While most schools remain quiet during the Tihar holiday, students and teachers at Janata Krishna Secondary School in Pakle, Sandhikharka Municipality-8, are busy harvesting and selling marigolds.

The school’s flower farm has become a destination for traders and customers from Sandhikharka looking to buy flowers for the festival. Students and teachers spend much of the day picking and selling the blooms.

On Monday alone, they sold 150 kilograms of flowers, said Prakash Bhusal, the school’s assistant headteacher. Eight students and five teachers worked throughout the day to harvest and sell the flowers.

The school has cultivated marigolds on more than 1,017 square metres of land specifically for the Tihar market. The flowers are selling at Rs300 per kilogram, and the school has earned around Rs100,000 so far, Bhusal said.

The flower farm is largely the work of students studying crop science in grades 9 to 12. Around 60 students enrolled in the subject took part in cultivation, from planting and weeding to irrigation, fertilisation, and protecting plants from pests and diseases. They are now equally involved in harvesting and selling the flowers.

The flower farm is part of the school's practical agricultural education programme. Students also grow and sell seasonal and off-season vegetables, grains and mushrooms, gaining experience in different forms of farming.

“Students cannot learn everything from textbooks alone. They also need to work in the fields with a hoe in their hands,” Bhusal said.

Through these activities, students learn which crops grow best in different seasons, how to select seeds and apply fertiliser, manage irrigation, control pests and diseases, and increase production on limited land.

The school also wants to show students that agriculture can offer a viable livelihood. Bhusal said they could use their own land or lease farmland after completing their studies to grow grain, fruit, vegetables and spices, potentially creating self-employment opportunities for their families.

Students have taken an active interest in the work. Rozita Thapa from Hansapur, who lives in the school's hostel, has helped water, fertilise, weed, and care for the marigold plants. She has also joined the harvesting and sales as the flowers reach maturity.

The experience, she says, has taught her how to grow flowers and shown her that farming can also be a source of income.