Snowfall in Manang leads to school closure

MANAG, Dec 27: Life has faced difficulties in the mountainous Manang district with snowfall that started 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 organizing annual examinations. 

Parents, students and teachers have descended towards relatively warmer areas like Lamjung, Chitwan, Pokhara and Kathmandu to escape the chilling cold. Annapurna Secondary School at Ngisyang Rural Municipality-6 has been shut on December 8 after completing examinations, said its headmaster Aananda Raj Ghimire. 

"A meeting was called and it was decided to close the school due to the cold. It has been decided upon to open the school on 27 February 2022 if snowfall stops or on 15 March 2022," he said. 

The academic session began in the Nepali month of Shrawan this year due to global COVID-19. Usually, academic sessions in the district begin from the Nepali month of Chaitra. So examinations scheduled for the Nepali month of Mangsir, 2077 BS were rescheduled for Asar, 2078 BS, 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 schools, in Manang district.