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From Kathmandu Post · (6h ago) English Critical tone

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • School closures in remote villages are forcing families to migrate in search of education for their children.
  • The merger of small schools due to low enrollment and resource shortages has exacerbated the problem.
  • Families face difficult journeys to reach schools or are forced to abandon their children's education.

In the remote settlement of Thongthong, nestled in the Dolakha district of Bagmati province, a stark reality unfolds: the pursuit of basic education is driving entire families from their ancestral homes. The village, once a community of 43 households, now stands largely deserted, with only nine families remaining. This exodus is not driven by a lack of resources or a desire for urban life, but by the closure of their local school.

To reach the nearest school in Gogar, our children must navigate treacherous cliffside trails for at least four hours every day. It is an impossible commute for a six-year-old.

— Lal Bahadur TamangDescribing the perilous journey children must undertake to attend school after the local one closed.

The Thongthong Basic School, which previously offered education up to grade 3, was merged with another school in Gogar four years ago due to dwindling student numbers. This mirrors a national trend of school mergers and closures, often leaving children in remote areas with no access to schooling. The consequences are dire: parents are faced with the agonizing choice of either keeping their children at home, effectively ending their education, or undertaking arduous journeys to find schooling elsewhere.

I had to lock my house and move to Lamabagar, where I now live in a rented room and work as a labourer at the local hydroelectric project just to keep my children in the classroom.

— Lal Bahadur TamangExplaining the personal sacrifice and migration undertaken for his children's education.

For families like Lal Bahadur Tamang's, this means abandoning their homes and livelihoods. Tamang now resides in a rented room in Lamabagar, working as a laborer to afford his children's education in Gogar, a journey that involves navigating treacherous trails for at least four hours daily. The situation highlights a systemic neglect that extends beyond education, impacting access to health services and transportation. Swasti Tamang's experience of giving birth at home due to the impossibility of reaching a health post underscores the profound hardships faced by these communities, for whom the closure of the local school was the final blow.

We suffered through these hardships, but when the school closed, that was the final blow. If you have no school, you have no future in the village.

— Swasti TamangExpressing the profound impact of school closure on the village's future.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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