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| Kathmandu Thursday March 28, 2002 Chaitra 15, 2058. |
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Targeting education
The outlawed Maoist rebels have called for a
five day nationwide bandh starting April 2. The Maoists are again targeting educational
institutions to show their strength. This is the second bandh called by the Maoists in
less than two months. A total bandh in January stifled economic activity for two days.
Many schools had to remain closed because of the Maoist threat. But such repeated calls
for nationwide bandhs have turned the law and order situation on its head. It is
singularly unfortunate that the nationwide bandh called by the Maoists this time will
coincide with the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations. The student wing of the
Maoist rebels has also attacked a number of government vehicles and newspaper
organizations and hung up explosive devices at busy public locations to scare people away.
Now, many parents of SLC examination candidates have begun to express fear and uncertainty
about the examinations.
A total of 254,291 students are appearing for
the SLC examinations. The government has decided to conduct the examinations at district
headquarters only in order to better provide security for the students and prevent any
untoward incident. Half the students living in remote areas will have to walk hours to
reach a district headquarters and sit for the exam. Some students have already begun
facing accommodation problems at the district headquarters. And students in Achham
district have yet to overcome the trauma of what happened last month at Mangalsen and
Sanfebagar. The night-long battle claimed the lives of over 143 police and army personnel,
and a bank was looted. This was the biggest blow suffered by the government ever since it
deployed the army to quell the Maoist insurgency. The Maoists have now begun targeting
students’ academic careers and educational institutions. They have admonished
students to boycott the examination in Sindhuli. The forthcoming SLC examination has
become a big challenge for the government. But more than that is the confusion, tension
and risk weighing down on the students.
A high-ranking UN official has proposed that
both the government and the Maoists declare educational institutions a "zone of
peace". The UN official would not have come up with such an idea had he not realised
the seriousness of the Maoist threat facing schools and other educational institutions in
this country. Despite a series of Maoist attacks on schools and teachers, the government
has been unable to provide security to educational institutions. How it will ensure the
security of students and examination centres remains very much to be seen. But if it fails
to conduct the SLC examination smoothly it will be suicidal for the government’s
standing in the eyes of the public. The Maoists for their part must acknowledge that they
have no right to play with the future of innocent students. Nor do they have the right to
bring the country to its knees economically and now educationally to press their
particular brand to receive political wisdom. Let them press their case in other ways, but
they have no right to hold society itself and the future of society hostage to their
cause. Meanwhile, the government too should ponder anew the need to revive the prospects
for peace talks instead of getting stuck with the military option. |
