A senior citizens’ school has come into operation in ward 5 of Rampur Municipality of Palpa, a hill district of Lumbini Province.

The institution—Rampur Senior Citizens’ School—was inaugurated amid a function at Ramghat on Wednesday. According to Raman Bahadur Thapa, mayor of Rampur Municipality, the school aims primarily to promote the exchange of experience, skills and knowledge, while also honouring senior citizens.

A total of Rs 12.6 million—with the contribution of federal, provincial and local governments as well as local people—has been spent so far for the construction of the school. Mayor Thapa said the school is expected to help senior citizens lead dignified and active lives, while contributing to the preservation of culture and tradition.

“We aim to develop this as a centre for intergenerational skill transfer,” Thapa said. “The school has been operated with the main objective of taking the knowledge and experience of the older generation to the younger one.”

The school is expected to play an important role in enabling the older generation to pass down the skills, customs and traditional knowledge they have learned to today’s youth. The municipality has operated the school in line with its plan to create an environment where senior citizens can make meaningful use of their skills, talents and arts.

The municipality has arranged a school bus to transport senior citizens to and from the school. Those from all ten wards of Rampur Municipality will be brought to the school in the morning and dropped home in the evening. Chief Administrative Officer Surya Darshan Pandit said that in the first phase, senior citizens living along the Kaligandaki Corridor road would receive this service, with plans to include those from other areas in the future.

The senior citizens are expected to produce some traditional goods during their stay at the school. Items produced during leisure time—such as batti (hand-made cotton wicks), duna-tapari (leaf plates), and other crafts—will be marketed and sold. The municipality will take responsibility for marketing the products created by senior citizens during their time at the school.

Deputy Mayor Bal Kumari Thapa said these goods would be promoted through the municipality-run Koseli Ghar. Students from various schools in Rampur Municipality will also be taken to the Senior Citizens’ School to learn about traditional skills and cultural values from the older generation.

The senior citizens will also be provided religious discourses on the school premises. The institution has also been equipped with tools necessary for physical exercise. “We have arranged spaces for using available materials, practising yoga and meditation, or listening to discourses,” Pandit said. The school will host religious discourses, bhajan-kirtan, demonstrations of household items and their uses, as well as evening aarati. “Daily routines will be prepared so that the old generation can transfer the skills they know,” Pandit added.

Rampur Municipality allocated Rs3 million in the current fiscal year of 2025-26 to operate the Senior Citizens’ School. Durga Prasad Pokharel, ward chairman of Rampur-5, said the school building at Ramghat was constructed at a cost of nearly Rs10 million.

Additional structures have been built on the school premises, including a teacher’s residence, a senior citizens’ centre, accommodation facilities and an exercise hall. According to Buddhi Prakash Regmi, chairperson of the Rampur Senior Citizens’ School Management Committee, the school has received necessary support from various individuals and institutions.

Various traditional tools such as the dhiki and janto (traditional grain processing devices) have also been installed inside the school. Social worker Sandip Rana said the facility includes accommodation for seniors, a dining hall for daytime snacks, and health services provided by health workers.

A management committee has also been formed to ensure smooth operation of the school. An 11-member management committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Buddhi Prakash Regmi. Regmi said it is important to understand the sentiments of senior citizens and run the school in a senior-friendly manner. “We must pay attention to how we treat elders inside the school,” he said. “They will be brought during the day to discuss old traditions and culture, and arrangements will also be made for the younger generation to learn.”

The launch of the Rampur Senior Citizens’ School is seen as a novel and forward-looking move to address the community’s aging population, safeguard cultural heritage and provide a dignified, active environment for elders. “Success will depend on operating the facility in a way that genuinely respects and values the elderly as well as preserving cultural heritage,” Regmi said.