-based and other fringe parties announced an agitation against the move after three major student unions signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (MoE) on July 23 to phase out PCL from the TU and make higher secondary education more accessible and affordable.
The strike was called a day after the MoE announced an action plan as an alternative to PCL.
However, the agitating unions have denounced the plan saying it cannot ensure opportunities for higher studies to students from poor and marginalised communities.
The strike affected millions of students from more than 10,000 academic institutions across the country. The agitating students called a one-hour transport strike in front of TU constituent campuses in the Valley on Tuesday and held a torch rally in various places on Wednesday.
“As the government has turned a deaf ear to our demands, we will intensify the protests in the days to come,” said Rabindra Jyakhavo, president of Revolutionary Students’ Union, the student wing of the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party. “We won’t withdraw our agitation until the TU opens admissions in the PCL.”
Police arrested 14 student leaders, including Mahendra Shah, general secretary of All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (Fifth), and Arjun Karki, coordinator of ANNFSU-Unified, when they were trying to padlock a Dillibazar-based school. They were released later.
Posted on: 2010-08-06 08:20
Headlines
Advertisements
