Kathmandu, December 19:

Three students were arrested while seven were injured when they clashed with the police in front of the Education ministry today.

Students of the Nepal Independent Dalit Students Organisation (NIDSO), who were staging a sit-in in front of the main gate of Education Ministry at Keshar Mahal to protest the discrimination by the government while providing MBBS scholarships to Dalit students, clashed with the police.

The students also locked the ministry’s main gate from 10 am to 12 noon hampering all the works in the ministry.

“Dalit students have been awarded scholarships only for Bachelors of Dental Studies (BDS) and no one has been selected for MBBS quota,” said Lokesh Biswokarma, the president of NIDSO.

He said the government had been providing 10 per cent quota in MBBS for the Dalit students for three years but this year no Dalit student was awarded the scholarship.

“Instead, Dalit students who had applied for MBBS scholarship have been awarded with scholarships to study BDS,” he said.

Biswokarma said the secretary of the ministry had called the NIDSO for talks but the Dalit students wanted to talk only with the minister.

“We will continue our protest unless the government corrects the mistake,” he added.

Those arrested were Birendra Biswokarma, Pampha Biswokarma and Laxman Nepali. All three were released later in the evening.