Neha Dhungana, a sixth-grader at Balabhadra Janata Secondary School in ward 11 of Mechinagar Municipality, carries a school bag filled with notebooks, textbooks and stationery. However, she has not even viewed one crucial book—Hamro Mechinagar. Despite being a mandatory textbook, she has not seen a copy of it in school. With annual exams starting this Friday, she has been forced to prepare the subject without the textbook.

“I have never received the ‘Hamro Mechinagar’ book. I have to take the exams without studying the book,” said Dhungana, expressing her frustration.

In 2020, Mechinagar Municipality introduced a curriculum covering local topics and began implementing ‘Hamro Mechinagar’ as a compulsory textbook in schools in 2022. However, from the very beginning, the municipality has failed to supply sufficient copies of the book. And the problem persists this year as well, leaving students unprepared for exams.

“The exams are here, but we don’t have the book. It’s difficult to find answers or complete homework,” said Samyam Modi, another sixth-grader at Dhulabari Secondary School in ward 10 of Mechinagar. According to him, teachers often borrow a single copy from a student to conduct lessons and assign homework, but without their own books, students must copy from classmates the next day. Most of his peers are facing the same issue across the municipality.

The municipality has mandated the ‘Hamro Mechinagar’ textbook for students from grade 1 to 8. The book was initially printed for grades 2, 3, and 6, followed by editions for grades 7 and 8, and later for grades 4 and 5. However, due to an insufficient number of copies, students from 58 institutional and 42 community schools continue to struggle without the required number of textbooks.

The shortage of books has also made teaching and learning ineffective. “Teaching becomes more complicated when students lack textbooks. They also struggle to stay engaged in class. Assigning homework and project-based learning, which are part of the local curriculum, has become challenging,” said Tikendra Khanal, vice-principal of Balabhadra Janata Secondary School.

Punam Rajbanshi, a teacher at Dhulabari Secondary School who has been teaching ‘Hamro Mechinagar’ in grades 4, 5 and 8, shares a similar ordeal. The shortage of books has hindered her teaching. “Without books, it’s hard to capture students’ attention or assign practice exercises. For two years, I had to rely on Google searches to teach,” said Rajbanshi. “Having the book would make things easier for both teachers and students.”

According to Rajbanshi, the book is not scarce only, but it is also not printed every year. Some students rely on older copies, while others are left without any resources. Without textbooks in hand, students struggle to prepare for exams and worry about scoring well. “I have a copy, but my classmates don’t. So we take turns reading from it,” said Siwaniya Upreti, a fifth-grade student at Dhulabari Secondary School.

The municipality acknowledges the shortage of the textbook of ‘Hamro Mechinagar’. “It’s true that we don’t have enough books. However, we have provided e-copies and distributed a few physical copies of the books in schools. The curriculum is available and teachers are following it,” said Homanath Bhandari, chief of Mechinagar’s education unit. According to him, the local curriculum has been made compulsory for all grades except grade 1. However, the municipality has been unable to ensure textbook availability.

Devendra Bahadur Malla, chief of the Jhapa Education Development and Coordination Unit, emphasises the importance of addressing this issue. “Students must have access to textbooks. However, similar complaints are coming from other municipalities as well. It is the responsibility of local governments to ensure the availability of these books,” he added.

Mechinagar Municipality allocated Rs35.99 million for the education sector in the current fiscal year of 2024-25. However, no funds were specifically designated for printing the ‘Hamro Mechinagar’ textbooks. While the education budget includes 23 different headers, the textbook issue was overlooked. “In previous years, we allocated funds for printing the books, but this time it was not included in the budget,” said Bhandari. “This is the main reason for the shortage of books.”

Schedule 8 of the Constitution of Nepal gives the local governments full authority over school education. This means local governments are free to hire and fire teachers, develop curriculum and hold examinations up to grade 12. Exercising this power, many local units have developed localised school curricula, but ensuring textbook availability remains a persistent problem.