This school, which runs regularly for students from nursery to class five, currently has a total of only 14 students.
“The students who are here didn’t enroll on their own. We’ve collected and brought children from poor and low-income families from different places. We not only waive the tuition fees of these children but also provide them with school uniform and books,” says the principal of the school, Shyam Sundar Rajthala.[break]
Private schools see a great number of eager parents willing to admit their children to those schools at the beginning of every new academic year whereas the number of parents doing the same in public primary schools appear to be near zero. At present, the 14 students who have been gathered by the schoolteachers are the only students in Chitrapur Ganesh Primary School. This number was only three students last year.
There are four teachers at this school, which although insufficient in number, seems to suffice because of the small student population. According to one of the teachers, Krishna Kumari Thapa, “This school was established with the help of the community but there are no students from the community studying here. There are two local students in class one and three in other classes. We’re obligated to teach them anyway,” she says.
This school was established in 1976 through the financial and physical support of the local community. But the community has not been providing the expected support these days. “Had we not found these 14 students, we wouldn’t have any students. This is all due to the attraction of parents towards private schools,” says another teacher, Arjun Khadka.
Parents have a different say on why they do not prefer sending their children to this public school. The irresponsibility shown by the teachers in the past is the main reason, says Chautare Shyam Rajthala, a local resident. “Even now, the principal only comes to school to sign his attendance, he rarely stays in school. This is proof of the irresponsibility,” says Rajthala. The parents of two students – Aarosh Rajthala and Nirmal Rajputra who were students in this school till the recent academic session but were shifted to private schools – say that the dissatisfaction at the quality of education provided by the community school led to the change.
“The teaching methods of the past don’t work for the present. Because of the teaching methods which aren’t appropriate for today’s times, and the negligence of the teachers and the incompetence of the community school in comparison to the private ones, I’ve admitted my child to a private school,” says Nirmala Rajputra.
Even though some students have been collected, because of the small number, the school has not been able to get help from the community or the District Education Office for its physical infrastructure, says principal of the school.
The state of the other public primary schools in Bhaktapur is as pitiful as this school. Bhaktapur has some 166 pre-primary schools, 62 primary schools and 37 lower secondary schools. Currently, schools like Somlingeshwor Lower Secondary School (Sirutar), Baal Chetan Primary School (Dadhikot), Mahendra Primary School, and Shree Santati Primary School (Bhaktapur) also have very few students.
Because of low student population, other schools in Bhaktapur such as Natyashwori Primary School, Mankamana Primary School, Dakshinkali Primary School, Navajyoti Primary School and Shrikrishna Primary School are also on the verge of closing down. However, these schools cannot be shut down without the consent of the communities who supported their establishment, the District Education Office informs.
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