Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, May 2:

Most public campuses and government schools remained closed today at a call of seven student unions to protest against the shoot out at the Jana Jyoti Campus in Mahendranagar on April 29. However, most of the private schools in the Valley remained open.

Also today, the seven student unions locked out the TU vice-chancellor’s office in the morning pressing for their 6-point charter of demands, including the removal of security personnel from campuses. Police later intervened and opened the office.

Students organised chakkajams at various places like Samakhushi, Kirtipur, Tahachal, Bhaktapur and Chabahil. They also clashed with the police at Chabahil. The students also organised a torch rally at Baneshwor in the evening.

According to the chief of the Publicity Department of the ANNFSU, Ram Kumari Jhakri, students will continue to organise such demonstrations and programmes. “The programmes will be announced after a meeting of the student unions to be held tomorrow,” Jhakri said.

Meanwhile, two schools were bombed in Rupendehi and Kailali yesterday. Bombs went off at the Sunshine Higher Secondary School and Aishwarya Bidhya Niketan Higher Secondary School.

The National Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Organisation of Nepal and HimRights today condemned the bombings and requested all parties concerned to declare schools as zone of peace.

Most educational institutions outside the Valley too remained closed today.

However, the strike did not affect the higher secondary level exams.

Schools and colleges in Chitwan, Morang, Dhankuta, Parsa, Pokhara, Banke, Bardia and Kailali remained shut, but exams went on as usual.

In Mahendranagar, a call for bazaar bandh affected public life today. No educational institutes and factories were opened. The security was tight.