Schools reopen but teachers yet to return from vacation

Published On: March 3, 2017 01:40 AM NPT By: DB Buda

JUMLA, March 3: Although the winter vacation ended about a month ago, Chakra Bahadur Rokaya, a tenth grader at Janajagrit High School of Ghode Mahadev VDC in Jumla district, has not resumed going to school. He stays home and studies on his own because his teachers are yet to return to the school from the vacation.

Hundreds of students have been affected by such negligence of the teachers. “The school is open, but there are no teachers. That's why I am staying at home and doing self-study instead of going to the school,” said Rokaya.

As teachers have not resumed their classes on time, it's going to be very difficult to complete the course. Due to this, the students are forced to pay high fees and join private tuition classes. Stating that hundreds of students have been badly affected, Rokaya urged the stakeholders to create an environment where students do not have to be deprived of education because of the absence of teachers.

There are 12 teachers at Janajagrit High School. Five of them are from Madhes while seven are locals. Let alone the Madhesi teachers, even the local teachers have not returned to the school. So far, only two teachers have been going to school after the vacation.

Due to the lack of teachers, the students have been staying home stating that going to school would not be fruitful. Parents said their children do not go to the school making such excuses. There are 263 students in the school.

Kalika Primary School of the VDC is facing the same problem. The teaching and learning process has come to a halt as teachers have not resumed their classes. Parents have expressed their annoyance, pointing their fingers at the School Management Committee for 'jeopardizing' the future of their children.

According to locals, source persons and inspecting teams from the District Education Office (DEO) do not inspect the schools which are at difficult geographic locations.

Mahesh Datta Devkota, section officer of the DEO, said he has received complaints that teachers have not returned to schools though the winter vacation ended long back. “The teachers who are from outside the district have not returned yet. As we have already mobilized the school monitoring teams, we'll have full information by the end of the month,” he said, adding that the DEO will take stern action against the “absent” teachers.