Educational activities across flood-affected areas in Nuwakot district have come to a complete halt following severe flooding in the Trishuli River triggered by a Bhotekoshi flash flood. Authorities have announced the indefinite closure of all academic institutions in Bidur Municipality and Kispang Rural Municipality as uncertainty lingers over when classes can safely resume.
Widespread Structural Damage and Affected Institutions
Out of 83 schools operating in Bidur Municipality, around a dozen have been directly hit by the disaster. Preliminary assessment data from the Education Development and Coordination Unit (EDCU), Nuwakot, confirms that four schools—Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, Ramchandra Basic School, Chetana Basic School, and Trishuli Community Boarding School—suffered severe structural destruction, rendering their original premises unsafe for classes.
Additionally, Uttargaya English Boarding School lost three blocks and its hostel building, alongside two school buses washed away by the floodwaters. A vehicle belonging to Ramchandra Basic School was also swept away. Damage to facilities has disrupted operations at Chandeshwori Secondary School, which housed visually impaired students in its hostel, as well as Sahid Jagat Prakash Jung Shah Sanskrit Secondary School and Pioneer English Boarding School.
Local Authority Response and Future Plans
Bidur Municipality Mayor Rajan Shrestha stated that immediate reopening is impossible due to missing students, teachers, and parents, combined with destroyed roads, bridges, and school buildings. Resumption of classes will only be considered once daily life stabilizes and river crossings become safe.
Naba Raj Sapkota, Education Section Chief of Bidur Municipality, noted that despite receiving advance information, the flood's scale exceeded expectations. He emphasized that municipal authorities will formulate alternative learning plans once conditions normalize. Meanwhile, two school buildings in Kispang Rural Municipality and one in Belkotgadhi have been repurposed as temporary holding centers. In Belkotgadhi Municipality, Shila Devi Secondary School (Ward 7) and Mahadev Secondary School (Ward 5) have also sustained flood impacts.
