Nuwakot, Apr. 20:Sahila Tamang, 12, of Lachyang Village Development Committee leaves for the jungle with the cock’s crow to collect fodder and firewood. Immediately after his return home, he again leaves his home to graze his cattle and goats.
Similar is the fate of the majority of the children in Nuwakot. About sixty per cent school-age kids are forced to stay away from the light of education. They have no idea of what a school is like. Asked why does not he go to the school, Sahila said, “Who will collect fodder and graze the cattle?”
Charimaya of the same VDC left school completing class III. Responding to a question on why she left the school, 15-year-old Charimaya said, “It is not proper for a girl of marriageable age to attend school.” Charimaya who believes that she is matured enough for marriage is totally unknown of the frequent child rights workshops and seminars in the cities.
This is not only the case in the remote villages. The presence of the student is very thin even in Mahalaxmi Primary School and B. P. Memorial Primary School located in Bidur Municipality. Although the enrolment touches 200 in class I and II in B. P. Memorial Primary School, the number drops down to 15-20 by class V. The presence of the children from the lower class and the ethnic communities is almost nil.
“The guardians here are not aware that children should be sent to school,” Bageshwori Secondary School (BSS)’s headmaster Lal Bahadur Kunwar said. “However the situation is changing gradually. The parents these days feel proud if their wards have completed primary education before joining the household and farm chores.”
The figures provided by the District Education Office shows that out of 95,939 children below 10, only 38,526 have been attending schools.
“Lack of awareness among the people, indifference of the people’s representatives, lack of contact and co-ordination between the teachers and the guardians, and the inconvenient location of the schools are the main reasons behind poor literacy,” BSS management committee Chairman Aan Bahadur Pyakurel said.
United Lower Secondary School’s headmaster Indra Bahadur Pandit too said that lack of awareness was the major factor behind the dismal educational scenario. “People still marry off their daughters before she completes 15. They have a misconception that they will have difficulty in finding a good suitor if she is provided higher education.”
Inconvenient location of schools is another aspect of the problem, he added.
The guardians here engage their daughters in the household business from their childhood, as they believe that the daughters’ prime duty is to take charge of the house and satisfy their in-laws once they are married.