Siraha, September 8

Siraha’s Dhangadimai Municipality has been declared as the first local body in the district to achieve the milestone of cent per cent school enrolment.

The declaration was made amidst a special programme organised at Dhangadhimai-7-based Janata Secondary School to mark the 39th Education Day today. Speaking at the programme, Mayor Hari Narayan Chaudhary stressed the need to focus both on vocational and technical education.

“Under the present education system, a kid spends 12 years in school; even after that he is clueless about what he/she will do in his life. So, it’s high time we supplanted this education with modern, commercial and skill-based education gradually,” he said, adding that the municipality is coordinating with various stakeholders for the same.

Further, Mayor Chaudhary also pointed out the need to change the current teaching practices at community schools in the present context.

As per the official data, some 1,078 kids got admitted to schools as per the special enrolment campaign this fiscal. Of the total children admitted, 759 got admitted for the primary level, while the remaining 319 were admitted into the secondary level. Again, the official data shows that there are a total of 8,836 students at 33 community schools in the municipality.

Other 5,000 are said to be studying at some 20-odd private schools.

Meanwhile, Khotang’sDiprungChuichumma Rural Municipality has been declared the first local body to achieve cent percent school enrolment for the kids between five and 12 years of age in the district. The declaration was made today by the rural municipality chair BhupendraRai upon ensuring that all children between the ages of five and 12 years in all wards of the rural municipality were admitted to schools.

“It was possible only after we compelled the parents to admit their kids to schools making a rule as per which the parents and guardians would be deprived of the services to be provided from the ward office if they did not sent their kids to school,” said source person and education coordinator Tulasi Kumar Khadka.