Kanchanpur, May 2 -- The Shantipur Basic School in ward 7 of Shuklaphanta Municipality has merged with the Dharma Janata Secondary School in the same ward this year due to a shortage of students. The Shantipur Basic School, which ran classes up to grade 5, had been operating with just three teachers and 15 to 20 students for several years. Only 20 students had been enrolled at Shantipur Basic School in the last academic year.

The condition of Milan Basic School in ward 12 of Shuklaphanta was even worse than that of Shantipur Basic School. In the last academic session, there were only one teacher and 14 students. Due to the low numbers, there was only one post of teacher, who was appointed under the relief quota. Relief quota teachers are...