1m Nepali kids may not return to school: Unicef

Almost 24,000 classrooms were damaged or destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The scale of the education crisis is expected to grow over the coming days and weeks as additional information flows in from remote areas. Schools are due to reopen on 15 May.

Tomoo Hozumi, Unicef’s representative in Nepal, on Friday said: “Children affected by the earthquake need urgent life-saving assistance like clean water and shelter, but schools in emergencies– even in a temporary setup- play a vital role too. They minimise disruption to children’s education, protect them from exploitation and abuse, and provide them with messages to keep them safe and healthy. Going to school also allows children to regain a vital sense of routine that can help them come to terms with their experiences.”

In the severely-affected districts of Gorkha, Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of schools have been destroyed, while around 80 percent school buildings have collapsed in Dhading.

In areas, including Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, approximately nine in ten surviving school buildings are being used as emergency shelters for the quake victims.

Unicef is concerned that great strides made over the last 25 years in increasing primary school enrolment in Nepal– from 64 percent in 1990 to more than 95 percent today– could suffer a serious setback in the aftermath of the earthquake.