The Private and Boarding Schools Organisation of Nepal (PABSON) organised a rally to celebrate the contributions made by private schools to education, as part of its 6th anniversary last week. PABSON says the 800 private schools in Nepal are providing quality education to over one million students, and employment to over 75,000 teachers. Some 50,000 students, teachers and parents from 175 PABSON-member schools were out to assert their right to quality education and fewer disruptions. This comes in the wake of demands by a group of communist students to nationalise all private institutions. The student group forced five million students across the country out of the classrooms 8-14th December to demonstrate widespread support for its demands. Minister of Education and Sports Amod Prasad Upadhyaya blames the politicisation of students for the falling standards of instruction. The government adds that it never promised free education and that, in fact, it now has fewer resources to dedicate to schools.

Meanwhile, there have been reports of Maoists locking out government schools not just in districts where they are strongest but also in pockets in Makawanpur district. There are around 24,000 government-run schools attended by some 4.8 million students, and employing over 130,000 teachers.