Kathmandu

Everyone in the country has been affected by the ongoing fuel crisis emotionally, physically and financially. However, it has had its worst impact on the students and their studies. From dealing with price hikes to tight budget to travelling woes, fuel crisis has hit hard on the lives of students and their educational institutions.

Monetary woes

Fuel crisis has resulted to inter-connected problems of livelihoods. Price hike, shortage of commodities, lack of transport and black market — the problems are evident. In addition, it has had direct impact on education that has put students’ future into jeopardy.

Kailash Neupane recently started his BBS but he couldn’t pursue what he had dreamt of. All thanks to earthquake and fuel crisis!

“I wanted to study BBA and my parents were even willing to send me abroad for my further studies. However, we lost our house in Nuwakot to the earthquake. Due to our weak economic status and added woes by fuel crisis, I changed to BBS because this stream is less expensive as compared to BBA.”

He is currently studying BBS in Janamaitri Multiple Campus, Kuleshwor but he is not sure if “I will complete my course. I am now looking forward to going abroad to earn money to support my family.” The fuel crisis has made Neupane determined to go for foreign employment instead of concentrating on his studies.

Kathmandu Valley is the destination of students from other parts of the country to attain quality education. But as price hike has hit the Capital, their number has decreased in this academic session.

“We have seen a total of 25 per cent decrease of students in the admission in our college in this session (2015/16),” Bhola Ojha, Campus Chief, Janamaitri Multiple Campus informed explaining, “Living here (Kathmandu) has become pricey after the earthquake. The houses with cheap rents have collapsed. There are only expensive flat systems that students cannot afford. We have lots of students who come from out of Valley but they can’t afford living here like this. Moreover, fuel crisis has made it difficult for them to live here with over priced commodities. So, they have preferred to stay and study in their places.”

Pushpa Sapkota, BBS Ist Year student at Janamaitri Multiple Campus has come to Kathmandu from Baglung to study. She is surviving on a shoestring during the fuel crisis.

As the price of everything has increased, “I have cut off expenses on small things — milk, entertainment among others — as our budget is tight”.

Of her difficult times, she added, “We don’t have LPG in our room to cook food. We are using induction stove to cook meals but that is when we have electricity. So, most of the time, we are eating cold meals.”

Travelling hardship

The first and significant impact of the fuel crisis has been seen in transportation system. Vehicles are hard to get by and even if you get one, you are stuffed like animals.

Going to college from Swayambhu to Patan Multiple Campus in Patan where she is studying Masters in English, and returning home in public vehicles, is like winning a war for Sandira Buddhacharya.

“It is so stressful. You don’t get vehicles easily and if you get one they are crammed with people. When I finally reach home, I feel like I have won a war,” she expressed.

On the other hand, Nitika Shrestha, pursuing MA IInd Semester at Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Pradarshani Marg is missing her classes in this chaotic process. She added, “I always miss my first class. I live in Thankot and it is not possible for me to cycle or walk from home to college. Local buses, that used to be available every two minutes, move out in the interval of 10 to 15 minutes now, and that too are packed. No matter how early I reach the bus stop, I reach college late.”

Fighting the odds

Whatever situations the students are facing these days, they are fighting the fuel crisis and its consequences nonetheless.

Frustrated Bikram Pokharel, BEd IIIrd Year student of Koteshwor Multiple Campus, Koteshwor, is “determined to study well and do something and this is what is keeping me here.”

Pokharel, who hails from Udayapur, is tempted to go back home due to price hike and shortage of commodities. However, with time, he has learned to manage his daily living in minimum budget.

When black market is flourishing, some students have found other ways to cope with the problem. Buddhacharya and her family are managing life with firewood. She said with optimism, “You can cook food with firewood while keeping yourself warm in this winter.”

When it comes to travelling, the students have built a mechanism to address their problems. Shrestha, who didn’t board packed vehicles, has learned to cooperate with other passengers these days as “without cooperation it is impossible to ride public vehicles”.

Meanwhile, Neupane fought for students’ discount on fare in public vehicles when he was denied the discount. When the fuel crisis started, the public transportation stopped giving discount to the students (students get 40 per cent discount in public transportation on showing their students identity cards) citing “the purchase of fuel from black market” as the reason.