In the wake of the devastating floods caused by a glacial collapse in Nepal, classrooms have become sites of profound grief. At Neelakantha Secondary School, located in the severely impacted Rasuwa district, teachers face the daily agony of marking red circles next to the names of children who never returned. With over 1,400 lives lost and thousands still missing, the tragedy has left a scar on the nation’s education system. The school itself, though physically intact, serves as a poignant reminder of the catastrophe, having lost 70 students and four teachers to the surging waters that tore through riverside settlements last month.

The path to recovery is proving to be a grueling challenge that extends far beyond repairing damaged roads and bridges. Government data reveals that nearly 500 students and two dozen teachers remain missing, while 18 schools have sustained significant destruction. UNICEF has highlighted the urgent need to stabilize children’s lives through education, yet many pupils remain unable to attend class due to severed infrastructure or the need to process deep psychological trauma. Educators are now calling for specialized psychosocial support, noting that while physical relief supplies are available, the emotional scars of losing friends and family make it nearly impossible for the surviving children to return to a sense of normalcy.