ROLPA, March 11: The ailing health of the students studying at Pitaraj Basic School (PBS) of Liwang, the district headquarters of Rolpa, has left their parents worried for the past two months. In order to stop the students from fainting in their classrooms, parents deployed shamans twice and even "sacrificed" a goat but nothing worked.
"Shamans recited prayers and doctors provided counseling to the students but nothing worked," said Lila Acharya, principal of the school, adding, "We have not been able to teach our students properly for more than two months. We are worried that this will badly affect the annual result."
Parents mull goat sacrifice as children keep fainting at school
After hearing about the condition of students, Purna KC, mayor of Rolpa, visited the school on Sunday. When he reached the school at around 10 am, one of the girls was lying unconscious in her classroom. Later, Mayor KC told the students to stand in queue and told that there are no ghosts or witches. "These students will be appearing for their final exams after three days. If this situation continues in the new academic year, I am planning to invite a psychiatrist for them," said Mayor KC, "It does not matter how much money we will have to spend for their treatment, but we will have to solve this problem."
Earlier, the school remained closed for days after the students started falling ill. Despite resuming classes later, teaching and learning has not been effective as the students keep shivering and falling one after another.Meanwhile, parents have started thinking about changing the school of their children hoping that their health will improve. Some students had stopped coming to the school out of fear as they witnessed their friends falling in front of their eyes. "We could not run their classes properly and now we are worried how they will perform in their exams," said Principal Acharya, adding, "In the beginning, it was just one or two students but over the last few days at least eight students have been fainting in a day."
Some teachers still feel awkward when people ask them about the shamans they allowed after the request of parents. They lament it was an obligation not a choice.
The doctors of the District Hospital who have treated hundreds of patients say they might need help to treat the students of PBS. "In this case, there is no alternative to calling a psycho-social counselor and a psychiatrist," said Sushil Acharya, chief of the District Hospital, Rolpa, adding, "Not just the senior even the small children are falling ill. This has become a serious problem and needs to be solved."
He says, not just the students but even the parents need to be counseled.
