Kathmandu, March 2:

The Public Campus Teachers’ Association (PUCTA) today halted educational activities in all public and constituent campuses across the nation to protest yesterday’s arrest of public campus teachers from a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Education.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, Bhola Nath Regmi, senior vice president of the association, said, “Security personnel manhandled and arrested us while we were staging a peaceful protest. Therefore we observed pen down in all public campuses across the nation today.”

He said Nepal University Teachers’ Association also observed pen down in all constituent campuses of several universities to express solidarity with the agitation of the public campus teachers.

According to Regmi, they would teach the students by wearing black bands on their hands for the next two days. He said the teachers will stage a relay hunger strike from March 26 for seven days as part of their second phase of protests and fast-unto-death if their demands were not met by then.

According to Regmi, 216 public campuses are affiliated with the association. The association has been demanding establishment of a public university and guarantee of services and facilities of the teachers working in public campuses.