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Students off to schools across border
ILAM, MAY 03 -
The worsening academic atmosphere caused by political instability in the country has prompted Nepali students to be enrolled in schools in India. Strikes, closures and protests enforced right at the beginning of the current academic session have caused this outflow, guardians and educationists say.
Last week, Maoist-affiliated All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union-Revolutionary shut down private schools across the country for five days to protest the decision of Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (PABSON) to hike fees.
Earlier, ANNISU-R padlocked the accounts sections of the institutionalised schools. Beginning Sunday, the main opposition party, UCPN (Maoist) has enforced a nationwide general strike.
“The number of students going to Indian institutions had decreased after the beginning of the peace process in 2006,” said district chairman of PABSON, Yuvaraj Basistha. “But due to frequent disruptions in school activities in the political transition post 2006, many parents have decided again to send their children across the border for education.”
Capitalising on the educational and political fluidity in Nepal, many schools have been established on the border recently. Some of these institutions operate their vehicles bearing Indian registration number on the Nepali territory to transport students to and from the school.
Despite high fees in these schools, parents prefer them due to geographical proximity and what they call quality education.
Gobinda Khadka of Pashupatinagar has admitted his children in an Indian School. “Disturbances in academic activities have compelled guardians like me to educate children in Indian schools,” he said.
People of Pashupatinagar, Manebhanjyang, Tumling, Meghma, Jauwari and Kalpokhari, which are close to the border, mostly send their children to schools in nearby Indian towns.
Schools in Darjeeling, including St. Joseph (North Point), Mount Heaven, Vidhya Vikas Academy and Loreto Convent are the obvious choice of Nepali students. A considerable number of Indian schools in border areas depend on fees paid by Nepali students for their operation.
Posted on: 2010-05-04 09:06
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