A basic school in Sharada Municipality-14 has been struggling to continue classes after strong winds last week blew away the roof of one of its buildings, forcing students from Grades 1, 2 and 3 to study together in a single classroom.

Laxmi Basic School in Malneta provides education up to Grade 8 and has a total of 42 students. The storm damaged the corrugated zinc roof of the school’s four-room building, rendering the structure unusable.

As a result, around 20 students from Grades 1, 2 and 3 are currently being taught together in one classroom, said headteacher Resham Giri. Students from Grades 4, 5 and 6 have been shifted to other available classrooms.

Teaching and learning activities have been affected.

“Before the storm, students of Grades 4, 5 and 6 used the damaged four-room building,” Giri said. “We shifted them to the classrooms previously used by Grades 1, 2 and 3, and placed the younger students together in another room because their number is relatively small.”

According to a technical assessment carried out by the municipality, the storm caused damage worth more than Rs300,000.

Giri said the school does not have the resources to repair the roof on its own. Although the school requested financial support from the ward office, he said assistance appears unlikely as the fiscal year is nearing its end. The school has now sought help from the municipality.

He said students would have to continue studying in the shared classroom until repairs are completed.

Giri also warned that the school’s ageing buildings face an increasing risk of collapse as regular rainfall continues. Established in 1987, the school buildings have undergone repeated repairs over the years and are now severely worn out, he said.

Ward chair Prakash Pun said most of the budget allocated for the current fiscal year had already been exhausted, making immediate repairs difficult. He said the municipality had received a request for funds to repair the damaged school building.