Kathmandu, 10 September (H.S.): Nearly 500 students from the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts of Nepal are still unaccounted for following the devastating floods that struck the country on August 26. According to information available so far, 285 students from Rasuwa and 224 from Nuwakot remain out of contact.

According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Rasuwa, 285 students in the district have still not been traced following the floods and the subsequent disaster. Of the 17 teachers reported missing, the body of one has been recovered. In Rasuwa, there are also 39 students whose both parents remain unaccounted for.

Unit chief Durgaprasad Silwal said relatives have taken in children whose parents are missing. He said four schools in Rasuwa were completely destroyed, including three community schools and one institutional school.

Classes have resumed at schools that were not affected by the floods. Meanwhile, four to five schools have been converted into holding centres and are currently not conducting classes.

In Rasuwa’s Naukunda Rural Municipality, classes resumed on August 27, while schools reopened in Uttargaya on September 9, Kalika on September 7 and Aamachhodingmo on September 9. Preparations are underway to resume classes in Gosainkunda Rural Municipality from September 11.

Silwal said preparations were being made to transfer students from completely destroyed schools to other schools so that they could continue their education. Plans are also being considered to provide residential facilities for affected students.

In flood-hit Nuwakot district, 224 students and 11 teachers remain unaccounted for. According to Surya Bahadur Khatri, head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, 10 schools in the district have been damaged, including two institutional schools. These 10 schools have currently been designated as holding centres.

Classes have also resumed at schools in Nuwakot that were not affected by the floods. Schools in Bidur Municipality reopened from Thursday. Authorities are planning to provide alternative educational arrangements for students whose schools have been damaged.

Khatri said preparations were underway, with support from government and non-governmental organisations, to ensure that students could continue their education. Classes at Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School are scheduled to resume from September 17. Authorities are also planning to make buildings or land available to damaged schools so that they can resume operations as soon as possible.

Local residents have offered community buildings, while the provincial government has also indicated that land could be made available. The Ministry of Education has asked authorities to submit a budget proposal for operating schools on a residential basis. At schools being used as holding centres, the plan is to use half of the available space for classes and the other half to accommodate displaced people.

In Dhading district, three teachers remain unaccounted for. According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit, the body of one teacher has been recovered. The bodies of four former teachers have also been found, while two other former teachers remain unaccounted for.

Unit chief Krishna Kumar Shrestha said efforts were continuing to collect information about the students. Ten schools in Dhading have been damaged. Psychosocial counselling for students began on Thursday.

Shrestha said classes would be resumed only after students had received psychosocial counselling. Staff members have been deployed to collect detailed information about the affected students.

The schools and educational institutions damaged in Dhading include Bageshwari Secondary School, Amleshwar Gurukul, Success Academy, Bhadrakali Gurukul, Jaleshwari Secondary School, Kalidevi Secondary School, Buddhivikas Primary School, Shankhadevi Secondary School, Rising Star and Dhusha Community Learning Centre.

The government has directed authorities to begin regular classes only after students have received psychosocial counselling. The Education Department has issued a circular stating that disasters can leave students suffering from fear, stress and other psychosocial difficulties. It therefore said their psychosocial condition must be assessed before regular classes resume.

The concerned schools and local bodies have been instructed to coordinate with health institutions and healthcare workers to identify students requiring psychosocial support.

The Education Department has stressed that it is essential to ensure that students are mentally prepared to return to regular classes. Only after this assessment should normal teaching and learning activities resume.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar