Kathmandu, July 1

Members of Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON) and National Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (N-PABSON) today decided to defy the three-day educational strike called by student wings of different fringe parties.

Rastriya Janta Party-Nepal Student Union, Naya Sakti  Student Union, ANNFSU (fifth), Socialist Student Forum Nepal, Nationalist  Student Union with ANNFSU (Revolutionary) had called a three-day educational strike on July 4, 5 and 6, demanding that the private schools withdraw their decision to hike fees.

Organising a press meet, PABSON and N-PABSON have also urged the government to provide them security or take responsibility for any eventuality during the strike called by the student unions.

N-PABSON president Rituraj Sapkota said, “We will run classes on the roads, but we will not close schools.”

Sapkota also said that there was no point in tightening the noose on private schools as they were fully complying with the Institutional Schools Fee Criteria Directives issued by the government.

“We are ready to face consequences if private schools have hiked fees unnecessarily,” he added.

As per the directives, the fee structure of private schools should be determined by holding a meeting among the school management, teachers and guardians.

Any decision to hike fees must be approved by parents of two-thirds students studying in the school. The schools can also charge additional fees for food, transportation and hostel facility.

Many guardians and educationists, however, have protested unfair fee hike by private schools. According to educationist Bidhya Nath Koirala, the criteria set by the government is totally unfair.

Director General of Department of Education Babu Ram Poudyal, on the other hand, said they did not have complete authority to monitor fee structures of private schools as the responsibility of regulating and managing school education had been handed over to local levels.