A community school in ward 5 of Aarughat Rural Municipality in Gorkha district remains closed for the past 11 days.

The closure has hugely affected the studies of the children. Guardians and parents of children of Mandali Basic School at Aaruarbang closed the school in protest after the rural municipality recently decided not to run class 6 and 7 citing fewer number of students.

The nearest school running the higher grades is far from the area.

 “The students have to walk for around an hour to reach Devi Jalkumari Secondary School for grade 6 and 7. How is it possible to send small children to a school which is quite far away?” complained Ratna Bahadur Gurung, chairman of Mandali Basic School management committee.