Kathmandu, August 29 :

Demanding government recognition for proposed schools and appointment of sufficient subject teachers in the schools, district committees of the All Nepal National Independent Students Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) today gheraoed the District Education Offices (DEOs) of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur and submitted separate memorandums to the district education officers.

The schools can avail government facilities only after government recognition.

Hundreds of schoolchildren and teachers had reached the Kathmandu DEO at around 12 noon to submit the three-point memorandum signed by Raju Ale Magar, president of the Kathmandu district committee of the ANNISU-R, the student wing of the CPN (Maoist).

Magar said district education officer of Kathmandu Durga Nath Gautam took the demands positively. “He has assured us that he will put pressure on the Department of Education and the Ministry of Education and Sports to get the demands addressed.”

Meanwhile, Birendra Basnet, president of the Bhaktapur district committee, handed over a four-point demand on behalf of the students to district education officer of Bhaktapur Rajya Laxmi Nakarmi at around 2 pm today. Hundreds of students had reached the premises of the Bhaktapur DEO at around 1:30 pm and gheraoed the office. The ANNISU-R has demanded permanent status for all the teachers working on a temporary basis in the district and also demanded an end to the practice of charging fees under different topics.

According to Basnet, Nakarmi has assured the students the DEO would meet some demands. “We would take the other demands, which cannot be addressed by the DEO, to a higher level,” Basnet said. “Nakarmi has also assured us that he would call us for talks very soon.”