Himalayan News Service

Bhairahawa, March 24:

The only Sanskrit school in Bhairahawa is facing closure due to severe fund crunch. The school was opened at Ward No 13 of Siddharthanagar Municipality in 1961 with the aim to preserving the Hindu religion and keeping the age-old language alive. With the rumours of closure, 39 students currently enrolled in the school are in a state of confusion. “The school has already taken loans worth over Rs 3,00,000,” joint secretary of the school management committee, Baikunta Prasad Lamsal, said. “How long can we run it on loans?” He asked. Despite several requests, no-one including the DDC, the municipality, the district education office and other institutions came to the fore to help the school, he added.

The Rupandehi district administration office has allocated 25 per cent of the amount coming from the sale of passport application forms for the school. At present, this is the only source of income. Though the school owns 54 bighas of land in Suryapura VDC, it has not received any revenue from the land for the last two years. The farmers have not paid a single penny to the school for the last two years though they had to pay Rs 4,000 per bigha per year as per the agreement. Students from Dhading, Palpa, Gulmi, Syangja, Bardiya, Kapilvastu and Rupandehi are studying in the school. They are provided with free accommodation and food.

The school lacks sufficient classrooms and furniture as well. Students of Grades VI, VII, VIII are kept in a single classroom while students of Grades IX and X are kept in another classroom for taking classes, said headmaster Krishna Sharan Upadhyaya. Seven students from the school passed SLC last year, Upadhyaya said.