A strike called by Nepal's pro-Maoist teachers, affiliated to Institutional School Teachers Union (ISTU)--opposing 'commercialization' of education, and demanding the closure of privately-run schools--forced the closure of all private and boarding schools across the country Friday, media reports say.
Private and Boarding School Association of Nepal (PABSON) has opposed the 5% education tax the government recently imposed upon all schools. It called on the 9,000 private and boarding schools in the country not to pay the tax, which, it says, has been imposed by the Maoist government unjustly. They say that parents and schools do not have the capacity to pay it.
Friday, a delegation from PABSON, led by its president Bhoj Bahadur Shah, met with Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and appraised him of their problem.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai has warned he would initiate stringent action against schools not paying the tax. He also warned that the students of those schools would be barred from appearing for examinations of the School Leaving Certificate, due in a fortnight.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.