Like all her friends, Sunita waits anxiously for the sound of the bell that rings at the end of each period, when all of them rush to nearby houses along with her friends to warm themselves sitting close to a fire. Some students also slip into nearby tents for a little warmth. However, as soon as the bell rings again, they have to return to their makeshift classrooms."Fog and dew trouble us in the morning, while strong winds during daytime results in chilly conditions," said Kancha Gurung, a 10th-grader of the school. "I walk one-and-a-half hours to reach school for attending morning classes. It is very difficult," he added.
Students from Runchet, Kerauja belt, Halchowk and other villages walk up to two hours to reach the school in the harsh cold.
The school has been running classes in makeshift structures since the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck Nepal in April ravaged the school building. The classrooms are set up with just tarpaulins and corrugated sheets. Dewdrops fall from the corrugated sheets during morning and evening, making the classrooms unbearably cold for the students.
Over 400 schools in the district are in similar condition after the disaster. With the SLC examinations approaching, hundreds of students who can't afford to miss classes are studying in the open ground.
The situation is even more woeful in the northern VDCs of the district, where snowfall makes student's lives harsher than it already is. Chhaikampar, Samagaun, Lho, Bihi, Prok, Kerauja, Uiya, Barpak, Gumda, Laprak along with other VDCs in the district experience extreme cold conditions as winter progresses. The harsh cold has also hurt student attendance at several schools.
"It is equally difficult to run classes during the daytime," said Sanjaya Dhakal, school teacher.
District Education Officer Hari Aryal informed they are planning to declare winter vacation after a week. "As per the situation, schools winter vacation can extend up to 45 days," he said. "Only schools in the highlands will be allowed to declare longer holidays," he added.
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