Over dozen agitating students injured in police action

At least 13 students were injured when police intervened into their rally organised to protest the new Education Bill, at Sanothimi Campus in Bhaktapur, Tuesday morning.

Police started baton-charging soon after the students began their demonstration in front of the campus, demanding that the government immediately revoke the ‘discriminatory’ bill. Police had used teargas shells to disperse the demonstrators.

13 students injured in police action have been undergoing treatment at Bhaktapur Hospital. Students said the police roughed them up when they were demonstrating peacefully.

Students of Tribhuvan University-Kirtipur, Mahendra Ratna Campus and Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus also organised rallies against the bill. Traffic at Balkhu, Kalimati and Tahachal was disrupted for hours due to the rallies.

Meanwhile, as a protest against the bill, students in Dhading district blocked the Prithivi Highway for nearly two hours in the morning while students in Dhankuta closed down all public schools and colleges and locked the regional and district education offices. There were reports of protests in few other places also.

Protesting students have been saying that the bill, which has a provision to give permanent status to temporary teachers working in public schools after internal examination, deprives qualified aspirants from appearing in free competition for jobs. nepalnews.com mk Dec 05 06