National
Schools unsure about morning classes in winter
The agitating Samyukta Madheis Morcha (SLMM) has agreed to allow schools in Biratnagar to run classes in the morning hours.Jitendra Sah
The agitating Samyukta Madheis Morcha (SLMM) has agreed to allow schools in Biratnagar to run classes in the morning hours. However, parents and school operators are unsure if the children could take their classes regularly as winter progresses.
The schools have started to run morning classes for now, but the children are already having difficulties attending their classes because of cold.
Dipak Niraula, the accountant of Balkalyan Bidhya Mandir, said the school has not decided if they will conduct morning classes when winter has set in.
“Since we cannot continue running the classes the morning, we have requested the Morcha to allow us to run our classes without any restrictions until 4 pm,” he said.
Ramesh Rajbanshi, a parent, said his children cannot wake up early in the morning to go to school.
“After the prolonged banda and protests, I had to rent a room in Biratnagar so that my children do not have trouble going to school,” he said.
Another parent, Dhirendra Harijan shared a similar sentiment.
“It would be a great relief if our children could go to school regularly,” he said.
Of late, the SLMM has even barred motorcycles from plying the streets. This move has particularly affected those parents who had been taking their children to school on motorcycles. Now, parents are walking their kids to school.
Purnima Devi, a parent, said the government should address the demands of the agitating Madhes-based-party to end the crisis. “Our kids are in stress due to the ongoing hardships,” she said.
There are many children from rural areas who go to schools in Biratnagar. Before the Tarai plunged into protests and bandas, these children used to take school buses to reach their schools. Many of them even relied on public vehicles. Shiva Prasad Adhikari, principal of Namuna Secondary School, said they cannot begin their classes before 7:30 in the morning because of cold.
He appealed to the SLMM leaders to create an environment so that the children could go to their schools without any problems.