Ramechhap Polytechnic Institute, established in 2074 BS with the aim of making Manthali, the district headquarters, an educational center, is now struggling to survive. The institute, which was established after a long initiative by stakeholders, is spread over an area of ​​156 ropanis. Despite having adequate physical infrastructure, laboratories and necessary facilities, the continuous decline in the number of students in recent years has posed a serious challenge to the operation of the institute.

This institute, which has been teaching agricultural crop science, animal science and food and dairy technology under the 3-year diploma level, was also honored as an excellent technical institution. However, due to the lack of students, questions have started to be raised about the quality of education, regular class operation and long-term sustainability.

According to Tanka Prasad Dahal, a member of the institute's board of directors, this situation has arisen because the state's priority towards technical education has weakened. 'After 2074 BS, CTEVT made the affiliation process as easy as that of primary level schools, but the Ministry of Education could not give the necessary priority to technical education,' he said, 'Although CTEVT is a structure under the Ministry of Education, technical schools are becoming weak because the ministry has forgotten it.'

According to him, the trend of students studying abroad after 2 years of study after the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) has also reduced the attraction of students to technical education. 'We are trying to increase student enrollment by coordinating with all local levels and stakeholders in the district. However, the expected success has not been achieved,' Dahal said. Dahal said that if the Ministry of Education makes a clear policy and prioritizes CTEVT and if CTEVT also comes up with new programs and attractive plans, the school can be developed as a model institution again.

The school has built the necessary physical infrastructure for advanced goat breeds, poultry farming, animal husbandry practice and seasonal and non-seasonal vegetable farming for students studying agriculture. However, the number of students using these facilities is continuously decreasing.

Although the school has a quota of 40 students per subject, the quota has never been fulfilled in recent academic sessions. Currently, only 74 students are studying across all subjects and levels, said Manoj Kumar Sharan, the head of the school.

According to him, the Food and Dairy Technology subject has to be closed from the upcoming academic session due to the lack of students. 'It is true that the school has fewer students. Keeping this in mind, we are trying to attract students by mobilizing all resources,' Sharan said, 'but it has not increased as expected.'

Although the infrastructure and experimental facilities at the technical school are adequate, the weak attraction of students has become a big challenge for the institution. According to Sharan, in recent years, students have become more attracted to the health sector than to technical education, which has reduced enrollment in subjects such as agriculture and animal science. The school has now started preparations to expand its programs towards the health sector. 'Preparations are being made to run the Health Assistant subject,' said the school principal, Sharan.