PARBAT, Oct 18:  With the establishment of private schools in villages, number of students in community schools has decreased significantly. In primary level classes, there are some grades with no students at all. Parents shift their wards to private schools citing poor education standard in community schools. 

In order to attract students to its community schools, the Mahashila Rural Municipality has adopted a new policy. It has decided to teach students in English medium and also to pay for their lunch every day. 

Raju Prasad Paudel, chairperson of the rural municipality informed that it was necessary to take such decision for improving the quality of education and increasing the number of students in community schools. He informed that the students up to grade three will be given Rs. 10 per day for lunch. 

As of now, there are altogether 28 community schools in the rural municipality. "Every day we will provide schools with Rs. 10 per student and the school will manage lunch for them," said Chairperson Poudel. Many students in community schools don't bring lunch along with them, as a result, they leave their school early due to hunger. Poudel says that the lunch incentive will help to retain the students in their classes for the whole day. 
 
As it won't be possible to provide food to all the classes, Rural Municipality is planning to urge students above grade four to compulsorily carry lunch with them. Besides that, it has urged the community schools to develop infrastructures essential for extracurricular and academic activities.
  
The rural municipality also plans to upgrade the quality of education provided at the school by hiring additional skilled teachers. “Teacher's will be strictly inspected and if they are found teaching students without making a teaching plan, action will be taken against them," he said. Every school must take terminal exams. Basically, the rural municipality aims to make its community schools as good as private schools, Poudel asserted.

 
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