Nepal school attacked over CBSE syllabus by Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M)

February 27, 2013, 12:00 am


Some activists of Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) here on Sunday attacked vehicles of the DAV Sushil Kedia school for following the CBSE syllabus, the second such attack on the institution.

The activists attacked two school buses and a private car being used by school principal Bhuvaneshwari Rao, also an Indian citizen, in protest against the CBSE exams being conducted in Nepal "without addressing their grievances". The activists smashed windowpanes of the buses and pelted stones at Rao’s car.

This is the second time since last month that the school, in Lalitpur district, has been attacked by activists of the CPN-Maoist led by Mohan Vaidya, the breakaway faction of ruling UCPN-Maoist.

The school remains closed for more than a month now as the teachers association affiliated to the CPN-M had issued an ultimatum that they would not allow the school to run until and unless the school management reinstated two teachers sacked earlier, and corrected some "factual errors in the syllabus that went against national interest".

The All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary) and Nepal Teachers Organisation, belonging to the CPN-Maoists, have also been warning the school management not to run their schools without addressing the grievances.

"The school syllabus shows India as the birthplace of Buddha instead of Nepal, and also says Mt Everest is located in India, which are factually incorrect and against Nepal’s interest. We will not allow the school to give wrong information to the students," a leader of the teachers’ association said.

The school management had, however, agreed to reinstate the teachers after a dialogue with the agitators.

Some Indian teachers serving in the school have also received threats from the activists, school sources said.

"If the Indian curriculum goes against national interest, then why is the government allowing the CBSE system to operate in Nepal for the past three decades?" asked the principal.

Two months ago, these groups had attacked a school bus owned by Delhi Public School in eastern Nepal’s Dharan town. DAV S K is part of the DAV chain in India. It is affiliated with the CBSE Board.

Last year, the CPN-M had also imposed a ban on the screening of Indian movies and the entry of vehicles with Indian number plates into Nepal. WITH PTI