Educational institutions in the Kathmandu valley have closed down indefinitely from Monday with the government and the Maoist student body failing to hold talks on the proposed demands of the rebels.

The student rebels have called for a nationwide strike of academic institutions on December 12 and 13 voicing for the fulfillment of their nine-point demand.

Though the Private and Boarding School Organisation called for a five-day closure of academic institutions to address the issue by mediating talks between the government and the Maoists, no headway has been made so far.

The government announced a 29-point reform package for the education sector. It has claimed that the demands of the Maoist students have been incorporated in the package. The Maoists however have said that their demands have not been addressed and the strike call will not be withdrawn.

The rebels have been bargaining with the government and have been stating that they would withdraw the strike call if the government stops calling them terrorists. Minister for Education, Devi Prasad Ojha said Sunday that the government did not trust the Maoists and there was no reason why it should stop calling them terrorists as they have been vandalizing academic institutions.

Meanwhile the student wings of the CPN (UML) and other parties along with the Nepal University Teachers’ Association (NUTA) have called upon the Maoists to take back the strike call and allow the academic session to resume.