Parents have locked the Hilsa Naudhara Primary School, located in Kharpunath Rural Municipality-5, since Poush 12, protesting irregularities in the management committee and school administration regarding the snack money.
Parents’ association president Gajendra Rokaya stated that the school was misappropriating the money received for student snacks and had not provided a clear account, which led to the lockdown.
After five days of the lockdown, students’ teaching and learning have also been halted. Mandir Adhikari, chairperson of the school management committee, acknowledged that some snack money remained and said that the lockdown occurred because parents demanded that the leftover money be distributed to students’ homes by the school, which was not acceptable. Yogesh Ale Magar, chief of the Education Development and Coordination Unit of Humla, stated that saving money by not providing snacks is also not acceptable from a policy perspective.