All academic institutions have closed down for the third day in response to the indefinite strike called by the All Nepal National Free Students Union (revolutionary) which has demanded that the government withdraw all terrorist charges labeled on the Maoists if academic sessions are to be resumed again.

The government declined to heed the demand, which it says is unreasonable. It has stated that the recently announced 29 point package to revamp the education sector has addressed most of the demands of the Maoist students.

The Maoist students set fire to a private school in Dhangadi in far west Nepal on the first day of the strike. The students set fire to the Kailali Vidhya Niketan School situated in Dhangadi municipality at midnight. Office equipment and the answer sheets of the recently held exams were destroyed in the fire.

All schools in the district have closed down for five days after the rebel students issued a strike call.

The Maoists also tried to explode a pressure cooker bomb at Aishwarya Bidhya Niketan situated in Dhangadi.