Children of Raute community, a nomadic tribe that mostly lives in the forests and bushes of Karnali Province, have been learning to decipher alphabets over the past few weeks. Going to school for education is against the Raute norms, something their ancestors have defied for generations.

Raute people, who live off forest resources, do not stay in one area for too long, which they believe is a sustainable way to prevent the depletion of forest resources. The community shifted to Girighat of Barahatal Rural Municipality-2 in Surkhet two weeks ago from Barahatal area of the same ward. There are a total of 137 individuals in the settlement and they don’t pay much attention to health, hygiene and education.

However, Raute children and some youths are now learning to read and write in their own settlement. According to Lal Bahadur Khatri, a teacher appointed by the Social Service Centre (SOSEC), an NGO that conducts awareness programmes on the importance of education and sanitation, 64 children below 18 years and four youths below 25 years are learning to read and write. “Many of them can read letters while a few of them can write their names too,” said Khatri.

SOSEC has arranged for two ‘teachers’, including Khatri, to live in close proximity to the Rautes, helping them improve their living standards and hygiene practices and to focus on overall social development of community members. The teachers are now teaching Nepali alphabets and words to the Raute children.

“The Raute children are enthusiastic about learning. We have been teaching them Nepali letters, names of seven days and 12 months by making videos. They are interested in learning to write their names. Basically, we teach them things of their own interest,” said Khatri.

But it is not easy to teach Raute children. The Mukhiyas, chieftains of the tribe, and guardians do not let their children learn to read and write. The teachers thus ‘hoodwink’ the Mukhiyas and guardians of Raute children to teach them.

“We generally take two to four Raute children a little away from their settlement, luring them away with mobile phone sets. They do not stay for hours to learn. They hardly want to learn for five to ten minutes,” said Khatri.

Since 2018, SOSEC has been working with a pair of teachers and health workers to lift the living standard of the Raute people. But the teachers started teaching Raute children only a few months ago.

“The children first started watching videos on our devices and enjoyed them. Then they gradually became inclined to learning. The children are generally eager to read and write but they are afraid of their guardians and Mukhiyas [knowing about it],” Khatri shared his experience.

The Raute population is dwindling with a high death rate, mainly among infants. Almost half the children born to the community in Karnali die in infancy, according to the Karnali Provincial Planning Commission. Health professionals say most of the infant deaths are caused by the lack of proper nutrition and care for the child and the new mother. Alcoholism is another cause of deaths in the tribe.

Government authorities and various organisations are working to educate the Raute community on health, hygiene and healthy habits. “We have been teaching them to trim nails, wash hands before eating, and seek treatment when they get an injury or illness. Lately, we have given importance to educating the Rautes and making them aware, with focus on the young generation,” said Khatri.

But Mukhiyas Dil Bahadur Shahi and Bir Bahadur Shahi are strict about not letting their children read and write. They claim that learning to do so is against the tribal norms as it would ‘spoil’ their society. Another Mukhiya, Surya Narayan Shahi, sounds a bit more liberal on education. “Our children will gradually learn to read and write,” he said.

Some of the Raute children are keen on reading and writing. “They [parents] will scold us as they know we are learning to read and write. But when I see other children go to school, I too want to read and write. We hope to be able to at least write our names, even if we have to do so by hiding from our parents,” said a 13-year-old.