ITAHARI, Oct 31: At 16, Khusi Rishidev of Duhabi Municipality-9 in Sunsari has never attended school. Every day, she watches children her age walk to and from school with books and notebooks, but she has never considered joining them. No one encouraged her to study, and her family never tried to enrol her.
There is no shortage of community and private schools near her home. Yet Khusi has grown up without learning to recognize letters or write her name. Now, instead of discussing her education, her family has started talking about her marriage.
“I have never been to school. I don't even know why I should study,” she says.
Asked whether she regrets missing out on education, Khusi has little to say. She believes she is now too old to start school.
“My family is talking about my marriage. I am already getting older, and I would feel embarrassed to go to school now,” she says.
While children her age should be studying and planning their futures, Khusi spends most of her time doing household chores and occasionally working as a wage labourer in other people's fields. She finds satisfaction in the little money she earns.
Khusi's story reflects the educational challenges faced by many children in the impoverished Musahar community, also known as Rishidev, in the Tarai.
Seventeen-year-old Radhika Rishidev, also from Duhabi-9, dropped out in Grade 6. She stopped attending Bishnu Secondary School near her home two years ago after gradually losing interest in her studies. Her family made little effort to send her back, while the school did not follow up on her prolonged absence.
Radhika now spends her days doing household chores and occasionally working in other people's fields. She has little idea about what lies ahead.
“Perhaps my husband will provide for me after I get married,” she says.
Fifteen-year-old Baijnath Rishidev of Duhabi-8 also left school two years ago after sitting for his Grade 7 annual examinations. He says his mother's death three years ago disrupted his education. After his mother, Chhina, died at the age of 36, his father, Santosh, went to India for work, leaving Baijnath to manage things on his own.
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“I wanted to study, but my mother's death deeply affected me. Having to manage everything on my own left me with no environment to continue my education,” he says.
Without a supportive environment for studying, Baijnath now spends much of his time playing with friends. He has also developed habits of consuming gutkha, cigarettes and tobacco.
Another 15-year-old, Amrita Rishidev of Duhabi, quit school after completing Grade 3. Her education came to a halt two years ago when her parents, Sita and Arjun, moved to Dubai. Her younger brother, Bishal, is studying in Grade 5.
“I simply don't feel like studying,” she says.
Amrita works as a daily-wage labourer in other people's homes and spends her free time playing with friends. She also occasionally goes fishing in nearby wetlands, fields and streams.
“I may not have studied, but I am managing my household,” she said when met fishing near her settlement last Monday. She also expressed reluctance to have her video recorded.
Her daily routine is irregular. She sometimes stays out late drinking alcohol, wakes up late the next morning and goes to work only when she feels like it.
“Life has to go on anyway. Others do not need to worry about me,” she says.
The Musahar community, one of the most disadvantaged Dalit communities in the Tarai, has long faced barriers to education. Many children never enrol in school, while a significant number of those who do drop out before completing basic education, partly because of limited parental attention to their schooling.
Fourteen-year-old Nandani Rishidev of Duhabi-8 also left school after completing Grade 6 because she lost interest in studying. Of her two elder brothers, Om Prakash has completed Grade 12, while the other, Jay, has never attended school.
In the Rishidev settlement, most households have around three children, with only a few exceptions. Roughly half of the children attend school, while the rest remain outside the education system, according to local residents.
Ashmita Rishidev, a 25-year-old female community health volunteer who moved to the Sonapur settlement in Duhabi-8 after marriage, says repeated campaigns to encourage children to continue their education have failed to bring many of them into school.
“To this day, no one from our Musahar settlement has studied beyond Grade 12. Among women in this settlement, only my sister-in-law and I have completed Grade 12,” she says.
Neighbourhood resident Mahammad Safir says poverty once made it difficult for Musahar families to prioritize their children's education. Although the situation has improved, with many adults now working in factories, he says families still fail to save their earnings or plan for their children's future.
“People spend whatever they earn. No one in the Musahar community seems to have a plan to save money or educate their children to secure a better future,” he says.
Dilchand Rishidev, an elderly resident of the settlement, says efforts to persuade community members to prioritize education have had little effect. Even local leaders have shown limited interest in addressing the problem.
“Everyone wants the village and its people to do well, but no one here listens to anyone,” he says.
The educational situation in Musahar settlements remains poor. Although the community lives in all 12 wards of Duhabi Municipality, many school-age children remain out of school.
According to Bikash Ghimire, chief of the municipality's education section, around 600 of the 2,000 school-age children from the Musahar community in the municipality are out of school. Some children who enrol also drop out before completing their education.
The Koshi Province government is implementing the Saksham Chhori Programme (Capable Daughters) to bring Musahar girls into the education system. However, boys also account for a significant proportion of out-of-school children, highlighting the need for programmes that address the educational needs of both girls and boys.
Ghimire says the municipality is conducting a detailed study of the educational status of Musahar children, including the reasons they remain out of school or drop out. The report, however, has yet to be finalized.
The problem extends beyond Duhabi, with Musahar children in other parts of Sunsari also facing barriers to education.
Early marriage is another factor contributing to school dropouts in the community.
Chandani Rishidev of Duhabi-8 was married at 14. Now 18, she has been married for four years. At an age when she should have been attending school and planning her future, she entered married life without fully understanding what marriage meant or what it would entail.
Her family decided that she should marry, and she felt unable to oppose their decision. Her husband now works at a gas factory.
Chandani spends most of her time doing household chores. She studied only up to Grade 3 before leaving school. As she has grown older, she has come to realize the importance of education and regrets not continuing her studies.
“I wish I could study now,” she says. However, returning to school after marriage has not been easy.
Laxmi Rishidev, another woman from the same settlement, also married at a young age, four years ago. Now in her early twenties, she has a son and regrets giving up her education.
“Even if I could not study, I will make sure my children get an education,” she says.
Besides Duhabi Municipality, Musahar settlements are found in various parts of Sunsari, including Inaruwa Municipality, Ramdhuni Municipality, Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City, Gadhi Rural Municipality—particularly Ward No. 2 and surrounding areas—Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality and the riverside and public-land areas of Koshi Rural Municipality.
According to the 2021 National Census, Sunsari has a total population of 934,461, of whom 3.39 percent belong to the Musahar community.
