In the aftermath of devastating floods that swept through Nepal on Wednesday, many schools in severely affected areas have been destroyed or damaged, disrupting education for thousands of children. However, a group of students at a school in Dhading district survived when they left their classrooms for a lunch break just before floodwaters surged into the building.

Teachers at the school acted swiftly, instructing students to evacuate without their belongings, a decision credited with saving many lives. “The teachers said, ‘There is a flood and you should leave bags and tiffins,’” recalled Lakshmi Shrestha, the mother of one student. Families began returning to the school on Sunday to salvage belongings and assess the damage. Despite the destruction, most children from the school appeared to have survived, according to local reports.

The school premises were heavily coated in mud, with sediment filling the courtyard and watermarks on the walls showing the height the floodwaters reached. Backpacks smeared with mud and adorned with colorful keychains were scattered across benches and floors, awaiting their owners. Some parents, such as Kopila Mizar, remained hopeful even when personal items were missing. "My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness," she said.

The floods and accompanying landslides, triggered by days of torrential rain, have impacted at least 69 schools in Nepal’s hardest-hit districts. According to the nonprofit Save the Children, nearly 19,000 children face educational disruptions due to the damage, though officials expect these figures to rise as rescue teams gain access to more remote locations.

In response to the disaster, the Nepalese government ordered schools and universities across affected regions to close for three days and postponed ongoing university exams. With ongoing flood warnings urging communities to relocate to safer areas, the timeline for resuming classes remains uncertain.

The scale of the disaster has been catastrophic: Nepal’s disaster agency reported 955 confirmed deaths and 4,471 people missing. On the Chinese side of the border, authorities in Tibet reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, including a significant number of foreigners. Chinese state media indicated 261 foreigners remain unaccounted for, among them more than 100 Nepalis and other international visitors who had come to the region for work, tourism, or religious pilgrimage.

As rescue and recovery efforts continue, the focus remains on locating missing persons, supporting survivors, and beginning the long process of rebuilding impacted communities and infrastructure, including educational facilities critical to the region’s future.