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Let School Open or Face Public Wrath
Article Taken from the Facebook Page of Bandipur, Tanahun, Nepal; Written by Kulchandra Neupane, May 6, 2009

*Special Note: this article is for reference to events occurring in Bandipur only. Although a few of the DHF Children attend the school afformentioned in the article, currently DHF is not directly associated with Notre Dame School.

BANDIPUR, Tanahun - This former district headquarters on Wednesday witnessed a gathering of people, who with courage challenged the Revolutionary students union for forcibly closing down the only service-oriented school in the district.

"It is too much," said Shusila Shakya, a local woman, who had come to admit her two children at Notre Dame, a non-profit school. Pleading with the Maoist aligned ANNFSU-Revolutionary she urged, "If you really want public support, please do not force us to close down this school. Otherwise, we will also be forced to raise voices against your errant decisions."

The locals not only pleaded with the ANNFSU-R to correct their immature decision to close down the school, but also warned of exposing the inconsistent decisions so frequently taken by them before the general public.

"The Revolutionary students have been straying from their declared aims and goals. They are not even able to distinguish between a private profit-making and a service-oriented school. The public support towards the union is waning due to their immature and short-sighted moves like the threat to shut down the school like this one," said a local, Bhairav Sulpe, addressing a parents' meeting.

He further added that public opinion and sympathy would go against them if they stuck on to their errant decisions. The school had been providing education to helpless, orphan and poor children in the locality.

The parents' meeting decided to revive the Notre Dame Higher Secondary School so that light of education could be rekindled again. The Bandipur VDC Chairman Rabiraj Bhattarai and Bandipur Social Service Committee will jointly hold talks with the union leaders in connection to re-starting the school.

"Ther is still a ray of hope. But, first we have to convince the school Principal, Janet Tanaka, a Japanese national, over the safety of the school once reopened," said VDC Chairmana Bhattarai.

Following the closure of the school, a silent fear has fallen among the locals. Still, the locals seem to be determined to ensure that the school is reopened before Tanaka returns to Nepal on May 29. All three foreign sisters, including the Principal, had left Nepal for their respective countries after the school was forcible closed by the ANNFSU-R in April this year.

The school Principal announced the closure of the insitution on April 24 amidst a gathering, shortly after receiving the union's third warning of "physical action unless it is closed down."

Despite the Principal's sad announcement, the school students are still optimistic, thanks largely to the public pressure on the union to correct their mistake.

Officiating Principal, Bheshraj Pokharel, said that only five children had taken transfer certificates from the school and the rest of the others keep regular contact with him.

"Many teachers who left the school following the unfortunate incident are still in touch with me hoping that it will open soon," Pokharel said.

Notre Dame School was opened about 16 years ago. School records reveal that many graduates from the school are studying abroad on various scholarship programs. This is the only institution of which all the locals are proud of. "It has attracted students even from other districts," says a local, Rishiraj Bhattarai.

Although foreigners fund this institution, it is basically managed by the local community. It charges a nominal fee from the students and 25 percent of the children enrolled at the school come from oppressed, helpless and poor families.

A businessman said that about 40 percent of the local business had declined due to the closure of the school, equipped with modern facilities and property worth millions of rupees at its disposal.

At the meet, almost all of the speakers from across political lines, intellectuals and local businessmen expressed serious concerns over the desoate condition of Bandipur that once used to be a business and administrative center until all the district offices were shifted to Damauli some 33 years ago.