MANANG, DECEMBER 27
Life has been difficult in mountainous Manang district since snowfall starting in the first week of December. As a result, people's mobility has been largely restricted and most schools in the district are shut. This time many schools have been closed without holding annual examinations.
Parents, students and teachers have descended towards relatively warmer areas such as Lamjung, Chitwan, Pokhara and Kathmandu to escape the chilling cold.
Annapurna Secondary School at Ngisyang Rural Municipality was shut on December 8 after completing examinations, said its headmaster Aananda Raj Ghimire.
"A meeting decided to close the school due to the cold. It was decided that the school would reopen on 27 February 2022 if snowfall stopped or on 15 March, 2022," he said.
The academic session began from the Nepali month of Shrawan this year due to global COVID-19. Usually, academic session in the district begins from the Nepali month of Chaitra. So examinations scheduled for November 2020 were rescheduled for mid-July 2021, he said.
Schools in Phugaon of Narpabhumi rural municipality, Chame, the district headquarters, and Nason have also closed due to the cold.
There are 26 community schools, including four secondary, nine basic and 13 primary (basic), in Manang district.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 28, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
