Feature: Quake-hit Nepal unlikely to see schools reopened as per gov't timeframe

The government of Nepal has postponed the reopening date of its schools to May 29, 15 days later than the previous date but the schools are unlikely to follow the order due to the devastated structures and lack of open spaces for temporary facilities.

Durbar high school is the oldest school in Nepal where top bureaucrats and political leaders completed their high school education. The school is almost completely destroyed, with little hope of restoration.

The headmaster of the school, Hem Chandra Mahato said, "The officials from the district education office are coming and we are planning to make a temporary facility."

The south wall of the library hall of the more than one and a half century old school fell down and killed 11 people during the April 25 quake.

"Though the restructuring and rebuilding of the school is fully dependent on government funding, we can begin schooling temporarily in the support of local people and guardians," said the headmaster, adding "We have sufficient space behind the building so we have no problem installing a temporary learning center."

But Baidya Nath Chaudhary, an English teacher from Yuba Sahabhagita High school Swyambhu said, "We don't have sufficient space to build the temporary school."

He said, "To build the temporary facility the current school should be demolished first."

His school, where 690 students study, has become structurally unsound after the powerful earthquake.

"Around 90 percent of schools in Kathmandu do not have enough space for temporary facilities," he added.

Chaudhary said, "The schools can welcome only 50 percent of students in the beginning because the other 50 percent have left Kathmandu already."

He thought to continue the schooling as before, it is necessary to wait until the aftershocks stop and the government should then begin the reconstruction rapidly.

Viswa Niketan Higher Secondary school, one of the oldest public schools in Kathmandu has seen its classrooms along with the administrative block damaged due to the devastating earthquake.

"It is impossible to reopen the school in this condition," said Binod Kumar Shrestha, a peon serving for 15 years at the school.

He pointed to the cracks and other damage, to demonstrate that anybody could assess the dangerous state of the building. The photos on the walls were smashed, the chemical tubes in the lab were cracked and damaged, whereas the books on the racks were lying in a heap on the floor.

Shrestha said that the 69-year-old school has 1,400 students studying at school level. "We don't have enough space outside to teach students," said the man.

There were some tents and heap of blankets in the small open ground of the school. There were more blankets and quilts inside a few undamaged classrooms. Shrestha said that more than 150 local people, whose houses were damaged during the earthquake, are staying here.

He questioned, "How can school runs in this situation?"

The number of tents seemed to have increased after the powerful shock on Tuesday, which added to the problem of reopening the schools on time.

"No reconstruction work has been done here," said Shrestha.

Gukul Giri from Dhading, one of the worst-affected districts, is a teacher from Rani Pauwa higher secondary school."Our school is completely damaged and no works has been done to repair it... More than 90 percent of schools in the affected areas are damaged, and students cannot even think of going back to school these days. "

"Though the government has allocated a budget to repair and reconstruct the school buildings, until now nothing has started," Giri added.

"Unless the structures are completed there is no possibility of starting school," he said.

Sunita Gautam, living in a rented house in Kathmandu, lost all her books and school uniform in the quake. She is living in a tent in Tudikhel."I want to go to school soon but my school is damaged and I have no books.I will not go to that damaged school until a new structure is built."

Ram Bahadur Pariyar, a guardian of three children and displaced from his rented home to an army ground in the heart of Kathmandu, said,"We cannot send our children to school until the confirmation of their security is made."

Ramesh Chhetri, a taxi driver said his decision to send his children back to school has been further postponed due to the earthquake on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the government has decided to provide cash aid to the destroyed schools for them to make temporary arrangements and some smaller amounts to reform partial damage.

On May 6, UNICEF representative to Nepal Tomoo Hozumi told Xinhua that the schools should be reopened in time to minimize the disruption to education and the risk of violence and trafficking. According to the UNICEF report, about 1.7 million children below the age of 18 have been affected by the earthquake.

The ministry of education report states that 12,550 classrooms and 1,016 water supply systems to the school areas were fully destroyed. More than 4,070 classrooms have major cracks and another 6,889 classrooms have minor cracks, and 1,620 school toilets have also been destroyed, according to the ministry's report.

Moreover 250 students and 32 teachers died during the devastating earthquake. The loss of life after the deadly aftershock on Tuesday is not yet known.

It seems a great challenge for the government to reopen the schools on time. The government has decided to postpone the date of reopening the schools to May 29, after the powerful aftershock on Tuesday. Endi