Schools shut, exams postponed until Tuesday due to rain-triggered crisis in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The Nepal government on Saturday decided to postpone all the ongoing exams and close all schools across the nation in wake of the ongoing rain-induced disaster in the nation.
Issuing a notice, Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has conveyed all the local levels to halt the classes until Tuesday in schools across Nepal. As per the ministry, the decision has been made by an emergency cabinet meeting held earlier in the afternoon.
“Keeping in mind the safety of the students across the nation who have to traverse through disaster-hit zones, the Cabinet meeting has decided to close all lower secondary, secondary and higher secondary educational institutions for three days,” Nepal’s Education Minister Bidhya Bhattarai told over the phone.
In addition, the Ministry has given the authority regarding the resumption of classes in the schools to the local levels assessing the damage and viability of running the school. The officials during the emergency meeting on Saturday also decided to halt the ongoing exams until further notice.
“The Education ministry will later decide about the schedule for the examinations,” the minister added.
Nepal’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) has decided to halt the ongoing examinations, delegating the concerned authorities the responsibility to reschedule the examinations.
The ministry also has decided to delegate responsibilities to the concerned local bodies in the context of schools, and universities in the context of higher education institutions. As many as 66 people have died in Nepal in the past 24 hours due to a rain-induced disaster after the activation of a climatic effect pounding the whole nation.