Academic activities resume in community schools

By Chandra Pandak,Taplejung, May 6: Community schools in Taplejung district have reopened since Friday. These schools had remained closed due to the month-long Kathmandu-centric protests launched by the Nepal Teachers’ Federation. 

With the reopening, schools have resumed both the student enrolment campaign and teaching-learning activities, according to school officials.

The community schools have reopened nearly three weeks after the start of the new academic session. After 28 days of agitation, an agreement was reached between the government and the Nepal Teachers’ Federation on April 30, paving the way for the reopening of schools.

Due to the closure, schools had not been able to begin the academic session or run the enrolment campaign effectively. However, from Friday onwards, schools across the district have started enrolment drives, textbook distribution, and regular teaching-learning activities.

Kamal Prasad Bhattarai, Headmaster of Shivalaya Basic School located in Phulbari, Ward No. 7 of Phungling Municipality, stated that students have started attending classes once parents were informed about the reopening. 

According to him, the school communicated with guardians and shared the news, which led to students returning to school. He also added that to compensate for the academic loss caused by the teachers’ protest, schools plan to operate without the usual holidays in July.

Similarly, Omnath Gautam, Headmaster of Siwa Secondary School in Linkhim, Ward No. 3 of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality, confirmed the reopening of the school following the suspension of the protest. He informed that students' enrolment, textbook distribution, and classes resumed simultaneously after the school reopened.

Following the resumption of classes, a sense of happiness and relief has been observed among students and parents throughout the district. The one-month closure had left many disheartened at a time when the enrolment campaign and teaching were supposed to commence. With schools now reopened, parents and students feel reassured that the academic calendar will continue uninterrupted.

According to Yugmani Sabehang, head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Taplejung, not only teaching but all other academic activities had come to a standstill due to the prolonged closure.

Taplejung has a total of 343 community schools. Of them, 207 operate classes from Grade 1 to 5, 67 from Grade 6 to 8, and 69 from Grade 9 to 10. Additionally, 32 schools conduct classes from Grade 11 to 12, according to Ramnarayan Chaudhary, Information Officer and Technical Assistant at the Education Development and Coordination Unit. As per Chaudhary, in the academic year 2024, a total of 30,297 students—14,946 girls and 15,451 boys—were enrolled in community schools in the district.