Schools in remote villages of Nepal.

More and more schools are being opened all over Nepal, as people know the importance of education. The government builds most schools. However, some children from neighbouring villages walk for a few hours to and from a school in a “nearby” village. Many villages have taken the initiative to start schools on their resources or ask trekkers to help establish a school in their village if they are on the trekking routes. If a village is fortunate enough to be on a trekking route, they ask for donations from passing trekkers to finance their needs, such as paying the teachers’ salaries. The government takes over schools like this after a few years; however, due to the limited number of teachers provided, the village committees give the salary of the extra teachers they have hired.

The Tapriza School.

Trapiza secondary school

On a recent visit to a very remote district of Dolpo, we came across some interestingly different trends in schools of that district. We visited The Tapriza School. The first thing that caught my eye was the children’s uniforms – they were dressed in traditional Tibetan dresses. Most Government school uniforms in Nepal consist of dark blue trousers and light blue shirts for boys, while the girls wear dark blue skirts and light blue shirts. There were a few interesting differences practised in this school compared to the rest of the nation. First, it was the only high school in the district. The other schools in this district had only primary-level education. Second, all the students had various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) find sponsors to continue their further studies in Kathmandu if they weren’t sent to The Tapriza School. Third, this school has a proud record of one hundred per cent of its students finishing the school leaving certificate (SLC) with a First Division (60 per cent or higher) mark since it was inaugurated in 1998.

History of The Tapriza School

In the late nineties, two Swiss students came to do research. The villagers approached them to ask for help in establishing a school. It caught the Swiss students’ attention; they went back home to spread the word. As a result, Tapriza NGO was founded in 1997 to help raise funds for the school. They even brought a few villagers to Switzerland to speak to potential donors for the school. The visit proved to be a success, and they made a trip to the United States to raise funds for the school’s construction.

The mural explains how the school started.

The uniqueness of the school.

When we reached the school, the assembly was taking place. We noticed some building construction as some of the school buildings collapsed during the April 2015 earthquake. The students were smartly uniformed in traditional dress, as mentioned earlier. The school manager was kind enough to speak to us. They even had a Bon (an ancient religion that predates Tibetan Buddhism) Monastery within the school’s compound. We were informed that Bon monks and Nepali English languages teach Tibetan and religion. We visited the monastery, and I asked about the unfamiliar murals painted on the walls. On the right side of the wall next to the entrance, the paintings told the tale of the two Swiss students visiting the area and the villagers asking for donations in Switzerland and the United States. On the left side of the wall next to the door was a mural of how their ancestors dressed and lived and how the youths dressed these days. The manager informed us this was to remind the students of their rich roots. I found this great value to educate and tell the students about their heritage and how it was founded, like in most high Himalayan regions of Nepal. The schools open from March to the end of October and are closed for the winter from November through February.

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