Pokhara/Kathmandu, May 20:

All private and government schools throughout the country remained closed today on the fourth day of the indefinite school strike called by the teachers and student unions affiliated to the Maoists.

Activists of agitating unions today padlocked the eastern regional education directorate office in Dhankuta and the western regional education directorate in Pokhara.

In Pokhara, protesters also torched a signboard of Nepal Teachers’ Union alleging that the district unit of the NTU was against the ongoing teachers’ strike. They also sought Education Minister Pradip Nepal’s resignation.

The agitating unions said that the strike would continue until the government fulfils their six-point charter of demands, Navraj Dhakal, Kaski district chief of ISTU said.

In Tanahun, 34 community and 58 private schools downed shutters.

While schools in 41 VDCs remained closed in Panchthar, 356 community and 226 private schools pulled up their shutters in Jhapa.

All schools remained closed in Bara, Parsa, Sunsari, Banke, Bardiya, Kanchanpur, Kailali, Chitwan and Rupandehi and other districts.

Meanwhile, the district units of the Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation of Nepal (PABSON) and National Private and Boarding Schools’ Association Nepal (NPABSAN) have requested all authorities concerned to resolve the problem soon.

The guardians’ society in Palpa today sought immediate end to strike to ensure children’s right to education.

In Kathmandu, Minister for Education and Sports Pradeep Nepal today said the agitators should sit for dialogue instead of carrying out a strike and disruptive activities to have their demands fulfilled.

Upon his arrival from the Maldives, minister Nepal expressed concern over the abrupt strike called by the pro-Maoist unions.

“Trade union movement has its own course of action in making demands,” he told the press at the TIA.

“No trade union organisation should start a strike abruptly. This is not the right way to make demands.”

He said the agitators could have sat for talks with the Minister for State for Education and Sports, “who was given the portfolio during my absence”, instead of staging nationwide shut down of schools, affecting millions of students.

“If they are waiting for a particular Pradeep Nepal for talks, I have nothing to say but Minister for State was in a position to take all sorts of decisions to solve the issue,” he said.

He said he would look into the matter and take necessary steps to address the demands at the earliest.

The agitators said they were optimistic that the dialogue with the minister could give a solution to the problem.

However, they said the strike would continue until a final agreement was reached.

“We will go back to work only after an agreement is reached between us,” said Bhim Chhetri, general secretary of the Educational Republic Forum (ERF).

The ISTU has already set its agenda for discussion with the government talks team.

“We have made a few changes in the earlier agreement with the government,” said Narayan Poudel, a member of ISTU after the meeting.

It is learnt that the ministry also has formed a talks team headed by minister Nepal for talks.