Rural Schools in Tanahun Shut Down Due to Lack of Students

Rising migration to urban areas and foreign countries has led to a sharp decline in student enrollment in rural schools, prompting closures in Tanahun’s Vyas Municipality.

According to Kedar Raj Acharya, Information Officer and Head of the Education Division at Vyas Municipality, two secondary schools, Kaminkot Secondary School (Ward No. 7) and Basahaesbas Secondary School (Ward No. 9), have been shut down due to zero student enrollment this academic year. Additionally, four other schools have been downgraded.

Acharya noted that only one teacher remains at each closed school to issue academic documents and maintain infrastructure. He attributed the lack of enrollment largely to ongoing teachers’ agitation during the admission period, discouraging parents from enrolling their children.

"Due to this, we had no choice but to close the schools," Acharya explained. Last year, Kaminkot Secondary School had only 22 students enrolled.

In efforts to promote and raise the standards of community schools, teachers have been encouraged to enroll their children in these schools. Acharya said that monitoring efforts have shown that some parents secretly prefer private schools over public ones, even though they’re urged to support community education.

Shukra Secondary School (Ward No. 5) has now been downgraded to a basic school, and Padma Primary School in the same ward is nearing closure, with just four students remaining. Similarly, Gundifachyang Basic School (Ward No. 13), which offered an educational curriculum from Grade 1 to 8, now offers classes only up to Grade 5. In addition, Amar Singh Secondary School (Ward No. 11) previously offered an academic curriculum up to Grade 10, has now been scaled down to Grade 8.

Sanjay Shrestha, Chairperson of Amar Singh Secondary School’s Management Committee, pointed to the easy availability of private schools and transportation, and high migration rates as the main reasons for the declining numbers. “That’s why we decided not to continue Grade 9 and 10,” he stated.

Krishna Prasad Shrestha from the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Tanahun explained that, despite basic infrastructure being available in villages, such as roads, clean water, electricity, and health services, the lack of employment opportunities continues to drive people away, resulting in fewer students for local schools.

Shrestha stated that while community schools in rural areas have proper infrastructure, widespread unemployment has encouraged migration, leaving many villages nearly empty and forcing the closure of local schools.

He stressed that creating income-generating opportunities in these areas could decrease the rate of migration and increase student enrollment. He further recommended that the government could support village revitalization by offering loans to locals, encouraging entrepreneurship, and ensuring market systems follow the fair pricing principles.