BAJURA: Sita Thapa, 14, of Baudi at Himali Rural Municipality-3 has been herding her livestock without going to school for as long as she can remember. She migrates to the lowlands in from the mountains for the winter and takes sheep to the areas bordering China during the rainy season. Sita's mother, in fact, gave birth to her while on their way to the China border. Sita, whose family has adopted the last name Thapa to escape discrimination like many others, belongs to the indigenous Bhote community. She wants to go to school but has to often migrate from one place to another along with herds of sheep with her parents. The indigenous community are forced to migrate to warmer places during winter season and to the mountains during summer. 'Sita doesn't know how to read or write', said her father Prem Thapa, stating that their circumstances deny them the privilege of going to a school. Majority of the people from the community in the district have been deprived of education, many that share a plight similar to that of Sita. Nrip Thapa, Chairman of the Federation of Bhote Ethnic Nationalities informed that more than 640 families in Bajura keep moving from one place to another due to which their children get to go to school for only six months in an academic year. Meanwhile, the governmental and non-governmental organisations working in the district have allocated funds for the development of quality education. However, the indigenous Bhote community have not been able to reap the benefits of the same as they are tied down to their circumstances which do not allow them to settle down at one place. (Translated by Madhavi Marasini)