Achham, Nov. 26 -- When Lokendra Bohara left school in the ninth grade at the age of 13 and went to India for work, he believed formal education was no longer for him. A decade later, the 23-year-old from ward 4 of Mangalsen Municipality in Achham district, has passed seven exams conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in a year. He now works as a health assistant at the Kalikot District Hospital.

Bohara comes from a modest family with limited opportunities. He studied up to grade 6 at Radha Secondary School in his own ward and up to grade 9 at Shodasha Secondary School in ward 5 of Mangalsen before quitting school. "I had completely lost interest in studies. I sat at the back of the classroom and nothing motivated me," he recal...