Amidst the closure of community schools, 68-year-old Nim Lamu from Sandakpur Rural Municipality-5 Kalpokhari is making arrangements to send her granddaughter to India for education. She stated, "I've secured accommodation near RIBS School in Manebhanjyang, India, to facilitate my granddaughter's education. I plan to leave in the first week of Chaitra."
As public schools shut down due to a lack of students, children from the Indian border villages in Ilam are turning to Indian schools. With no school in the village of Lekali in northern Ilam, which is adjacent to India, children there are compelled to attend Indian schools.
It has been eight years since the closure of the National Primary School in Jaubari, shut down in 2072 due to insufficient students. Highlighting the situation, a local mentioned, "As children from the border area started attending Indian schools, local schools faced a shortage of students. Up to 80 children used to study at that school. Since then, no steps have been taken to reopen the school."
Currently, around 15 children from this area are studying at RIBS School in Manebhanjyang. Doma Sherpa, who rented a room in Manebhanjyang for teaching, revealed the monthly cost is between NPR 15,000 to 18,000. She expressed, "Teaching children in my own country would be easier, but there are no schools; all efforts have gone in vain."
The issue extends beyond Jaubari, impacting communities like Tumling, Megma, Kalpokhari, Aale Bhanjyang, Nunthala, Ingla, and Gairibas. Many girls from these areas attend Indian schools due to the lack of schools on the Nepalese side. Some have to traverse long distances to study, and some families opt for Indian markets, making education costlier.
Saraswati Primary School in Megma, Sandakpur-5 Kalpokhari, and another primary school in Majuwa, Sandakpur-5, have also closed down. Pasang Chhiring Sherpa, former principal of the now-closed national primary school in Jaubari, shared this information. Due to the lack of schools in the Lekali area, where he resides, parents are compelled to live near the Indian border for their children's education. He mentioned that around 15 girls from this area are currently studying at RIBS School in Mane Bhanjyang, India.
However, Lekali is not the sole affected area. Nabin Lamal from Myanglung-2 Megma revealed that his niece, Dom Sherpa, is studying at RIBS School in Mane Bhanjyang, incurring a monthly expense of NPR 15,000 to 18,000. Dom Sherpa said, "It would have been easy to educate children in our own country if there were schools, but there are none. All the effort goes in vain."
Thukten Lama of Jaubari explained that after enrolling his grandparents in an Indian school, the schools on the Nepal side closed due to a lack of students. Nepali students from the border region go to study at RIBS School in Mane Bhanjyang, India. Lama emphasized, "With no schools on the Nepal side, children must be educated regardless of the cost. It is more a necessity than a desire for the border residents."
According to Sherpa, taking students to India not only incurs expenses, but Nepali children also lack awareness of Nepal's nationality and self-respect. The closed schools have fallen into disrepair. Previously, the Armed Police were stationed at the National Province of Jaubari, and they constructed their own building near the school. Thus far, concerned authorities have not shown interest in operating schools in border areas.
