May 27, 2007
Beaten-up Teachers Shut Down Kathmandu By Sudeshna
Sarkar
Kathmandu
Residents of Kathmandu valley had the eerie feeling of living in the
past Sunday after aggrieved teachers called a general strike,
reviving memories of the turbulent days of the Maoist insurgency and
the short-lived direct rule of King Gyanendra when shutdowns and
violence had become a way of life.
The transport sector was the hardest hit and hundreds of people,
caught unaware, struggled with a scorching sun and luggage to walk
it to their destinations as teachers' unions backed by the Maoists
enforced a closure in the valley to protest against "state
atrocities".
Shops on main roads in the capital began downing shutters hurriedly
as school teachers on the warpath, united under the banner of Nepal
Educational Republican Forum, an umbrella of teachers' groups, began
manning the main intersections in the capital, ordering plying
vehicles to go back.
The lightning general strike, affecting Kathmandu and its
neighbouring districts of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, was called by the
teachers who have already shut down the kingdom's schools for the
past 11 days.
Sunday's closure was called to register their anger at the police
Friday baton-charging and breaking up their mass meet in front of
the complex housing the prime minister's office, parliament and key
ministries.
Gunaraj Lohani, leader of the protesting teachers, says nearly five
dozen teachers taking part in the meet were injured in the police
action.
The protesters are also demanding an apology from Education and
Sports Minister Pradip Nepal, who told a private television channel
that teachers who forced schools to close were virtually
"terrorists".
The new unrest in Nepal's education sector began earlier this month
when the teachers raised afresh demands for better pay and other
perks and said earlier pacts with the education department had not
been implemented.
Over 35,000 schools, where nearly 7.8 million students are enrolled,
have remained closed for 11 days with the government failing to
address the issue.
A cabinet meeting and a meeting of the eight leading parties ignored
the growing crisis.
Now there is fear that the ongoing school strike will affect the
school-leaving examination, the toughest examination in Nepal,
called the "iron gate" because of the high percentage of failures.
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