Humla's Dalit settlement has no SEE candidates for 3 years

BY RAJAN RAWAT,Humla, Apr. 16: In Humla district, not a single student from a Dalit settlement has appeared in the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) for the past three years. The absence of students for the exam is attributed to an increasing trend of students dropping out of school after reaching higher grades.

Dharma Raj Jaisi, a local from Chautari village in Tanjakot Rural Municipality-3, located in the southern part of the district, there are currently no students enrolled in Grades IX and X. He said that although students study up to Grades VII and VIII, they stop attending school afterward, which is why no student from the village has participated in the SEE for the past three years.

Chautari village, which is entirely inhabited by Dalits, has 80 households with a total population of 480 people. Jaisi said that there are currently 33 students of the appropriate age for Grades IX and X, but they are not enrolled. He added that some students drop out of school to work in India, while others leave their studies for various forms of employment, leading to a high dropout rate.

Ward member Krishna Nepali said that even though there is a secondary school near the village, the dropout rate is high and as a result, no student has been able to sit for the SEE. Dharmodaya Secondary School lies just a 20-minute walk from the village, and there is also a basic school within the community. While younger children regularly attend classes in the lower grades, the dropout rate in higher grades has reached 100 per cent, he said.

Currently, 11 students are enrolled in Grade VII and the number is even higher in the lower classes. However, Jaisi said that despite owning some land, local families cannot produce enough food to last the entire year, forcing students to abandon their studies to earn a living.