A lone teacher for a single student

KUSHMA: A small hamlet is nestled inside a forest and there is an old school on its edge. The school is mandated to run classes up to grade five. The doors of the classrooms are always open, waiting for students.

All the classrooms have desks and benches, and other paraphernalia.

Everything is so normal at the Durga Bhawani Primary School except that it has only one student. This school at Chitre, Modi Rural Municipality was established in 2040 BS. Although the school had quite a large number of students in the past, only Neeraj Lamsal who is a pre-primary student is attending the school these days.

Moreover, Thaku Kumari KC is the only teacher to teach the lone student at this school. Although there is only one student, KC is fulfilling her responsibility. She reaches the school on time six days a week. Before, there were two female teachers, including KC, and an office assistant. But the teacher and the office assistant were deputed on deputation at another school. So, only KC was left to look after the school.

“There used to be 10-15 students who regularly came to school until last year. The number of people migrating out from the village has increased. There’s a brook on the way to school from the village and there’s no bridge to cross it. Although kids can cross the rivulet in winter, they can’t do so during the monsoon. The students mostly go to the next school which is far from the village for lack of a bridge,” KC explained about the dire lack of students in her school.

She shared that she felt disheartened to come to the school where there is only one student and wants the Rural Municipality Office to adjust her to another school.

Students from Hile, Darak, Lamsalthar, Pangalithar, Regmithar and Saradekhola, among others villages near the school used to come to this school. But, they now reach another school which is one hour’s walk away.

However, the locals do not buy the idea of merging the school with the lone student with another school merely in the pretext of lack of students. “This is the only school for the entire village with 70 households. We are holding discussions with the rural municipality office regarding constructing a bridge over the stream on the way to the school, repairing the foot trail to the school and making arrangements for teaching in English medium,” said Sher Bahadur KC, a local.

The rural municipality office on its part says that they are in consultation as to how to manage not only the Durga Bhawani Primary School but other schools with very few students.

“No child should be deprived of his/her right to education, even that means a single student. It is hard to get students due to the out-migration. At some other places, there is problem as students are not satisfied with the teachers,” said Hiradevi Sharma, the Rural Municipality Chairperson.