Off the wire
Feature: Former Japanese soldier's photographic legacy of Nanking massacre  • Interview: China's aid efforts in quake-hit Nepal important diplomatic practice of building community of common destiny among neighboring countries: ambassador  • China's Xi, Swedish king swap congratulatory notes on anniversary of ties  • 1st LD-Writethru: China April PPI drops 4.6 pct y-o-y  • Georgia's new cabinet wins vote of confidence  • 1st LD: China April CPI grows 1.5 pct y-o-y  • Australian teenager charged with terrorist plot  • Austria celebrates 70th anniversary of end of WWII  • Doctor for Olympic champion swimmer Sun Yang given new ban  • Speedskating Olympic champ Morrison breaks leg in motorcycle accident  
You are here:   Home

Feature: Bringing children in Nepal's quake-hit areas back to school now priority

Xinhua, May 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Children had a difficult time in adjusting to normal life after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, that is why Nepali authorities and non- government organizations (NGOs) are now giving priority to bring these children back to school.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 1.7 million children have been directly affected by the massive earthquake and would need special medical attention, including psycho-social support.

Most of the schools in the country have been completely damaged, particularly in the worst-hit areas such as the districts of Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Nuwakot and Dhading.

Experts here said that one way of letting the children forget their harrowing experience during the earthquake is to send them back to school where they can mingle with other kids and can be kept busy with school assignments.

Special care would be needed for orphaned children or those who have lost their parents in the quake, experts said.

Education authorities, with the support of NGOs, are now setting up temporary classrooms in the open spaces made of bamboo materials and tarpaulin to makd classes resume.

"Since almost all schools in the remote villages have been damaged, our foremost priority now is to set up temporary schools where we can provide training and psycho-social support to children," Shisir Khanal, CEO of Teach for Nepal (TFN), told Xinhua in an interview Thursday.

TFN is an NGO that is working to address the need for quality education throughout Nepal.

In the severely-affected districts of Gorkha, Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of schools had been destroyed, while around 80 percent of school buildings had collapsed in Dhading district.

Around 1 million children have enrolled in Nepali schools throughout the country for the new school year which was scheduled to start in mid-April or just before the earthquake.

Following the quake, the lives of so many children who lost family members and their houses have been torn apart. In such a situation, only by bringing these children back to school would allow them to overcome their fears and forget about their traumatic experience.

Khanal said during the initial days in school, the teachers must allow the children to play and have fun, adding that laughter is the best way for the children to forget their sad and frightful experience during the disaster.

According to Khanal, parents as well as ordinary citizens must be aware that they have an obligation not just to send the children back to school but also to help in the procurement of books, notebooks, pencils and papers, not to mention requirements for the setting up of temporary school houses.

Prakash Shrestha, a young graduate and a teacher at Mahakali Secondary School in Melamchi-8, Sindhupalchowk District, told Xinhua that they have already contacted families living in tents to bring their children back to school starting next week.

Aside from Prakash, more than 60 young graduates from across the country, who are working as teachers under TFN in different government schools have been reaching out to children in Nepal's worst-hit districts.

In an earlier interview with Xinhua, Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF's Representative in Nepal, said that during emergencies, schools can be used not just to allow children to renew their schooling but also to make them relax and have fun.

The government has announced that all schools, including those in the worst-hit areas, would reopen on May 15. Endi