HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
DADELDHURA: Raj Bahadur Sharki, 21, of Amargadhi
Municipality-10 of Dadeldhura had abandoned his studies and gone to
India nine years ago in search of employment as he could not afford
school fees.
Sharki, who has just returned home from India, said he was good in studies and wanted to continue but his family could not manage the expense. “So I decided to give up school and go to India to earn money,” he said.
Sharki’s mother Chandra Devi, 45, said she did not want her son to discontinue his studies, but she had no other option. “The school provided free education to my son in the lower classes and I could afford other petty expenses,” she said, adding, “But when he completed sixth grade, the school started charging fees, and it was beyond my capacity.”
Not only Raj Bahadur, there are many Dalit children who were forced to give up studies owing to their families’ poor financial state. Man Bahadur Sharki, 24, from the same village, has a similar story. Like Raj Bahadur, he also had to leave school and venture out to support his family at the tender age of 12.
“It was not my interest to leave school but a compulsion,” he said. “Although the government talks of free education system for Dalit students, it is yet to be put in practice,” said Chandra Devi.
Meanwhile, District Education Officer, Dadeldhura, Khubi Ram Adhikari said that almost all the institutions have been running with the help of private funds. He further said that schools were not supposed to charge fees from Dalit students up to Grade VIII. “An enquiry into this will be launched soon,” he added.
Sharki, who has just returned home from India, said he was good in studies and wanted to continue but his family could not manage the expense. “So I decided to give up school and go to India to earn money,” he said.
Sharki’s mother Chandra Devi, 45, said she did not want her son to discontinue his studies, but she had no other option. “The school provided free education to my son in the lower classes and I could afford other petty expenses,” she said, adding, “But when he completed sixth grade, the school started charging fees, and it was beyond my capacity.”
Not only Raj Bahadur, there are many Dalit children who were forced to give up studies owing to their families’ poor financial state. Man Bahadur Sharki, 24, from the same village, has a similar story. Like Raj Bahadur, he also had to leave school and venture out to support his family at the tender age of 12.
“It was not my interest to leave school but a compulsion,” he said. “Although the government talks of free education system for Dalit students, it is yet to be put in practice,” said Chandra Devi.
Meanwhile, District Education Officer, Dadeldhura, Khubi Ram Adhikari said that almost all the institutions have been running with the help of private funds. He further said that schools were not supposed to charge fees from Dalit students up to Grade VIII. “An enquiry into this will be launched soon,” he added.
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