Dolakha, April 23 -- In the remote settlement of Thongthong, located within ward 1 of Bigu Rural Municipality, most of the houses are padlocked. This high-altitude village of 43 households has been transformed into a ghost town, with only nine families remaining. The reason is not a lack of resources or a desire for urban luxury, but a desperate quest for basic education.

In this northern corner of Dolakha, a hill district of Bagmati province, parents are forced to abandon their ancestral lands simply to ensure their children can attend basic school.

The crisis intensified four years ago when the Thongthong Basic School, which once provided education up to grade 3, was merged with another public school in Gogar due to dwindling student ...