Village schools in Tanahun shut in lack of students

By Amarraj Naharki,Tanahun, June 22: The increasing attraction of the villagers to urban centres and the migration of youth abroad have led to the decline in student numbers in rural schools.

As a result, the Vyas Municipality in Tanahun has closed two secondary schools and downgraded four others.

Kedar Raj Acharya, Information Officer and Head of the Education Division at Vyas Municipality, informed that Kaminkot Secondary School (Ward No. 7) and Basahaesthan Secondary School (Ward No. 9) have been shut down. He stated that the schools had to be closed because no students enrolled in the current academic session.

Acharya further mentioned that only one teacher has been retained at each of the closed schools to issue academic certificates and to maintain physical infrastructure.

“Parents did not come to enroll their children this year, mainly due to a teacher agitation during the admission period,” he said. “As a result, we were compelled to shut down the schools in lack of students.”

He added that teachers from these schools have been deployed to other institutions as required. Last year, only 22 students had been enrolled at Kaminkot Secondary School.

“Local stakeholders often express concern about the condition of community schools,” Acharya said, “but without concrete action, the number of students continues to decline.”

To address this issue, teachers have been instructed to enroll their own children in community schools to help raise standards. However, monitoring has revealed that some have secretly enrolled their children in private schools.

According to Acharya, Shukra Secondary School (Ward No. 5) has been downgraded to the basic level. Padma Primary School, located in the same ward, is also on the verge of closure, with only four students remaining.

Similarly, Gundifachyang Basic School in Ward No. 13, which previously offered classes from Grade 1 to 8, now only runs up to Grade 5. Amar Singh Secondary School in Ward No. 11, which used to offer education up to Grade 10, now only runs up to Grade 8.

Sanjay Shrestha, Chairperson of the School Management Committee at Amar Singh Secondary School, said the availability of private school bus service in villages and ongoing migration are major reasons behind the student shortage. “That's why we’ve scaled down to Grade 8 instead of continuing up to Grade 10,” he added.

Krishna Prasad Shrestha, Head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Tanahun, said that although villages have access to roads, drinking water, health posts, and electricity, the lack of job opportunities is causing people to migrate, which in turn has reduced student numbers.

He said, “Community schools in villages have well-equipped buildings, but due to unemployment, migration has left many villages deserted, leading to a rise in school closures.”

Shrestha emphasized that if income-generating opportunities were created in villages, migration would decrease, and student numbers would rise. He also suggested that the government could help revitalize villages by facilitating loans for residents, promoting entrepreneurship, and ensuring markets operate based on cost-price principles.