Kathmandu, February 20:

The number of schools closed down due to petroleum crisis reached 50 today, Bhoj Bahadur Shah, president of the Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation, said.

Shah said around 50 educational institutions in the Valley are unable to run classes as their school buses could not be refuelled. “Those schools having more than two vehicles have been hit hard,” he said.

St Xavier’s High School, Kathmandu Valley School (KVS), GEMS School, Nobel academy were among those schools which could not run their classes today.

Babita Labh Kayastha, principal of KVS, said: “Kathmandu Valley School was forced to suspend its classes because a majority of the students have no transportation facilities. Of the 650 students, around 150 students use the bus of Kathmandu Valley School and due to the lack of school bus, many students are unable to come school.”

She said that the government has been behaving irresponsibly to resume smooth fuel supply and ensure proper educational environment in the country. She said such behaviour has risked the future of thousands of students in the Valley. Though the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination is approaching, their bid to prepare for the exam has been hampered due to fuel shortage and they have also been deprived of classes, she added.

Shah said that if there is no smooth supply of petroleum products for a few more days, none of the schools in the Valley would be able to conduct classes.