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Surviving Under Threat
Despite the end of strike, it is difficult to erase psychological trauma from the minds
of children and parents
By KESHAB POUDEL
"My school has opened now but I don't know whether they will allow me to pursue my education or not as agitators still are locking up account sections and administrative offices of the school," said Pragya Subba, a student of class 7 of a boarding school.
"Our teachers have been closing school frequently in the last few years with their own demand. I don't know how long they will allow schools to open," said Janak Shrestha, a student of class 8 of Tripadma Vidyashram of Lalitpur.
They are not only the two students who are uncertain about their future. All 7.8 million school children studying in over 35,000 schools have similar expressions. As Maoist affiliated agitating Education Republican Forum (ERF) and All Nepal National Independent Students Union (R) do not have any reasonable demands, they can call indefinite strike at any time when country's political leadership is so weak and inefficient.
The indefinite general strike called by the Maoist-affiliated organizations and threat to stop all education institutions from next months have already created the havoc among the parents. These threats, though to pressure the government, have pressured Nepalese parents to search other schools abroad or India.
This threat has come when the admission for higher secondary school education has started in India and other parts of the world. This is not the first time when Maoists called indefinite general strike coinciding with this period of time.
When the country does not have accountable legislature elected by people and there are no effective ways to organize the people, Nepalese people are forced to live in this kind of situation for a long time to come.
If Maoist-affiliated unions decide to support the education, other groups will replace them like in terai following comprehensive peace agreement between the government and Maoists, other groups have replaced Maoists to create terror.
In recent case, even Maoists have not withdrawn the strike completely. "It does not, however, mean we have called off the agitation," said Mukunda Gautam, president of the Institutional Teachers Union (ISTU) and a member of ERF.
On Sunday, ERF boycotted the talks with State Minister of Education and Sports Mohan Singh Rathore. “The central committee meeting held in the evening decided not to sit for the talks since the government did not keep its promise made during an informal meeting with the minister of state for Education and Sports. We have put forth three conditions for
making an environment conducive to talks, which the government failed to meet," said Bhim Chhetri, general secretary of ERF.
Ministry officials, however, are saying that ERF is adding demands one after another. In their list of demands, they have included three more demands now. ERF demands include an apology from the Minister for Education and Sports on the police high-handedness on Friday’s rally, arranging treatment for those injured in the incident and the announcement of talks team under Rathore.
Minister of State for Education Rathore, however, said: "ERF claims are only an excuse to stay away from the talks. We cannot understand why they keep on changing their demands every day," said Minister of State Rathore to The Himalayan Times.
Whether the teachers and students unions reached any agreement or not with the government do not make any difference. The ten days of indefinite strike has already damaged a lot in the minds of children and students.
No rebel forces except fundamentalist Taliban has attacked the educational institutions and see enlightening of the people as inimical.
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