Communists threat closes Nepal schools

Last Updated: Monday, 18 April, 2005, 07:26 GMT 08:26 UK

Rebels say private education is unfair A number of private schools in eastern Nepal have shut down following threats by Maoist rebels.

The rebels have been demanding that the government should take over private schools, accusing their operators of being driven by profits.

The rebel threat shut down private schools in the country's western region last week, though schools in the capital, Kathmandu, have defied it.

More than 1.5 million students attend some 9,000 private schools in Nepal.

The rebels' students wing, the All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary), has threatened to bomb the schools if they defied the closure call.

On Sunday, suspected rebels bombed a school in the south-western town of Nepalgunj after operator defied the threat.

Though the school building suffered some damage, nobody was hurt in the incident.

Schools in Kathmandu have defied the rebel threat and opened after a long vacation.

School operators and human rights organisations have appealed to the rebels to stop targeting schools, but the rebels have ignored the appeal.

The rebels began their fight to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist republic in 1996. Nearly 11,000 people have died in the violence since then. Sphere: Related Content