52 Children from Radhaswami Satsang Ashram Begin Schooling

Kathmandu. 52 children from the children residing at the Radhaswami Satsang Ashram will start going to school from today. The Education Department of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, after consulting with students and parents yesterday (Monday) and identifying their interests and needs, is sending them to Janakalyan Secondary School located in Ward No. 14 from today. This school is within walking distance from where the children are staying. 

A total of 203 people from 66 families, brought from various places including Thapathali, Gainchaur, and Sinamangal during the eviction of haphazard settlements along the river banks, are currently at the Radhaswami Satsang Ashram. Among them are 62 men including 1 person with a disability, 80 women including 3 new mothers and 2 pregnant women, 31 girls, and 30 boys.

Among the children in these families, 52 are of school age. 4 had taken the SEE this year. They want to learn skills such as computer and tailoring. The Metropolitan City plans to arrange the skill-based training they desire, said education officer Namraj Dhakal. 

Among the school-aged students, the parents of 30 students wish to have their children educated in a hostel. In the form filled out to understand the parents' wishes, 5 girls and 6 boys expressed reluctance to stay in the hostel. Clear opinions from other parents could not be obtained. According to Sushil Subedi, Senior Section Officer of the Education Department, among those willing to stay in the hostel are 11 girls and 19 boys. According to Subedi, the needs related to uniforms and educational materials required by the students have also been requested. 

We have requested Pabson, N-Pabson, and Hisan for accommodation and study facilities in the hostel. According to Basanta Acharya, Director of the Metropolitan City, after receiving the suggestion that only children aged 10 years would be suitable for hostel accommodation, we are trying to manage accordingly. Once we receive news from private and institutional schools, we will send willing and eligible children to the hostel. 

On Sunday, the Acting Chief of the Metropolitan City, Sunita Dangol, met with officials from Pabson and N-Pabson and urged them to arrange free education with accommodation facilities in institutional schools for the children in the holding center. Following her request, after a meeting, Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools Association (HISSAN), Private and Boarding Schools Organization Nepal (PABSON), National Private and Residential Schools Association Nepal (NPABSON), and Association of Preschool Educators Nepal (APEN) issued a joint statement expressing their readiness to cooperate and facilitate the continuation of education for the children of genuine landless squatters. The statement was signed by the respective chairpersons of the organizations: Yuvraj Sharma, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, Subash Neupane, and Badri Prasad Dahal.