Due to the lack of secondary schools in the villages, children in the Narzakhani, Bhitribivan, and Patle areas are facing difficulties in reaching school by crossing forests and cliffs.
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Yogesh Chhantyal of Tamankhola Rural Municipality-6, Bhitriban, is studying in grade 9. The school is four hours away from his home. Since he cannot commute daily, he lives in a tent in Khukhani village in Ward 5. Since he cannot enter the city, he is studying at Shanti Secondary School here. He has been living in a tent at a young age and cooking his own meals. His friends Krishti Chhantyal, Sharmila Rasaili and Sushmita Rasaili walk for three hours to reach school. They have to leave Narzakhani at 7 am to reach Khukhani. They live in a tent in the winter and return home in the summer. After skipping their 4 pm class, they only reach home at 7 pm, so they skip the last period. They say that when they reach home, they are too tired to do their homework.
They studied at Bishnu Basic School in Narjakhani till grade 8. Now the school they study is not nearby. He said that some of his friends have dropped out of school because they have to go to a distant school. ‘My friends don’t even want to go to school because they have to live in a tent and cook their own food,’ said Hom Bahadur Harmel, a grade 10 student. ‘If we can make it this year, we can go to the market next year.’ After the parents send the dough and flour, the children make arrangements in Sagatarkari village.
Students from Narjakhani, Bhitribivan and Patle in Ward 6 have to go to Khukhani to study grades 9 and 10. For grades 11 and 12, most students go to Bongadobhan and Burtiwang. It takes three hours to travel by jeep to Burtiwang. Until a few years ago, Burtiwang could be reached in a day’s walk.
Although the locals tried many times to open a secondary school in the village, they could not do it due to financial crisis . Parents did not dare to increase the number of classes in the school due to the lack of government teacher quota, the inability to meet the internal resources, and the fear of a small number of students .
‘We have been running the school up to class 8 by raising donations and hiring private teachers, it is even more difficult to run the upper classes,’ said local Meena Kumari Rasaili, ‘We could not even afford the expenses, and even sending our children is a source of worry .’ The road between Narzakhani and Khukhani can be reached only after crossing the forest and cliffs . Four years ago, Tamankhola Rural Municipality built a suspension bridge over the Khukhani River, which has shortened this journey by about 30 minutes .
Having to walk for 6 hours daily, the children have neither been able to help with household chores nor have the opportunity to study at home . Principal Satyanarayan Singh said that the tired children could not even find their homework. The school has also planned to build its own hostel. But due to lack of funds, the dream of a hostel has remained unfulfilled after the school building was built.
Children from Patle, Bhitribivan and Upper Thaspuri in Ward 5 have been coming down to Burtiwang since grade 9 due to the difficulty of walking. Sending them to the market in this way has put a financial burden on their parents. ‘Even though their parents do not have the ability, many are forced to stay in the market and study,’ said local Tirsana Sirpali, ‘There are many problems with reading and writing in our area.’ According to her, many children from Thaspuri in Ward 5 are also unable to come to Shanti Mavi, so their parents find a hostel and keep them there.
School teacher Bhumiraj Century said that many children come from home during long days and most of them stay in the winter season. ‘We have not been able to build a dormitory,’ said Century, ‘there is a plan, but now the children are suffering.’ According to him, 15 students come from Narzakhani, 15 from Thaspuri, and 5 from Bhitribivan. They are forced to walk for 3 to 4 hours.’
Principal Satyanarayan Singh requested the Gandaki Province government for a budget and explained the plan to build a dormitory. ‘It is difficult to plan since it is a rural area. We have barely made the school building good. There is no way we will not get the budget for the dormitory,’ he said. ‘If we can build a dormitory, we can immediately accommodate 50 more children.’ Vice-Chairman Hirakumari Chhantyal said that the rural municipality is also taking initiatives in this regard.
