Quake-affected children too scared to attend classes

By Raju Lamichhane/Basudev Sharma

Rukum West/Jajarkot, Nov. 23: Children in Jajarkot and Rukum West are afraid to go to school. The earthquake of November 3 has impacted them so much that they are afraid to be indoors.

The schools in these districts opened for the first time since the quake on Monday. But not many students could attend. 

Dipesh Pun Magar, a grade 2 student at Dobhan Secondary School in Chinabagar, Sanibheri Rural Municipality-1, Rukum West, said he was afraid of the school collapsing. The quake demolished his house and injured him and his mother. He has not been able to forget that event.

The same seems to be the case with his schoolmates as well. On Monday, only 35 students came, informed Dobhan School's principal Purna Bahadur Oli.

Subash Malla of Aathbiskot Municipality-14 said that his third-grader daughter was in no condition to study. "Houses and schools have collapsed. Books and copies have been buried. The children are not in a state to attend classes," he said.

Tilak Narayan Malla, principal of Adarsha Secondary School, where Subash's daughter studies, said that seven of the eight buildings of the school had been damaged. Five have been completely destroyed while two sustained normal damages. The quake also demolished the school's hostel.

Malla said that his school was trying to provide psychological counselling to the students to help them get back to studying.

Parvati BC, a counsellor from the non-governmental organisation SOSEC Nepal, told The Rising Nepal that children felt uneasy about coming to school. BC is presently in Aathbiskot's Janbikas Secondary School and she said that seeing the rubble and ruins of their homes and schools had scared children terribly. Furthermore, three students of the school died. This also affected kids emotionally.

Dinesh Rawal, a student of Laxmi Prapti Secondary School in Jajarkot, said seeing his school cracked and damaged his morale was down.