हाम्रो परिचयAbout Our School

Location (Current): Punarwas Municipality, Ward No. 7, Parasan, Kanchanpur

History:

According to local community elders, social workers, and education enthusiasts, this settlement—predominantly inhabited by the indigenous Rana Tharu community—was originally known as Parasin. Historically, the settlement was located east of India's Dudhwa National Park and on this side of the banks of the Doda River, which lies to the west. Later, due to severe floods from the Doda River making settlement difficult, the residents were systematically resettled to the current location by the then Punarwas Company Ltd. It is understood that Shri Bageshwari Lower Secondary School, the oldest school in the region, was originally established in that old settlement, and along with the relocation of the village, the school was also moved to what is now Punarwas Municipality-8, Prithwibasti.

Following the political change in Nepal in 2046 BS, with the aspiration of establishing a school within their own village, local education enthusiasts, respectable figures, and social workers—through the persistent efforts and initiative of the then Parasan VDC Chairman, the late Shalikram Sharma—founded the school on May 11, 1998 (2055/01/28 BS). Named Shri Rashtriya Primary School, classes 1 and 2 were initially started by enrolling some local children at the residence (Bangaliya) of local villager Mr. Naru Rana under the chairmanship of social worker Mr. Banwari Rana. After the two founding teachers, Mr. Bidur Rana and Mr. Samjhana Rajbhandari, conducted classes at that location for about six months, the school was shifted to a sloping terrain behind a Shiva temple near the Rana Tharu clan deity worship place (Bhuiyan Puja), where a temporary thatched hut was built with the assistance of the villagers.

For about two academic sessions, the Janajagaran Community Forest Committee and the Parasan Youth Club provided timber support to construct the building and arrange furniture. After completing a four-room temporary thatched hut with this assistance and running the school for about two academic sessions, formal permission to operate Grade 1 was finally obtained from the then District Education Office, Mahendranagar, on May 9, 2000 (2057/01/26 BS). Subsequently, permission to run Grade 2 was granted on April 22, 2001 (2058/01/09 BS), Grade 3 on December 12, 2001 (2058/08/27 BS), and Grades 4 and 5 on May 31, 2004 (2061/02/17 BS).

Around the fiscal year 2060/2061 BS, with the support of an NGO named RRN, a two-room tin-roofed building was constructed. A two-room project building was added in the fiscal year 2062/2063 BS, and another two-room building was received through a grant from the Department of Education via the District Education Office, Mahendranagar, in the fiscal year 2071/2072 BS. Following this, permission was obtained to run Grade 6 on March 29, 2015 (2071/12/29 BS) and Grade 7 on May 14, 2015 (2072/01/30 BS). Classes 1 through 7 continued to operate until the academic session 2079 BS. However, due to physical and financial constraints, difficulties in running Grades 6 and 7, and a lack of teacher quota adjustments by Punarwas Municipality resulting in a heavy financial burden that the school could not sustain, the municipality ordered a reduction in grades. Following consultations with parents, community elders, and intellectuals—and given the parents' inability to provide financial support—a mandatory situation arose to cut Grades 6 and 7. Consequently, starting from the academic session 2080 BS, Grades 6 and 7 were discontinued, and only Grades 1 to 5 are currently being operated.

Additional Information About the School

The school is located about 75 kilometers southeast of Mahendranagar (the district headquarters of Kanchanpur) and approximately 500 meters west of India's Dudhwa National Park, near the areas heavily affected by floods from the Doda River. To the north of the school lies Udari village of Punarwas-5, to the south is Prithwibasti, and to the west is Shri Balabageshwari Secondary School of Buddhabasti.

Currently, the school has a total of 6 government-subsidized positions: one permanent primary teacher quota, one early childhood development (ECD) quota, three primary relief teacher positions, and one office assistant position. Classes from Early Childhood Development (infant class) up to Grade 5 are being conducted.

While children mainly from the indigenous/Janajati settlement within Parasan village (Punarwas Municipality-7) come to study here, the school is also conveniently located for children from Udari village (Punarwas Municipality-5), Buddhabasti, and Chaudhary Tole situated in the southern part of Punarwas-7. Within the school’s service area, there are over 250 households with a population of roughly 1,500 to 1,700 people, consisting of 53% females and 47% males. There are around 500 school-aged children.

Most residents in the service area are engaged in agriculture, while some youths sell their labor abroad and in India. The area faces challenges such as students dropping out of school mid-way, early marriages, and young people engaging in daily wage labor. School dropouts have also fallen victim to substance abuse, leading to a high concentration of illiterate citizens and uneducated populations. Although the village has a majority of indigenous/Janajati residents, there is a single Newar family and a few Chaudhary families. Most people live below the poverty line. The primary language spoken is Rana Tharu, alongside a Newari-speaking family and Chaudhary Tharu speakers. Social awareness is slowly crawling forward, and compared to the past, positive changes are gradually beginning to surface among the people in this community.