Students in Ilam face textbook crunch

Jhapa, June 30

Almost two months after the start of the academic session, students in Ilam are yet to get textbooks.

English and Moral Education textbooks for Grade VI are still scarce, while textbooks of almost all subjects for Grade VII and Economics textbooks for Grade IX are not available in the district.

The principal of Maipokhari-based Balmandal Secondary School Tikanath Poudel bemoaned the lack of textbooks, saying, “We frequently visit the district headquarters for the books, but to no avail.” Poudel added, “We have not been able to conduct classes because there are no textbooks, and that has taken a toll on the students’ education.”

Soyang-based Saraswoti Secondary School is running only Science classes as of now. A teacher at the school said, “We cannot run classes for other subjects because we don’t have the textbooks for them.”

Many schools in other parts of the country have already announced dates for the first terminal examination in stark contrast to schools in Ilam where classes have not even begun running effectively.

On his part, DEO, Ilam, Section Officer Nirmal Dhungel conceded the problem.