According to headmaster Laxman Karki of Dhurbatara Primary School at Upper Dunai, while students from relatively distant locations have already left for the highlands, the remaining were making necessary arrangements for early departure to collect  the high-altitude wild fungus that is prized for its aphrodisiac qualities.

All of the schools in Lower and Upper Dunai, including Dhurabatara Primary at Upper Dunai,  Balmandir Primary School and Saraswati Higher Secondary at the district headquarters are sans students.

Ambika Hamal, a teacher at Balmandir Primary School, said that the school has not had a single student since the last one week.

Likewise, headmaster Narendra Bikram GC of Saraswati HS School said that the teachers, in the absence of students, had been spending their time engaging in small talk.  

Even Assistant District Education Officer Bir Bahadur Dhami said that they had been informed that regular classes had been halted at almost all of the schools in the district.

“As the parents take their children along with them to collect as many of the precious herb as they can, schools have not been able to operate classes,” Dhami said.

From a six-year-old child to a 70-year-old elderly, everyone in the district head for the highlands in search of the precious herb as it happens to be the only source of income for a majority of them.

Moreover, even schools in neighbouring districts such as Jajarkot, Rukum and Jumla have been affected by the tendency.

“Thousands of students like us from Jajarkot and Rukum have come here as this is the time to earn rather than attend classes,” said Dhirendra Shahi, a ninth grader at Kalika Adarsha Secondary School in Jajarkot.

According to the statistics maintained by the District Education Office, some 9,500 students at 87 Primary, 18 Lower Secondary, nine Secondary and five Higher Secondary Schools in Dolpa are currently sans students. The DEO stated that schools in the district remain affected for 15-20 days each year during the season when locals collect Yarshagumba, which is often known throughout the world as ‘Himalayan Viagra’

Although the highlands were opened from Nepali month of Jestha 10, the date was postponed to Jestha 18 due to heavy downpours and snowfall.

Kids off to pick Yarsha, schools closed

DARCHULA: Following the annual rush of students to the highlands in pursuit of the precious Yarshagumba, schools in the district have decided to close down for 20 days effective from the second week of Nepali month of Jestha to Asadh second week. The DEO stated that they had taken the decision to close the schools for 15-20 following a meeting of the school management committee and local stakeholders. The DEO stated that the schools have decided to compensate for the closure by cutting off holidays during the monsoons and dry season.

“As the collection and sale of precious herb is the main source of income for majority of locals in more than 21 VDCs, whole families in the district head to the highlands in search of the herb,” said teacher Harish Bahadur Bam of Sampal Secodary School in Sunsera VDC.