SINDHULI, May 30: Girls studying at the community schools in the rural parts of the country often skip their classes while menstruating.
The unavailability of sanitary pads is considered a major reason forcing girls to skip school, every month, hampering their education.
However, a community school in Sindhuli has come up with a solution, making use of the locally-available resources.
Initiative to produce locally-made sanitary pads
The girl students of Mathillo Raniban's Prabhat Secondary School of Prabhat Kamalamai Municipality-13 have succeeded in making sanitary pads for themselves.
The school is known for producing and distributing sanitary pads to all girls attending the school.
Tenth grade students of this girls-only school teach the ninth graders how to make sanitary pads. The trend is followed every year with each passing batch.
“The school provides the girls with all the necessary raw materials and the girls make their pads themselves,” said Principal Arun Kumar Thing.
He also expressed his desire to see all the girls attend the school regularly. “I hope to see them attending the school daily. Menstruation should not be allowed to hold them back," he added.
Prabhat School is taken as an example and an inspiration to all schools in and outside Sindhuli district. The school also teaches its students about the importance of cleanliness and the health hazards associated with litter.
The school has therefore set a rule which requires all students to help clean class rooms every day before the class begins. The school situated in a rural setting is also known to be an English medium school.
The parents have also expressed satisfaction over the free-of-cost education, with its quality better than the local private schools. The teachers of the school reportedly work even on off days to improve their own quality and ensure better education to the students.
Kamalamai Municipality-13 ward chief Kiran Majhi said, “We have been working hard to make sure that the students in this community school get quality education and we attract more students to this school.”
