Private educational institutions have demanded the practical implementation of School as Zones of Peace (SZOP) programme.

Public and Boarding School Organisation of Nepal ( PABSON), Nepal Private and Boarding Association of Nepal (N-PABSAN), and Greater National Campaign for Education organised a joint press meet here today, urging the government to ensure practical enforcement of the SZOP and control the tendency of imposing educational strikes for 'no cause' on different pretexts by different groups.

Though one decade is about to elapse since the SZOP declaration, schools continue to hit by educational strikes, shutdowns and other sorts of hurdles in continuing teaching learning activities, according to PABSON acting chair DK Dhungana.

They have called on the government to create favorable academic atmosphere for children so that they could spend time at schools without any fear, to ensure their right to education and other their rights enshrined by the constitution.

N-PABSAN Chair Rituraj Sapkota and Campaign's Ashok Ghimire among others spoke at the programme.

Meanwhile, agitating students today performed reading and writing activities on the street as a symbolic protest against the existing 'malpractices' in the education sector and hike in the school fees.

All Revolutionary Socialist Students Union close to Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, All Nepal National Independent Students Union (ANNISU- Revolutionary) close to Mohan Baidya and other students unions come to the street in a bid to piling up pressure on the authorities concerned to address their demands which include reforms in education sector and withdrawal of the fees hike, as stated by ANNISU-R President Alok Raymajhi. RSS