The Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) has not been able to publish the results of Grade 12, thanks to the month-long strike by different student unions. The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been accused of not bothering to hold talks with the agitators.

The HSEB, which has already completed checking the answer sheets, has been waiting for a month to unlock its padlocked office and publish the results of Management, Humanities and Social Science and Education faculties.

Putting forth a seven-point charter of demands, nine student unions, including All Nepal National Free Student Union, All Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary, Nepal Student Union (NSU) and All Nepal National Free Student Union (Fifth), had indefinitely padlocked the offices of HSEB Vice-chairman Hem Kumar Mishra and Member Secretary Bhimlal Gurung on July 31.

The unions are demanding guarantee of free and equal education for all students up to Grade 12, implementation of all past agreements they signed with the Education Ministry and the HSEB and nationalisation of all private educational institutions, among others. They have also demanded a 20 percent scholarship in higher secondary schools and that Plus Two colleges be brought under a fixed parameter of education.

“We have fixed Friday as the date for the publication of results but that won’t be possible unless our offices are unlocked by Thursday,” said Gurung. According to him, the existing legal provisions need to be amended to fulfill the demands of the unions and that is not possible at the HSEB level. “As we are in no position to address their demands, it is useless to padlock our office,” he said.

Though the ministry had formed a committee led by Director at the Department of Education, Tek Nararyan Pandey, there has not been any progress towards resolving the problem.

The striking unions also said that they were in favour of sorting out the issue soon. “We are ready to end our protest even if the ministry gives formal assurance to address our demands,” said NSU coordinator Ranjeet Karna. He claimed that the Pandey-led committee had called a meeting on Thursday, although the time and venue were yet to be finalised.

source: The Kathmandu Post,30 August 2012