Strike continues as agitators stick with their demands

The week-long strike in schools across the country continued on Thursday after agitating teachers led by Nepal Educational Republican Forum decided to stick with its position of not holding dialogue with the government-appointed team.

As schools remain closed since one full week, a young school girl engrosses in studies under a tree shade. The indefinite school strike called by Educational Republican Forum sees no end as the Forum has refused to sit for talks with the govt team Thurs May 24 07. nepalnews.com/rh

The Forum has, instead, demanded a separate Minister-led team authorised to fulfill their demands – which include improving salaries and benefits of private schools teachers at par with those enjoyed by teachers in government schools, among others.

At a programme held in Kalanki on Thursday, president of Forum Guna Raj Lohani vowed to continue with their agitation including programmes like strike, rallies and lock-ups.

Meanwhile, speaking at a separate programme in the capital, Minister for Education and Sports Pradeep Nepal urged the agitators to end strike and enter into dialogue with the government team.

Earlier, Nepal's comment accusing the agitators of raising political demands and engaging in spreading terror had irked the Forum. Subsequently, they refused to pay heed to the formal letter sent by Education Ministry inviting them for dialogue.

Over 7.8 million students of over 35,000 schools have been affected by the strike. Despite pleas by the UNICEF and other NGOs, the agitators have refused to withdraw the strike saying they were struggling to ensure that rights of teachers are respected nepalnews.com sd May 24 07