GORKHA, Sept 8: Many students in Barpak, Gorkha district, have started to faint frequently due to unbearable heat in their makeshift classrooms.
Most of the schools of Barpak, the epicenter of devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake of April 25, were damaged or destroyed during the catastrophe and its aftershocks. Around 3,520 classrooms that were destroyed in Gorkha due to the quake have been replaced by makeshift buildings constructed using corrugated sheets, tarpaulins and bamboo.However, temperatures inside the small classrooms that are usually crammed with students grow intolerably high on hot days, causing students to face various health problems.
"Students have been complaining of headache, dizziness, lack of appetite, among other health problems," said Kumar Sunar, health assistant of Borlang Health Post.
According to him, spending long hours inside hot classrooms made of zinc sheets and tarpaulins is the main reason behind the illness.
At least five students of Himalayan Higher Secondary School (HSS) of Barpak fainted more than once in their class on Friday. Teachers at the school said students have not been able to concentrate properly and are losing interest in studies. "Many of them have stopped coming to school altogether," said a teacher.
Likewise, a seventh-grader of Maha Laxmi HSS in Taple VDC had to be carried to a nearby tree's shade to bring him to consciousness after he fainted inside his class.
Incidents of students falling unconscious because of excessive heat have been increasing at an alarming rate in the district.
Anil Kumar Sah, in-charge of Barpak Health Post, informed that he has been seeing drastic rise in heat-affected patients of late.
"Students have to study in makeshift classroom and then go back to their makeshift houses. Under such conditions, patients could suffer from other diseases in lack of timely treatment," he warned.
"As it is not possible to construct permanent classrooms immediately, we have instructed schools to make the best use of available resources and keep a close watch on students' health," said District Education Officer Hari Aryal.