Schools ravaged by landslides, floods open in Kavre but there’s no space for teaching-learning

Nepal: Two groups of students are seated in a mat on the floor outside the Indradevi Basic School’s building in Panauti Municipality-12, Kavre, on Sunday afternoon. There were no white boards, desks or benches, or any other education materials.

 

Indradevi Basic School

After the devastating floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains on September 27 and 28 ravaged the school buildings, the administration has had no alternative to run classes under the open sky.

 

There is the Kalanti stream in the front part of Indradevi Basic School. The flooded stream damaged the front yard and deposited river-bed materials while the landslides buried several classrooms of the school. The community school is still at high risk of floods and landslides.

 

Indradevi Basic School has five buildings, of which, the floods and landslides damaged three. Classes resumed after cleaning two buildings that were built after the 2015 earthquake.

 

The rain-induced disasters of September last week damaged scores of school buildings in Kavre, a hill district of Bagmati Province. Most of the disaster-ravaged schools resumed classes nearly six weeks after the disasters. However, the educational institutions have had a tough time operating classes due to lack of infrastructures and resource materials.

 

“We are compelled to make students sit on the floor outside after the disasters damaged the school buildings. It’s not easy to carry out teaching-learning activities in the open area without required teaching materials,” said Dhan Kumari Dahal, a teacher at Indradevi Basic School. “Winter is looming large. It will be very cold for the small children staying under the open sky. How can we run classes when it rains?”

 

She added that both the panic-stricken students and guardians are worried about the school environment.

 

The floods in the local stream had swept away a house, a shop and an animal shed of Manjil Tamang, a sixth grader at Indradevi Basic School. The floods took away his books, copies, school uniform and bag. Manjil became quite worried as the school reopened after the Tihar festival last week thinking, “How to study without books, copies and other stationeries?”

 

“The floods ruined us. We don’t have our house now. The floods swept away all our properties,” said Manjil, who still recalls nature's fury. His family is staying at a neighbour’s house. “Our class began. The school provided us with copies and pencils. The teachers told us that the school will provide us with uniforms and books.”

 

There are a total of 92 students in Indradevi Basic School. “Some families were displaced due to floods and landslides. It seems that four students won’t come to school as their families were displaced by the rain-induced disasters,” said Krishna Prasad Humagain, headmaster at Indradevi Community School. According to him, the school opened on Friday but very few students came to school. “The students started visiting school after the school administration assured them to provide them books, bags and uniforms,” he added.

 

According to Humagain, the students who witnessed calamities are still traumatised. “They need psychological counseling. We will shortly talk to the authorities concerned about the issue,” said Humagain.

 

The ordeal of the floods- and landslides-ravaged schools is the same. The schools are left in a lurch due to lack of infrastructures and educational materials. The students are also reluctant to go to schools as they lost their books, bags and uniforms in the disasters.

 

There are a total of 606 schools 508 community schools, 96 institutional and two religious schools in Kavre. According to the Education Development Coordination Unit, the floods and landslides damaged 188 schools in September last week.

 

Debaka Dhakal, chief at the Education Development Coordination Unit, informed that 29 schools in Dhulikhel Municipality, 28 in Chaurideurali Rural Municipality, 26 in Bethanchok Rural Municipality, 18 each in Panauti Municipality and Roshi Rural Municipality, 14 Namobuddha Municipality, 12 in Panchkhal Municipality, 10 in Bhumlu Rural Municipality, nine each in Mandandeupur Municipality and Mahabharat Rural Municipality, seven in Temal Rural Municipality, four each in Khanikhola Rural Municipality and Banepa Municipality were ravaged by the floods and landslides.

 

“Preliminary damage caused by the rain-induced disasters has been assessed in coordination with the local units. Works are on for the reconstruction and repair of the damaged school infrastructures,” said Dhakal.

 

Kavre is the worst hit district by the floods and landslides that struck various parts of the country in the last week of September. A total of 78 people were killed in Kavre alone while the rain-induced disasters ruined various infrastructures including houses, roads, community building, drinking water projects and utility poles.