UNICEF condemns bombings of private schools in Nepal

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has condemned the recent bombings of private schools in Nepal after a call by the Maoist rebels for all private schools to close indefinitely from 15 April.

The agency's country representative, Suomi Sakai, said private schools play a major part in helping ensure more Nepali children get to learn to read, write and count, and that to wantonly destroy them only helps push the Nepalese children back into ignorance.

There are an estimated 8,500 private schools in Nepal, representing roughly one quarter of all schools.

Last week the UN human rights office and the Government of the Himalayan kingdom agreed to set up a monitoring operation to help establish accountability for rights abuses and prevent further violations by all sides in the nine-year-old armed conflict with Maoist rebels.