BAJHANG, Dec 21:  As the mercury dropped following the recent snowfalls, schools in Bajhang district are conducting classes on open grounds to stave off the extreme cold.

The district witnessed snowfalls just a week ago. Teachers said they have no choice but to conduct classes on open grounds due to the sudden fall in temperature.

The winter is colder this year, compared to the past years. We shiver no matter how thick clothes we wear,” said Ramesh BK, a third grader at Namuna Primary School in Chainpur. The school administration instructed the teachers to conduct classes on the open ground after one of the students caught pneumonia due to the extreme cold, according to him. 

However, conducting classes on open grounds has its own problems. “We cannot concentrate on our studies no matter how hard we try. There are students of different classes on the same ground and it becomes noisy, preventing us from concentrating on our studies,” added BK, the third grader. 

Similarly, students are made to sit on the ground without any mattresses or benches while the teachers sit on chairs. Rajesh Singh, an eighth-grader at Narayan High School at Pimi, complained that sitting on the ground has left many students with upset stomachs.

“We spend most of our time at the school collecting firewood, huddling around the fire and talking. The school has become just a timepass,” said the eighth-grader. 

Gajendra Rasaili, principal of Namuna High School, said the school’s small ground is not enough to accommodate everyone comfortably. “This brings a lot of challenges during teaching. Not to mention that some students and teachers are not well due to the cold. 
This has affected studies very badly.”

 
• cold
 
• winter
 
• children
 
• education