Ministry announces Rs 1 billion scholarship scheme for flood-hit students

The Ministry of Education and Sports has announced a Rs 1 billion scholarship scheme for children whose schooling was disrupted by the floods along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, though it is still raising the money. According to Nagarik News, the Bhotekoshi flood struck on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Ministry Information Officer Bir Bahadur Thami told the paper that the schooling of more than 10,000 children in three districts, Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, has been directly affected, and that about 500 teachers are affected as well.

The scholarship scheme

Thami said the ministry has announced the 'Sunishchit Bhavishya' scholarship scheme (the name means roughly 'Assured Future') and that the government has started mobilising resources for a Rs 1 billion fund, working with both the private and the government sector. Children who lost both parents come first, with residential, full or partial scholarships; children who lost one parent and those from economically weak families are also to be supported on a priority basis. The ministry has said it will draw up procedures and raise the money from education budget lines and disaster-management funds.

BBC News Nepali gave a different account of where the money comes from and how far it reaches. It reported that five private school organisations had announced scholarships worth Rs 1 billion, said to be for 1,000 students, and that the government has since named the scheme 'Sunishchit Bhavishya'. The reports do not say how many of the more than 10,000 affected children the scheme is expected to cover.

Keeping children in class

The ministry says lessons are running through 56 temporary learning centres. Children staying in holding centres in Kathmandu are being linked to nearby schools in Kathmandu Metropolitan City and in Nagarjun and Tokha municipalities, with more than 150 already attending, Thami said, and discussions are under way on a residential school for children who lost their parents. BBC News Nepali reported that the ministry also wants to restart early learning for children under five through schools near where they live, in coordination with local governments.

Challenges in long-term support

The National Child Rights Council's preliminary study, reported by Nagarik News, found that of 584 children in holding centres and other shelters in Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Rasuwa, 269 had lost one parent and 41 had lost both, according to data collected up to Monday, September 28, 2026. The council says the figures are not final and may rise as details of affected children are collected and verified. Its report recommends immediate protection for children who lost parents, and regular counselling and a safe environment to deal with the stress of the flood, separation from family and displacement.

Nineteen schools were fully or partly damaged. Thami said that until fully destroyed schools are rebuilt, the government plans to teach through temporary learning centres, neighbourhood classes, nearby schools and, where needed, residential arrangements. The ministry said rebuilding will go ahead once the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority completes the study and report it needs, and that it has prepared a five-year recovery strategy that prioritises safe and inclusive school reconstruction. Nagarik News notes that regular schooling for displaced children, long-term protection of children without parents, the actual distribution of scholarships and the progress of rebuilding all remain hard to guarantee, and that this depends on coordination among federal, provincial and local governments and regular monitoring of children at risk.