Kathmandu: Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON) has decided not to pay one per cent Education Service Tax (EST) to the government.

At a press meet organised today in the Capital to announce the 13-point Lalitpur Declaration-2011, which the eighth national general assembly of the organisation held on August 5-6 had approved, PABSON President Rajesh Khadka said the general assembly had demanded scrapping of the EST. “Therefore, we will not pay the one per cent EST,” said Khadka, demanding the scrapping of the EST.

The assembly also urged the government to revoke the discriminatory law that prevents private school students from applying for 45 per cent reservation quotas.

The government had allocated the quotas for higher studies to the students of community schools.

PABSON also demanded its representation in all government-recognised educational bodies, implementation of the ‘School as Zone of Peace’ declaration and compensation to the schools destroyed during the decade-long insurgency.

The assembly demanded monitoring of government schools that have been charging fees in the name of adopting English as the medium of instruction. Further, it demanded that private school students be allowed to appear in the government scholarship exams in universities.

“We have also decided to hold talks with parents and teachers to increase students’ fees as the teachers are demanding a hike in their salary in the wake of civil servants’ pay hike,” said the PABSON president.

source: The Himalayan Times