This year, students from a school that opened 57 years ago in 2026 BS in Bazarhatti, Rapti Municipality-8, took the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) for the first time. Although eight students participated in the AEE in the first year, Principal (Principal) Mithu Kumari Pathak Dallakoti says that she has worked hard for this moment.

All the students participating in the examination were deaf and unable to speak. One of the participants is a girl and the other is a boy. ‘We started teaching children with such conditions since 2054 BS. This time they were included in the SEE,’ said Principal Pathak.

Almost all the students studying in that school are deaf and unable to speak. They have been able to study in that school and live there after studying. This is a residential school for them. ‘Of course, it is like any other normal community school. But we had to start housing for the children we were teaching,' said Principal Pathak.

Initially, the school opened with classes 1 and 2. In 2040, classes were started up to class 5. In 2054, the school started a resource class with 10 children who were deaf and non-speaking. Principal Pathak said that they started teaching in sign language and placed them in classes with other students based on what they learned. Later, the number of other students started to decrease. After that, the school started teaching almost entirely in sign language. 'Currently, there are no other normal students. Last year, there were 3 in class 4 and 1 in class 7. Last year, the total number of students was 112. This year, enrollment is continuing. It will reach 135,' said Principal Pathak.

Ranjana Baral of Jitpur Simara-1 Rangshala Tol in Bara had taken her daughter Roshni to the same school. Roshni started studying in Bazarhatti last year. ‘There was a school in Simara that taught in sign language up to grade 6. Now I was wondering where to take her to grade 7. I had high hopes after hearing about this school. My daughter got to study here,’ said Ranjana. A person from Kalaiya she knows has also brought her daughter here and got her admitted. ‘We feel relieved after having the facilities to study and stay,’ said Ranjana.

Laxman Gurung of Ichchakamana Rural Municipality-2 Mayatar Ghurkes in the hilly region of Chitwan has also enrolled her two daughters, Krishnamati and Nimakumari, here. Both daughters are deaf and cannot speak. ‘I had enrolled my eldest daughter Krishnamati here in grade 2 and she is now in grade 9. She is brilliant in her studies. My other daughter Nima is in grade 4. She could not study like this in the village school. I see a bright future for my daughters because of this school,’ said Laxman.

There are students not only from Chitwan but also from Makawanpur, Bara, Parsa, and Nawalparasi (East of Bardaghat Susta) in Bazarhatti. ‘We have accommodated students from three provinces,’ said Buddhiraj Thapaliya, chairman of the school management committee. He says that even though the hostel is run for the students, the expenses are being managed with difficulty.

The government provides Rs 5,000 per student per month. The hostel has been operated by adding the same amount available for 10 months in a year. Locals have been supporting the school on birthdays and other celebrations, from the memory of their ancestors, to the celebration of their birthdays and other celebrations. On April 22, local Babita Dallakoti Kandel provided sugar and flour for one day's lunch to the students of the hostel in the name of the late Khemraj Kandel.

She also provided five thousand rupees in cash to the Education Development Fund. On April 3, local Dilliram Sapkota provided more than 15 thousand rupees worth of foodstuff to the school on his son-in-law's birthday. 'Foodstuffs are also collected this way. We make parents buy clothes as much as possible. We also arrange stationery,' said Principal Pathak.

In addition to running the hostel, support is also received for the construction of buildings. The school has seven different buildings. There is one concrete building. A British resident had built an eight-room concrete building. The Bagmati Province government has built a two-room concrete building by adding a floor on top of it. Similarly, Professor Pathak said that funds are coming in on the initiative of Nepalis living in Japan to build a new hostel building. ‘After a Japanese citizen from Chitwan, who is working in Japan, donated Rs 5 million, we are going to build a two-story concrete RCC building with 6 rooms for the student dormitory,’ Professor Pathak said.

Chairman Thapaliya said that there have been criticisms like why should we teach ‘deaf’ students, why should we teach more after teaching them up to grade 5. ‘Earlier, we taught only up to grade 5. It was said that it was not possible to teach grade 6. The mother of a student who had passed grade 5 came to our school crying and said that now where will I teach my daughter, I can’t teach her after all. After seeing her crying, we dared to start grade 6,’ Chairman Thapaliya said. Then, he said that secondary school started in 2080 with grade 8.