He did not think that such a change would come to the education sector of the country. 87-year-old Dhanlal Shrestha had not even imagined that schools would be established in tolls and campuses in the main settlements of villages. He is now amazed to see the development in the education sector in his lifetime.

After passing grade 8 from Bhimphedi School in Makawanpur in 2012, Shrestha recalled that he had to go to Kathmandu to study grade 9, saying, “There were no schools in the district that taught grade 9.”

Bhimadhar School, which taught up to grade 8, was established in Bhimphedi, the former headquarters of the district, in 2004. Bhimphedi was not only the headquarters, it was also the gateway to the main market for people coming and going from the valley and the Terai. The Ranas had built attractive buildings to live here. The school was established at that time.

Dhanlal, who was born in Bhimphedi, said he passed 8th grade from Bhimadhar School. ‘I went to my sister’s house in Kathmandu to study 9th grade,’ he said, ‘My sister and brother-in-law admitted me to Juddhodaya Secondary School in 9th grade.’ He said he passed SLC from the same school in 2014. He claims to be the first person in the district to pass SLC. At that time, there were no other schools open in Bhimphedi that offered education up to 8th grade. He had 5 classmates in 8th grade. All of them were residents of Bhimphedi. Four of them could not go to Kathmandu due to financial reasons. ‘Since my sister’s house is in Kathmandu, I got the opportunity to study there,’ Shrestha said, ‘Otherwise, my condition would have been the same as the other four classmates.’

After passing SLC in the third grade, he returned to Bhimphedi and became a primary school teacher at Bhimadhar School. From there, he passed his IA and BA by taking private exams. He was an English teacher. ‘Dhanlal Sir used to teach English in Bhimphedi, he had the ability to explain it to students,’ said 77-year-old Dev Prasad Shrestha, ‘He taught English to thousands of students like me.’ In 2018, Bhimadhar School in Bhimphedi was upgraded to High School (Mavi). Shrestha also became the first principal of that high school. The school was named Mahendra High School (Mavi). Shrestha continued to spread the light of education as the principal of that school for almost three and a half decades. After transferring from that school, he also contributed to the educational sector by becoming the principal of Bhutandevi Mavi, Vanshagopal Mavi, Shramik Mavi and Mahendra Mavi Manahari in Hetauda. He retired from Mahendra Secondary School Manahari in 2055 BS. He currently lives in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-4. Born in 1995 BS, Shrestha now walks and speaks slowly due to old age. He has three sons, two daughters and a wife. Shrestha underwent a post-operative surgery in Kathmandu on Monday.

In 2021 BS, Bhutan Devi School in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-4 was also upgraded to a secondary school. In 2025 BS, Jan Kalyan Secondary School in the former Daman Palung and current Thaha Municipality was established. In 2032 BS, an SLC examination center was set up in Hetauda. Kamal Thapa was the superintendent of the examination. Before 2032 BS, students from Hetauda, ​​Bhimphedi and other places had to go to Birgunj to take the SLC examination, while students from Thaha Municipality and the northern areas had to go to Kathmandu. In a gap of 50 years, there are now 28 SEE examination centers in Makawanpur. There are examination centers in all municipalities of the district.