Students and parents waved goodbye to 'Headser' Uparkoti, who has been teaching children in remote areas to aim for the sky for nearly four decades, as he was carried aboard a helicopter.
What you should know
The premises of Gandaki Secondary School in Dharche-2, Runchet, were different from any other day on Tuesday. Students and parents were lined up with garlands of food in their hands to bid farewell to 'headmaster' Indra Bahadur Uparkoti, who had taught Kakhara for 37 years.
The farewell of Uparkoti, who retired from service, was also different. The students and parents waved goodbye to Uparkoti, who has been teaching children from remote areas to aim for the sky for nearly 4 decades, by taking him on a helicopter. Uparkoti had succeeded in transforming the school, which was established on Falgun 19, 2045, into a primary school, a secondary school, and three years ago, a secondary school.
The farewell was celebrated by flying a helicopter in honor of Uparkoti, who has been the principal for 37 consecutive years, said Pratap Gurung, chairman of the school management committee. ‘He taught three generations of us,’ he said. ‘We have arranged the management of the helicopter after consulting with former students and relatives on how to bid him farewell.’
He said that the cost of the helicopter was voluntarily collected by former students and parents. Locals said that the cost of the helicopter alone was 250,000 rupees.
‘The former students abroad had collected as much as they could, two thousand, five thousand, and arranged for it,’ he said, ‘Yesterday, Tuesday, we have arranged for it to reach Kathmandu by helicopter and today, Chitwan.’ Although his home is in Gorkha Municipality, Uparkoti has been living in Bharatpur, Chitwan for some time.
Uparkoti had been teaching English and mathematics at Gandaki Secondary School. Students from Dharche-1 Hyulchowk, Dharche-3 Uhiya, Dungla, and Khorlawesi, along with Runchet, come to Gandaki Secondary School for studies.
