Children in remote settlements of Tamankhola Rural Municipality-6 in Baglung are forced to undertake a gruelling daily journey of up to four hours each way to attend secondary school, with many relying on rented accommodation or abandoning studies altogether due to the distance.

Yogesh Chhantyal, a Year 9 student from Bhitriban, lives about four hours from Shanti Secondary School in Khunkhani. Unable to commute daily, he rents a room in Khunkhani village in Ward 5 and studies there, cooking for himself while staying away from home.

His friends Kristi Chhantyal, Sharmila Rasaili and Susmita Rasaili walk for around three hours to reach school from Narjakhani, leaving home by 7:00 am. During winter, they rent rooms near the school, but return home in summer. Because they would reach home late after classes ended at 4:00 pm, they often skipped the final period to start the long walk back.

They said the long journey leaves them too exhausted to complete homework.

Students from Narjakhani, Bhitriban and Patle complete their basic education locally up to Grade 8 at Bishnu Basic School in Narjakhani. For secondary levels, they must travel to Khunkhani, as no school exists nearby for higher classes.

Hom Bahadur Harmel, a Year 10 student, said several students have dropped out due to the distance and the hardship of managing rented rooms and self-cooking.

“Faced with the ordeal of renting accommodation and cooking for themselves, many friends refuse to continue school,” he said. “If I can get through this year, I hope to move to town next year.”

Students rely on food supplies sent from home, mainly maize flour, and gather vegetables locally when possible.

For higher secondary education, most students go to Bungadobhan and Burtibang. Reaching Burtibang requires a three-hour jeep ride, although it previously took a full day on foot.

Locals said repeated efforts to establish a secondary school within their own villages have failed due to financial constraints and lack of government teacher quotas.

Mina Kumari Rasaili, a local resident, said even running classes up to Year 8 requires donations to hire teachers, making expansion unfeasible.

“We are already struggling to run the school through community support. Extending it further is not possible,” she said. “We cannot afford the cost, but sending children away is also difficult.”

The route between Narjakhani and Khunkhani passes through dense forests and steep cliffs. A suspension bridge built over the Khunkhani River by Tamankhola Rural Municipality four years ago has reduced the journey time by about 30 minutes.

Satya Narayan Singh, headteacher, said assigning homework to exhausted students often feels impractical. He said the school has long planned to build a hostel, but lack of funding has stalled the project.

Due to the hardship of travel, many students from Patle, Bhitriban and Thaspuri in ward 5 move to Burtibang from Grade 9 onwards, placing a heavy financial burden on parents who must rent rooms in town.

“Even though parents lack financial capacity, many are forced to rent rooms for their children’s education,” said Tirsana Sirpali, a local resident. “Education here remains a major challenge.”

Teacher Bhumiraj Century said most students commute during summer but shift to rented rooms in winter due to difficult conditions. He said the absence of hostel facilities continues to affect attendance.

“We have plans, but children are suffering in the meantime,” he said.

He added that 15 students come from Narjakhani, 15 from Thaspuri and five from Bhitriban, all walking three to four hours daily.

Headteacher Singh said the school plans to seek provincial funding to build a hostel, noting that approval for rural projects remains difficult.

“If we can build a hostel, we can immediately accommodate more than 50 students,” he said.

Tamankhola Rural Municipality Vice-chairperson Hira Kumari Chhantyal said the local government is also working on initiatives to address the issue.