Due to the conflict, fewer students are going to schools in southern Doti. The Maoists have been forcing students to join their indoctrination programs, they have been killed in the crossfire between the Maoists and the army.
Many students are now dropping out of school and moving down to the district headquarters, or to India to work. People who can afford to keep their children in the district headquarters or other relatively safe places are the only ones who are able to provide their children with some sort of education.

In the southern parts of Doti secondary, higher secondary and middle schools have seen up to 60 percent drop in enrolment. Students are unable to study consistently in schools, says one teacher. The Maoists keep taking them for five-day, weeklong or 12-day campaigns and other programs. We never get to finish our courses.

According to a parent from Barchen, students fear the army as much as the Maoists. Min Prakash Malla of Jorayal has been forced to work in a small shop in Dipayal and study there because the conflict in his village was hampering his studies. Students who work in lodges and shops in the district headquarters say that if there was a ceasefire they would be able to go back to their villages and resume studies. The Maoists maintain their party has never forced students to join their indoctrination camps, or join their militia. The army also says schools should be conflict-free. But both sides violate their commitments, students and teachers say.