The government today directed educational institutions in earthquake-hit districts to waive monthly fee of Nepali month of Baisakh by half.
Ministry of Education said that since the educational institutions were completely shut down for a month – from April 26 to May 28 – due to devastating earthquake of 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25. The Ministry of Education (MoE) said that it has already made agreement with private school operators for the waiver in the districts most affected by the quake. But the ministry spokesperson Hari Prasad Lamsal does not explicitly mention when and among whom the agreement was reached.
The ministry, in the statement, also asked student unions not to launch any protest programme as it is committed to implement its decision as well as a pact signed with the students unions on April 19. The schools in the earthquake-hit districts, including in the Kathmandu Valley, had resumed their classes from May 31, a month and a week after the earthquake.
Earrlier in the morning, some thirteen different students unions handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala asking him to direct educational institutions withdraw fee hike and waiving of the fees of one month during the earthquake.
The ministry has also asked schools to adjust the education calendar as they remained closed for almost one-and-a-half months.
Meanwhile, the agitating students called off their agitations from today saying that most of their demands have been addressed by the government.
Chairman of Nepal National Independent Students’ Union (ANNISU- Revolutionary) Ramesh Malla also hailed th government decision. “But we will monitor its implementation,” he added.

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