It is common knowledge that poverty has been the root cause of many social evils. It impedes the progress of an individual, family, society and the nation as a whole. When the incidence of penury is combined with the elements of marginalisation and inaccessibility of basic amenities, the conditions of the people really get worse. Poverty has multiple negative implications for the people of all age groups. It is very painful and worrisome when the children are deprived of basic education just because their parents can’t afford to send them to schools owing to household poverty and economic difficulty. Nonetheless, it is a bitter fact that the students living in far-flung and backward places of the country fail to complete their primary education. Around five per cent students drop out of schools before completing their education cycle every year.
Many studies have been conducted to diagnose the causes of dropout and resolve this problem. Abject poverty is one vital factor but there are also other important reasons such as lack of access, equity, adequate budget and infrastructure, decline in quality education and migration behind this educational malaise. In the difficult geographical areas, students leave schools before the completion of the academic session. The dropout rate is higher among the Dalit and marginalised students. Therefore, economic, sociological and topographical factors are mainly responsible for students’ dropout. In order to reduce it, the government and concerned agencies should provide more scholarships, mid-day meals, physical infrastructures and education materials for the poor students. In Nepal, these sorts of incentives have been very effective to minimise dropout in the villages that lack modern educational facilities.
According to a news report carried out by this daily on Saturday, the dropout rate in Thakre Rural Municipality in Dhading has gone down significantly thanks to the free meal and snack that are provided to the poor students on a daily basis. Janabhojanalaya that is run by philanthropic social organisations has been providing lunch to about 500 students of nearby schools and distributing tiffin to about 1500 students of surrounding six schools every day. The restaurant, located at Damechaur along the Tribhuvan Highway, began to serve the students since 2009. The Prem Rawat Foundation and Prem Sagar Foundation Nepal have been providing foods to school students under Nutritious Food Campaign. The schools were selected keeping in mind the socio-economic status of the local people who belong to Tamang community. After enjoying the meal, the students have stopped leaving their schools in mid-session. Students from around a dozen schools, including Bagheshwori Secondary School of Naukhande, Mahakali Secondary School of Bahuthana, Liti Mahakali Secondary School, Ganesh Primary School, Salampur and Tistung Deurali Nepal Chamber Primary School have benefited from free meal and snack.
The distribution of free meal has been also effective in improving the physical and academic activities of children. This has provided respite to the poor parents who have to go to farms from the early morning and do not have time to prepare food for their school-going kids. This humanitarian programme has positive impacts on students, families and society. On one hand, the students from economically poor section of the society have become able to continue their study and on the other they should no longer suffer from malnutrition that hampers their physical and mental growth. Now the social organisations in parts of the country need to be encouraged to invest in imparting education to the children reeling from penury and privation.
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