“It takes almost three hours to reach school,” says Magar, a sixth grader. “Though the school ends at four in the evening, I don´t reach home until seven,” he added. [break]
Three dozen students in the village share the same plight as there is no primary school in the village. The closest schools -- Janajyoti Primary School in Simalta and the Bhuwaneshwari Higher Secondary School in Parigaun -- are a six hour walk from the village.
Children living in Lower Shirsha, Bhangaun, Bhattawadi, Aamthala, and Kaldhungi, among other villages, trek for three to four hours every day to reach their schools.
“We have to send our children to school early in the morning, else they cannot make it on time,” said Bir Bahadur Magar, guardian of Suresh. There is no option, he added.
The District Education Office issues permission to set up a new school if it has at least 40 students on its rolls.
“The villagers neither have enough students to set up a school in their own village, nor the money,” said Ramesh Joshi, a social worker.
Binod Thapa Magar, a sixth grader at Bhuwaneshwari Higher Secondary School, said teachers scold him if he does not reach school on time. “And walking alone in the forest is a problem,” he added.
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