Kathmandu, October 6 — Due to heavy rainfall on September 27, approximately 165 schools across the country have suffered damage. Many school buildings have collapsed due to subsequent flooding, landslides, and inundation, while some have sustained partial damage. In several cases, access roads to schools have been washed away, making travel impossible.

Around 250,000 students have been affected by flooding and landslides. The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology is currently collecting detailed information on the damages. As of now, reports indicate that 165 schools have been impacted, with 42 schools in Madhesh Province affected by flooding, impacting approximately 11,000 students.

According to the ministry's report, 20 students have lost their lives due to flooding and landslides. The ministry is still in the process of gathering damage reports, so this number may increase. Following the floods and landslides, the government had urged local authorities to close schools for three days.

Most schools have complied with the government’s appeal to close. However, the Dashain holiday has already begun, and classes are currently suspended. Once the Dashain and Tihar holidays are over, studies will resume, raising concerns about whether the damaged schools can be rebuilt by then.

Ministry spokesperson Lakshmi Prasad Bhattarai stated that the collection of detailed damage reports is ongoing, and decisions regarding reconstruction will be made once the data is compiled.

“We are in the process of gathering all details and are providing daily updates. Once all information is in, we will analyze it,” spokesperson Bhattarai said. “Local authorities will take necessary actions. For larger damages, we have allocated a budget of NPR 20 million for each province.”

Bhattarai also noted that any issues that cannot be addressed with this budget will be managed through the Disaster Management Fund. Efforts will be made to ensure that classes resume as soon as the schools reopen after the Dashain and Tihar holidays.

The Education and Human Resource Development Center has allocated NPR 2.2 billion for disaster management across all seven provinces. This budget has been arranged to ensure continuity of student learning as part of the Real Plan initiative. Additionally, budgets ranging from NPR 400,000 to NPR 1 million have been allocated for all 753 local governments. The center's director, Arjun Dhakal, indicated that if immediate damage cannot be addressed, additional budget provisions will be made.

The government has prepared to ensure that children’s education is not disrupted, adhering to the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This principle promotes uninterrupted education globally. Based on this foundation, Nepal has been working in the field of emergency education. UNICEF and Save the Children have been assisting in the establishment of education clusters.

Discussion with provincial ministers

Education, Science, and Technology Minister Bidhya Bhattarai is set to discuss the damages caused by flooding and landslides with the social development ministers of all seven provinces. A meeting with the provincial ministers is scheduled for October 8.

After discussing with the ministers, the ministry will decide how to proceed with the reconstruction efforts, according to spokesperson Bhattarai. Minister Bhattarai is also set to engage with other stakeholders to gather information about the damages and discuss future steps.

More than 165 schools damaged

The flood has completely washed away the Debishwori Secondary School in the Roshi Rural Municipality of Kavre. Other schools in Roshi Rural Municipality have also sustained significant damage due to the heavy rainfall.

The Ministry of Education reported that the entire school campus of Bidhya Bikas Primary School, including its fifth-grade classroom, has been buried by landslides. More than 10,000 students have been affected in the Madhesh region, including in Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, and Parsa.

Schools in districts such as Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Morang, and Khotang in Koshi Province have also sustained damage, as have schools in Sindhuli, Rasuwa, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Makwanpur, Dhading, Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot, and Chitwan in Bagmati Province.

In Gandaki Province, schools in Nawalpur, Tanahun, Kaski, Myagdi, and Baglung have suffered damages. Similarly, schools in Gulmi, Rupandehi, Dang, and Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West) in Lumbini Province, as well as in Humla, Jajarkot, and Surkhet in Karnali Province, have also been affected. Minor damages have been reported in Achham and Bajhang in Sudurpashchim Province.

In a rescue operation, 33 individuals, including teachers and students of the Mahadev Gurukul at Kusheshwar Temple, were airlifted by the Nepali Army from the floodwaters of the Roshi and Koshi rivers in Sindhuli.

20 students dead

The ministry has reported that 20 students have lost their lives due to flooding and landslides. One student from Dolakha was killed when his house collapsed during a landslide at Alpine School in Bimeshwar Municipality.

Additionally, two students studying at Godbhangyang Secondary School in Konjyosom Rural Municipality, Lalitpur, also lost their lives due to the floods and landslides. The ministry has confirmed that nine students from Kavrepalanchok have died, including one student from Kusheshwar Secondary School in Temal Rural Municipality, along with all members of their family.

Two students from Sarbodaya Secondary School also perished in the landslide with their families. In Panauti Municipality, a student in Grade 12 was killed when a landslide struck, and another student in a community boarding school was killed when their house collapsed. The ministry reported that a Grade 12 student at Ibo School in Kavre also died due to the landslide.

One student from Aashapureshwar Basic School in Banepa Municipality was killed in a landslide, as were two students from Jwaladevi Primary School in Roshi Rural Municipality, Kavre, along with their families.

In Makwanpur, six students lost their lives, including six students from Batsaladevi Secondary School in Indrasarowar Rural Municipality.

Similarly, two students in Rupandehi also died. Two students studying in Grade 10 at Kalika Manab Gyan Secondary School in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, Rupandehi, perished in a landslide in Jhyaplekhola, Dhading.