Quake-hit schools yet to resume classes in Rukum West

By Raju Lamichhane Rukum West, Nov. 27: Most of the schools whose buildings collapsed in the November 3 earthquake in Rukum West have been unable to resume classes even a week after the long festival holiday ended.  

As the construction of the makeshift learning centres has been delayed, the schools have no safe places to run their classes.  

Although the local government has decided to construct temporary learning centres, teaching-learning activities have been hampered in the schools whose buildings were completely or partially damaged because of the delay in preparing the makeshifts.  

 In the absence of structures, students of Jana Bikas Secondary of Aathbiskot Municipality-14 have been forced to take their classes in the open ground, braving the heat of the sun in midday and cold in the afternoon.  

According to school headmaster Deepak Sangam Thapa, the school could not get the support announced by different institutions and even the local government. The school has not even received tents and tarpaulins to build makeshifts. 

"With the help of all the locals of the village, the school managed to build temporary infrastructure with local products, but we have not received any other materials like mattresses, tarpaulins and other goods to cover and roof the structure,  Thapa said.

 Indra Bahadur Bista, the education officer of the municipality admitted that the tasks of constructing temporary learning centres were not moving at the desired pace.  

In Aathbiskot Municipality alone, 139 temporary learning centres are required to be built immediately, said Bista. But as of Saturday (November 25), only seven makeshift learning centres were built for five schools. 

Of 64 total schools in the municipality, 53 schools, 252 classrooms and 76 toilets have been damaged by the November 3 earthquake. 

However, temporary learning centres have been built in all the schools of Sani Bheri Rural Municipality of the district. 

Of 49 schools in the Rural Municipality, 32 schools were damaged by the quake, education officer Bhupal Singh Bista said. 

He said that the education office has planned to resume the schools by constructing 74 temporary learning centres. "Within two or three days, temporary learning centres will be prepared in all schools," said Bista. 

According to Tara Prasad Pun, Chief of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Rukum West, 52 schools among 288 community and 20 private schools in the district have been damaged and 70 are at high risk. 

In total, 567 classrooms have been damaged, 55 toilets have been completely damaged and 83 have been partially damaged, according to the statistics of the unit office.