The final stage of secondary education, i.e. the Class 12 examination, is considered an important turning point in the life of a student. The results of this examination determine the direction of the student's future higher education and 'career'. However, for students living in various slums in Kathmandu, this year's Class 12 examination was not limited to academic evaluation only, it has become the most difficult and brutal exam of their lives.

The story of Girwanika Thapa from Thapathali's Sukumvasi Basti is even more painful. Girwanika, a mother of two, never let her desire to study die. Despite many family and practical responsibilities, she returned to her studies after a long gap of 9 years. The government's dozer has also been used on her attempt to fulfill her unfulfilled dream by passing the Class 12 examination. Last Saturday, the government suddenly used a bulldozer in the slums of Thapathali, Gairigaun and Manohara in Kathmandu, not only demolished hundreds of huts, but also dealt a brutal blow to the dreams of a bright future of those students who were about to take the Class 12 examination. On one hand, they have the heartbreaking pain of seeing their birthplace, the courtyard where they spent their childhood and their shelter for years, turned into rubble and rubble before their very eyes, while on the other hand, they are in a hurry for the most important exam that will determine their future.

The students of the Sukumvasi Basti, who have been working day and night since Monday to prepare for the final examination of the secondary level (Class 12), have been deeply traumatized after the state's move. Now, these students, displaced by the state, are forced to take the exam, some under the shelter of tents under the open sky, while others are forced to take shelter in the cramped rooms of relatives.

A representative character who has become a direct victim of this inhuman and insensitive step of the state is Kalpana (name changed). For Kalpana, who was born and raised in a slum in Manohara, the exams that began on April 14 were a big opportunity. She had gone to study tuition on Saturday morning with the determination to leave no stone unturned in her preparation for the exams.

But when she returned home after studying tuition, there was no house. There was only a pile of broken bricks, zinc sheets and pieces of wood left in the name of home. That scene made her deranged. Unable to even take out her books and dress, she stood in front of the rubble and cried for a long time. Her family had been living permanently in Manohara for 25 years. They had never imagined that the place they had lived in for so long would suddenly be demolished by a dozer.

Kalpana's mother Shubhadra says with tears in her eyes, 'We never believed that the government would behave so ruthlessly. That's why we didn't tell our daughter that her house would be destroyed. We had sent her for tuition so that she could prepare for the exam with confidence. But when she returned after the tuition, she cried when she saw her house destroyed and on the road.'

Shubhadra's family is now in dire straits after the property she had accumulated over 25 years was suddenly destroyed. 'The enemy should not suffer such a calamity, the bulldozer took all our clothes and our daughter's books with the house,' Shubhadra says with a sigh. After the house was destroyed, Kalpana did not have a peaceful and safe environment to study. She is currently taking refuge in a relative's room in Lokanthali. From there, she is taking the exam at the examination center in Kupandol. "We studied till class 12 with the great hope that we would do something good tomorrow and our days of sorrow would end, but the state came and sent us to the streets like this at the very moment of the exams," Shubhadra expressed deep anger and complaint about the state's action.

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The story of Girwanika Thapa of Thapathali Sukumvasi Basti is even more painful. Girwanika, a mother of two, never let her desire to study die. Despite many family and practical responsibilities, she returned to her studies after a long gap of 9 years. The government's dozer has also been working on her attempt to fulfill her unfulfilled dream by passing the class 12 exam.

Girwanika, who lives in a slum on the banks of the Bagmati River in Thapathali, had been in a weak state since the metropolis miked the slum last Thursday. When the order to evacuate the settlement was issued, her attention shifted from books to worries about the safety and shelter of her young children. On Saturday, when the dozer actually destroyed her house, she became so frustrated that she had already made up her mind not to take this year's exams.

'On the one hand, the young children are in trouble, where to keep them, what to feed them.' On the other hand, she is worried about the exams,' Girwanika said, sighing. 'In such a situation, I was determined not to take the exams at all.' My enthusiasm for studying had died. But, my husband gave me the courage and strength to continue my studies, which I had started after so many years, at such a time. It was only because of his inspiration that I was able to reach the examination center.'

Girwanika has been psychologically affected by the government's forced eviction. 'Mentally, it is very difficult. Many things are playing in her mind. Where can she study in a quiet corner of her safe home?' she asked. After her house collapsed, she is in a tent at the 'holding center' in Kirtipur. She is preparing for the examination under that cold and unsafe tent.

Her books and papers were also buried when the dozer demolished her house. She was even more troubled because she had no reading materials. After learning about this situation, the acting mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Sunita Dangol, provided her with books. Some have also helped her study online. However, these small supports have not been able to completely cure the double mental pressure she is facing as a mother and a student.

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The suffering of 19-year-old Sushal Limbu, who is taking the Class 12 exams, is no less than that of Kalpana and Girwanika. Sushal's house was also destroyed on Saturday. He was preparing for the exam in his room for a few hours before the bulldozer hit his house. He had already heard his parents talking in a worried tone at home.

'There has been a notice from the metropolis to vacate the slum within three days,' was the talk of the town. After hearing that, Sushal tried to concentrate on his book but could not calm down. However, the family and other members of the town seemed to be reassured in a way. 'Every previous government had been issuing such notices.' But nothing much had happened so far. I thought it would be the same this time too,' his family understood.

But, this time it wasn't like that. 'A lot of things were playing in my mind. Despite all the fears and doubts, I was trying to study anyway. But when the Metropolitan Police came to the settlement with a mike and it was confirmed that the dozer would be moving, then it became clear that we really had to move,' Sushal said, recalling that tragic moment. 'After that, we left all our studies and together, mom, dad and I hurriedly started packing the essential household items and moving them to a safe place.'

On one hand, there was the fear of the house collapsing and the rush to move the items, and on the other hand, there was the worry of how to take the exam. 'From Monday, the most important exam of my life was coming.' But, the day before that, I had to see my house destroyed and covered in dust,' he lamented, 'On the one hand, there was a huge stress of not being able to revise what I had studied throughout the year at the last minute and prepare for the exam calmly, and on the other hand, there was the unimaginable stress of the house where I was born, raised, and lived being destroyed. After being hit by such a double blow, I could not think of anything.'

After the house was destroyed, his family is in a hotel in Naya Bus Park. However, Sushal could not go to that hotel with his family. Since the distance between the hotel and the exam center was very long and it would be difficult to reach the exam in the morning, he was forced to stay in the room where his grandmother was staying in Sinamangal. Sushal, who had already given the exam in three subjects, said that due to mental stress, the first day's exam did not go as well as he had expected.

‘It would have been great if I could have studied with my family during such a stressful time of exams,’ he said, choking up, ‘but the situation forced us to stay apart like this. It feels really bad. I keep wondering what my parents are doing, what kind of place they are living in.’

Kalpana, Girwanika and Sushal, who were hit by the government’s bulldozer in the slums, are just representative characters. The state has not taken any effective steps to ensure their management and educational future. Only after widespread criticism has the Education and Human Resource Development Center under the Ministry of Education finally issued a circular. The center has written to the local levels concerned for student transfer, exam management and school adjustment.

The letter, which was also sent to Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel and Secretary of the Ministry of Education Chudamani Poudel, has only requested the local level to arrange transportation for Class 12 students to and from the designated examination center and provide other necessary facilitation. The ministry is silent on how transportation alone can provide relief to students who have become homeless and are under mental stress.