Kavre, Apr. 12 - Remote government schools of Kavre have set an example by improving their teaching and learning, suggesting that improvement can be brought about in all schools if the will is there.
"We have been enlightened by some remote schools here," said education experts after visiting Kavrepalanchok’s schools.
Educationalists; Tribhuban University’s former vice-chancellor Dr. Kedar Bhakta Mathema, Action-Aid International-Nepal (AAIN) director Bimal Phunyal, AAIN Educational Theme Leader Indira Gurung and Roshan Chitrakar visited Dedithumka Higher Secondary School, Mahadevasthan of Kavre, to see how the school was improving teaching learning there.
The school is a center for 53 government schools across the district’s seven Village Development Committees in the south of Kavre.
Schools established the Center for Rural Educational Development (CRED) as a forum four years ago to bring about reforms in the quality of government schools.The network enlisted 53 schools of all levels as members covering 393 teachers and 9908 students.
Lawmaker and CRED chairperson Krishna Prasad Sapkota informed that the CRED was formed with the aim to enhance the competitiveness of the government schools at par with the private schools."Schools in the network are trying to be better than the private schools," he claimed.
"As we started instructing students in the English medium at the government schools, private schools are feeling the heat?" claimed Lom Prasad Sapkota, teacher of Dedithumka Lower Secondary School of Mahadevstan VDC-1.
The government school started nursery classes, provided progress report cards to students in monthly exams, used projectors in high school teaching, the classrooms were improved to encourage face to face study by replacing the old desks and benches, started wall news papers, and established child health and eco clubs.
More than that four telecenters had been established, 11 high schools were equipped with wireless internet, library and dresses were introduced like in the private schools.A school that is under the CRED has also started giving the yearly prizes to mothers who sent their children regularly to school, helping improve the exam system. They also linked education with agriculture and health sectors.
"Our initiative is showing positive results, enrollment of students is at 98 percent, and dropout rate is very low at 8 to 9 percent," informed Shiva Kumar Paudel, member of CRED.The campaign to improve the government schools education was started by local civil society, teachers and guardians, and government agencies were also helping their initiatives.Education Ministry provided 42 computers; Information Technologies Center provided materials to establish the Information Center while Finance Ministry, and District Development Committee were also helping, informed lawmaker Sapkota.
Educationist Dr. Mathema said that it was a good initiative to improve the government education system but this needs to be sustainable."The local initiative to draw the people’s attention to the government school was good, it can positively impact quality in the future" He said.
Phnuyal informed that the movement was great but the need was government education must be linked with agriculture, human rights, and social justice.He also announced that the AAIN would help train teachers who were involved in the campaign.AAIN’s Gurung informed that the campaign was very new and his organization would take it across the 32 districts where it was working in the education sector.
source:Ram Prasad Daha, 12 April 2011
