KATHMANDU: Established in 1892, Durbar High School — the first school in Nepal — lies damaged and badly affected by the massive earthquake that hit Nepal last year. Students are forced to study in the Temporary Learning Centre (TLC) which is not a suitable environment for learning.

There are hundreds of schools facing a similar situation throughout the country, waiting for the government to reconstruct or repair their buildings even though it’s over 16 months since the earthquake struck.

The first school

Hem Chandra Mahato, Principal, Durbar High School says, “The school is in a very bad condition, yet students and teachers are forced to use it for regular classes as there is no other option,” adding, “The psychology and mental state of students is affected by the condition of the building.”

According to the Mahato, only theory classes have been going on while practical classes like use of computer and laboratories just are not possible as rooms are limited. “We have no extra room because of which even our teachers are facing a big problem. Teaching in TLCs is not an easy task; sound passes from one classroom to the other and that disturbs classes,” he informs.

He does not know how much longer they will have to continue in this situation. “Till now the government side has only informed us that our school is on the priority list for reconstruction. When the reconstruction will start, we have no idea at all,” says Mahato. He adds that the only help that came from the government was building temporary classrooms using bamboo just after the earthquake. “All the TLC prefab classrooms were made by INGOs,” informs Mahato.

Not a priority

San Manandhar, Head Teacher, Mahankal Secondary School, Maha Boudha says, “Our buildings have been marked with a red sticker by the District Education Office (DEO), Kathmandu and we have been told that the government will reconstruct the buildings. But till date they haven’t even returned to check the school building.”

According to the Manandhar before the earthquake the total numbers of students were 470 and this year the total has come down to 311 students. He states, “Every month we visit the DEO to ask about reconstruction and every time they inform us that the work is going on but in reality nothing has been done so far.”

Manandhar laments the fact that nobody seems to be bothered. “As compared to many public schools in the capital, we have more students and the school should be on the priority list, but unfortunately we are not. He informs that the only assistance they got was, Rs 1, 50,000 from the DEO for repair and maintenance in the initial stage, which is a drop in the ocean.

Unending planning phase

Suprabhat Bhandari, President of the Guardian Association, Nepal says, “It’s been a year and a half, and still there is no progress in the reconstruction of damaged schools. Our government is moving in slow motion.” In a school, children should be given a friendly atmosphere where they can explore and learn new things. But the children are still studying in TLCs where only theoretical education can be imparted.

According to Bhandari, damaged school infrastructure is a major concern but the bigger concern is that the psychological development of the children is at risk. Studying in a TLC is challenging and not comfortable like studying in a well constructed classroom. “The congested classrooms, humid weather and now the monsoons pose many problems for students and teachers,” he informs. Besides the children’s psychological wellbeing, guardians are also suffering from stress over the whole situation.

The government seems helpless and struggling. It has yet to complete the survey of earthquake affected public schools in the capital and come up with a master plan.

Bhandari shares, “We understand that extension, expansion and reconstruction takes time. But the work has to start. Unfortunately our government is stuck in the survey and planning stage. There should be a time limit for planning— six months, one year, and so on. It is now a year and a half since the earthquake and the government is still planning. When will the planning be completed and reconstruction begin?”

Challenges to reconstruction

Ima Narayan Shrestha, Chief, Project Implementation Unit (PIU) a special unit that was created under the Ministry of Education to manage the reconstruction of public schools has no satisfactory answers. “School reconstruction work is delayed because of the lack of sufficient budget. A total cost of Rs 186 billion is estimated to reconstruct more than 8,000 schools,” he informs adding that JICA and ADB have decided to assist in reconstructing schools in Bhaktapur and Kathmandu through a soft loan of Yen 14 billion from JICA and USD 87 million from ADB. These loans are for a period of 40 years.

Shrestha also shares that, “The reconstruction work of Durbar High School will be done by the Chinese Embassy.” A MoU to this effect has been signed accordingly to which the design, construction and equipments will be taken care of by the Chinese government.

The selection for school reconstruction in every district will be done on the basis of the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) report. This report is being prepared by concerned district engineers and technicians. Recently the World Bank has done an assessment by surveying earthquake affected schools and colleges and prepared the Structure Integrated Damage Assessment (SIDA) report which PIU is also using. According to Shrestha, the government has agreed to provide five billion to PIU. This amount will be given to the earthquake affected public schools through different DEOs. He also shares that PIU is only the implementing body. All the funds have to be released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) through the Nepal Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and then to PIU. “The main reason for the delay in the reconstruction of public schools is this long process,” he informs. What that means is that only when the entire bureaucratic gauntlet is run and when the resources finally reach PIU can they implement the projects.

In Kathmandu, the surveying part of public schools has started. “Survey of earthquake affected public schools will be complete by mid of September and hopefully the school reconstruction work in capital will start by December,” Shrestha says. According to the PIU, once the reconstruction work is started it can be finished within 15 months. But that too seems like a tall order.

Lives and learning at risk

Puspa Raj Panthi, Engineer, School Earthquake Safety Program (SESP) under the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal shares that till now, in the capital, only survey has been done, whereas children are facing problems physically and psychologically. “Public school buildings are in a vulnerable state. In such a situation hundreds of lives are in danger every day,” he informs. It’s the government’s responsibility to repair and maintain public schools as soon as possible.

According to Panthi, surveying damaged schools, designing the structure and inviting tender notices et cetera takes time but a year and half has gone and many schools are running classes in the same TLC, whereas TLCs were supposed to be only temporary solutions for six months to one year.