KATHMANDU: Scores of people have gathered in the Capital to form a human chain to protest against violation of right to education of Nepali children, on Friday. The programme that started around 11 am today is being extensively carried out. Traffic police has been unable to manage traffic around the ring road due to the ongoing programme. In protest of the violation of rights caused by the ongoing Tarai/Madhes agitation and the unofficial blockade imposed by India, Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON), National Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (NPABSON) and student unions have organised the human chain programme along the 27-kilometre ring road. Around 7.1 million children are directly or indirectly affected by the current situation in Nepal. The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) and Central Children Welfare Board (CCWB) yesterday released a statement expressing deep concerns over the use of children above class eight in the human chain.

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They strongly expressed that the programme’s intention to raise issues of violation of child rights at the national and international levels can be achieved even without children’s participation, hence, urged the stakeholders not to use children in any manner in their actions. Every child has a right to express their opinion and it needs to be appreciated, however, steps that affect their right to read in a peaceful environment are condemnable, they added in the joint statement.