One of the oldest schools in Lalitpur district, Shree Mahalaxmi Higher Secondary School was founded in 1947 AD by Padma Shamsher in the name of Mahalaxmi Padma Vidhyashram during the Rana reign. After the restoration of democracy in 1951 AD, it was named Mahalaxmi Primary School. It was upgraded into High School in 1966 AD. Affiliated with Higher Secondary Education Board in 2004 AD, it runs Humanities, Management and Education disciplines in plus two programs.

Located in a place called Lubhoo in Mahalaxmi Municipality, the school falls under Mahalaxmi Resource Centre which is also placed and run in the same school building. There are eight community and nine private schools associated with this Resource Centre.

A total of 440 students (210 boys and 230 girls) are studying in the school’s ECD to Grade 12. It has been running classes in English medium since 2011 AD. There are 29 teachers with two non-teaching staffs. TFN Fellows have been teaching there since 2013 AD.

Literacy rate of Lubhoo is about 89% and different NGOs in collaboration with Nepal Government are actively working to increase this number by conducting various informal and formal education programs. A study carried out by Lubhoo VDC last year shows 98% children enrollment in schools. However, according to a joint project of Ministry of Education and Local Resource Centre called Education Management Integrating System (EMIS, 2071), the students’ dropout rate from community schools is extremely high when compared to the children of private schools.

Lubhoo is 7 kilometers away from Lagankhel. You can get to this place from Gwarko. It takes around half an hour to reach there in public vehicles.

There is a police station and a health post with two medical doctors funded by Nepal Government in the area. Nepal Telecom has been providing communications facilities and there are a number of banks and other financial institutions. Drinking water is available from Drinking Water Project of the Community and also from direct source.

There is proper facility of toilets. Electricity is available through national grid. There is euro guard purifier, too. There is a playground as well as a sports room. The library has more than 5000 books. Science lab is not in operation as it saw some damage during the earthquake. Computer lab has 8 computers; all are connected with internet. The school is a free wifi zone.

There are 27 classrooms. Desks/benches are enough for the students and each classroom has a whiteboard. Nepal Government supports the school financially and Village Education Planning Program funded by Municipality provides Rs. 50,000 every year for the school’s improvement. The annual budget of the school of the fiscal year 2071/072 was 1 crore and 8 lakhs and it is estimated to reach 10 lakhs this year.

PTA, SMC, Child Club, Junior Red Cross Society, Speaker’s Club and Reader’s Club are actively functioning.

Students who appeared in SLC examinations in the last 3 years:

Year No. of students who appeared in the SLC Examinations No. of students passed

2069 BS (2012 AD) 52 23 2070 BS (2013 AD) 47 17 2071 BS (2014 AD) 26 20

Earthquake Impact

A building with two ECD classrooms and the compound’s wall were damaged. Furniture and whiteboard of Nursery classroom were also ruined. Most of the old houses in the area were damaged. Two ex-students of the school lost their lives while 36 students lost their homes. 6 teachers and staffs became homeless. People are still living in temporary camps.

Teach for Nepal has supported the community and the children with relief materials like rice, daal, oil, salt, tents, mosquito nets, mattress and medicines, along with mid-day meals for the students and teachers. Nepal Don Bosco Society has helped the students with school uniforms, bags, stationeries and TLC. Splash Nepal has assisted with drinking water purification. Voice of Children distributed uniforms to needy children and Nanda Kishor Pratibha Pratisthan has provided scholarships. Tripureshwor Eye Care Centre has run free camps and also provided glasses for the children. CWISH Nepal conducted a month long socio-psychological counseling. ENPHO assisted the school with Hand Washing Campaign whereas Mary Ward Missionary School provided seven cartons of sanitary pads for girls.