Jhapa, March 21 -- Neha Dhungana, a sixth-grader at Balabhadra Janata Secondary School in ward 11 of Mechinagar Municipality, carries a school bag filled with notebooks, textbooks and stationery. However, she has not even viewed one crucial book-Hamro Mechinagar. Despite being a mandatory textbook, she has not seen a copy of it in school. With annual exams starting this Friday, she has been forced to prepare the subject without the textbook.

"I have never received the 'Hamro Mechinagar' book. I have to take the exams without studying the book," said Dhungana, expressing her frustration.

In 2020, Mechinagar Municipality introduced a curriculum covering local topics and began implementing 'Hamro Mechinagar' as a compulsory textbook in sch...