Disaster-prone schools put students’ lives at risk
Around 125 schools in Bajhang are at high risk of natural disasters. More than 24,400 children study there, according to the district office.
Discover the 125 schools in Bajhang district that are susceptible to flooding or landslides by exploring the interactive map. Simply hover or tap over each point on the map to reveal the school’s location and the total number of students enrolled. With the option to zoom in, you can even view a detailed satellite image of each school.
November 23, 2022 Basanta Pratap Singh
Bhumidev Basic School in Kedarsyu Rural Municipality-6, Bajhang is perched atop a hill with roads cutting on either side. The school which runs classes for grades one to eight has 236 students but the infrastructure of the school does not provide a safe environment for any of its students.
Ishwar Dhami, an eighth grader, says he does not feel safe at school given how vulnerable the building has become to landslides after the construction of roads so close by two years ago.
“Landslides threaten our school every year. During monsoon we can hardly concentrate on our lessons in the classroom as the fear of landslides sweeping us away gets overwhelming,” said Ishwar. “Even when heavy vehicles pass by, our school building trembles to its foundations and we all run out.”
The constant threat posed by landslides disrupts classes and affects learning, says Maan Bahadur Dhami, the school principal. “We are on the edge all the time but during monsoon, it’s twice as difficult to run classes. The mulch washed in by the rainfall floods our classrooms and it takes us four to five days to clean up,” said Maan Bahadur. “Between these chaotic activities, studies take a backseat for both students and teachers.”
The principal accuses the road authorities of being insensitive to the school and its occupants. “The authorities should have considered the risk of road construction on a fragile topography,” said Maan Bahadur.
Sidhu Kami, whose two grandchildren attend grades four and six, is in a dilemma over whether to send them to school. “If we don’t send them to school, they will never get an education. But when they are away at school, I get restless,” said Sidhu. “The school building will not be standing if a landslide occurs in the vicinity.”
Bhumidev Basic School is only one of the hundreds of schools in Bajhang that are at risk of floods and landslides. In Kedarsyu Rural Municipality, where Bhumidev Basic School is located, there are seven more schools vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides and floods. According to the local government, around 3,191 students are enrolled in these schools.
In the adjoining Durgathali Rural Municipality, 23 schools are at risk. Around 297 students from Durgathali go to these schools.
According to the District Education Development and Coordination Unit, 125 schools in Bajhang are threatened by natural disasters including earthquakes. These put the lives of more than 24,400 students at risk.
Landslides started erupting close to schools after the construction of roads, studies show. In 2021, a report titled ‘Landslides, Road Construction and Risk Reduction in the Political Economy of Nepal 2020’ conducted by Oxford Policy Management: a British Policy and Institution Facility, showed that the risk of landslides in hilly and mountainous areas of Nepal has increased due to haphazard road construction. The report states that haphazard construction carried out without geological and environmental studies has not only put infrastructure such as schools, health posts and irrigation canals at risk but the entire settlements and arable land have come under threats.
“In the last few years, landslides have been occurring mostly in places where new roads are built or are under construction. The stakeholders do not consider the safety of the local people and their schools, settlements, drinking water projects, irrigation facilities or anything,” said Surendra Kathayat, head of the District Education Development and Coordination Committee. “The constant fear of death while at school has affected the learning of students in the district.”
In October last year, floods and landslides triggered by three days of continuous rainfall caused widespread destruction in Bajhang. According to the District Disaster Management Committee, 31 people lost their lives in the disaster and the district suffered a loss of more than Rs10 billion in physical infrastructure and economy. Schools were the most affected.
More than 10,000 students were affected by the floods and landslides while almost 89 schools in the district suffered damage. Over a year since the disaster, the damage caused is yet to be recovered and schools yet to be fortified and rebuilt. As a result, most of the schools conduct classes in an unsafe environment with some moving classrooms out in the open.
The October floods in the Jadarigad river in Khaptad Channa Rural Municipality washed away three concrete buildings, toilets and the playground of Jagdamba Basic School.
“Since then classes were conducted out in the open until mid-August this year. We didn’t run classes at all during the monsoon season. For 10 months, our lesson plan was interrupted and the academic performance of the students dipped to an all-time low,” said Makar Khatri, a teacher at Jagdamba Basic School.
According to Lal Bahadur Khatri, the principal of the Jagdamba Basic School, the construction of a six-room building a bit farther from where the previous school building stood is in its final stage. “We plan to start conducting classes in the new building but we will not be able to accommodate all the grades,” said Khatri. “We have 160 students in total. With winter fast approaching, I’m concerned about conducting classes out in the open for the rest of the students.”
Some schools in Bajhang have been moved permanently from risky zones in areas where new roads have been constructed. Bishwanath Primary School of Bastigau in Talkot Rural Municipality has been moved from its original location after a landslide started four years ago following the construction of the Chainpur-Ruwatola and Busti-Bhimdhunga road sections near the school.
“The authorities should not allow road networks to penetrate haphazardly in the hilly areas,” said Jhalak Rokaya, a local of Talkot Rural Municipality. “This negligence has caused us much grief and loss over the years.”
Nurses should have got an additional three-month-long training in critical care to attend to the patients in ICUs and ventilators. The country now needs about 14,000 nurses with critical care training qualifications for attending to patients at the 2751 ICUs but such working manpower is too low. General secretary of the Critical Care Nurses Association of Nepal Kabita Sitaula said that they do not know how many nurses have so far been trained in critical care. “Even the nursing council has not prepared a separate list of nurses with critical care skills, but this is important for improving the services,” said Situala.
Former expert at the MoHP Dr. Sushil Nath Pyakurel emphasized proper management of the manpower in critical care. “Otherwise, fatalities may repeat as in the second wave if no emphasis is given on recruiting more health workers as required. Equipment alone can not treat patients,” added Pyakurel. Pyakurel has suggested the ministry collect integrated data of all health workforce first and start managing the health workers as per need.
We have republished the translated copy of the original story which was published in Kantipur National Daily. The translated version first appeared on the website of The Kathmandu Post. This investigative report was prepared under the Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI) of the Center for Investigative Journalism, based in the UK.
