"Teachers fear that courses might not be completed, and we are also worried about our performance in the board exams," said Binod while his classmate Ram Chaudhary nodded in agreement.Fear of appearing in the final exams without completion of the academic courses is common among the 200,000 students in Kaliali district who remained deprived of classes during the political unrest. The violence of two weeks ago in which eight police personnel and a child lost their lives has further aggravated the situation in the district.
Now that the schools have reopened, both teachers and students are focused on giving continuity to classes without any further obstructions.
Locals also believe that life in the district will slowly get back to normal following the reopening of schools.
Binod and Ram, both students of Aishwarya Vidya Niketan, live in the same community though they are of different ethnic origins. Binod's ancestors migrated from the hills whereas Ram is from the indigenous Tharu community. The last one month has seen a violent struggle between the hill people who demand an undivided Far West and the Tharus who are for a separate Tharuhat province.
"With tensions high between the two communities, both of which have a strong presence in the district, we could not even meet each other due to family pressure," said Binod and Ram in one voice.
The two teenagers say they are now happy to be able to meet again and have no bad feelings toward each other.
People in Kailali, who have been under continuous curfew for the last two weeks, had a break from the fear and tension. There was a vibrant air in the marketplace, with the hustle and bustle of children heading to school again.
"Seeing the little children going to school, we feel some hope for a return to peace and harmony" said a local businessman, Ramesh Joshi.
Meanwhile, the local administration remains alert lest the situation turns ugly again, even though life is slowly getting back to normal. The murder in broad daylight of a senior superintendent of police and his assistants has left the District Administration Office on edge still and army personnel deployment in the district have not been withdrawn. But the administration has adopted flexibility over the curfew hours.
The classes run from 6 to 11 in the morning whereas the curfew is enforced from noon till 3 p.m..
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