Kathmandu, August 27 :

More than a dozen students were injured in a scuffle with police in front of Exhibition road when the students were on the way to submit a memorandum at the Prime Minister’s Office to withdraw the government decision to provide 900 seats to part-time teachers. Three master level students Om Bhusal, Damoder Ghimire and Laxman Giri sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at the Kathmandu Model Hospital. The students engaged in a clash when the police tried to stop them at Exhibition road from moving ahead towards Singha Durbar. The students burnt tyres in front of the Ratna Rajya Multiple Campus in protest against the police intervention and raining lathis at the students.

The memorandum states that the government should take back its decision of taking 900 part-time teachers on contract basis. The Tribhuvan University Students Struggle Committee stated that the TU service commission should advertise for vacancies where the teachers should be selected on the basis of free competition.

Prakash Neupane, vice president of the Free Students Union of Tribhuvan University, said that the government made a grave mistake by providing 900 seats for the part-time teachers on August 24.

“Around 80 per cent of the part-time teachers were hired on the recommendation of the FSU and other student unions; then it was agreed that the part-time teachers would sit for the competition when the TU service commission announces vacancies,” said Neupane. He also said that such teachers would not be allowed to take classes if the government did not withdraw the decision.

The government made the decision of providing 900 seats for the part-time teachers on August 24.