The general situation (of education) in Nepal is alarming.
The response of the national government to Covid 19 is incoherent and inadequate. Information does not reach the impoverished population in the countryside and the minorities. This situation is also characteristic of the attitude towards education. Education used to be a local responsibility, which meant the local community was always involved, even if this sometimes led to corruption. Under the Maoist government, Kathmandu determined everything: the appointments, the principle of ‘compulsory education’, the curriculum, the exams… Political appointments were common and in the remote countryside there was no longer any quality control. That system turned out to be untenable. Since last year, education has been ‘reformed’: local authorities are increasingly allowed to make their own decisions, but not all are equally committed, competent or prepared. During Covid 19, Kathmandu has almost completely passed on responsibility for education to the local authorities. This has magnified the differences between state and private education, education in the Kathmandu Valley and in rural areas, and between poor and rich. The general guidelines from the central government towards the local authorities are: an evolution towards English-medium schools (while many rural teachers do not know English, not even Nepali properly) and 'distance learning' (while the majority of the schools do not have a single computer, and there are certainly none in the families).
Working under Covid 19 is a difficult assignment for CEPP
Either there is a lockdown and the field workers of the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices are stuck in the work area, or they are in Kathmandu and cannot reach the schools in the countryside. The extent to which they can work together with the local educators depends entirely on the motivation and willingness of those people, and is therefore very different from school to school. In Sindhuli and Makwanpur District in Inner Terai (the transition between plains and mountains, south of Kathmandu), schools nearly reopened in October. Then 60 teachers were tested, and 8 of them turned out to be positive! The reopening of the schools is therefore not yet happening. However, the villages are considered safer than the cities. At the moment uncertainty reigns, but in Inner Terai education is reduced to its core mission…
Day after day!
CEPP was able to reach all schools with which the organization works. There are more than thirty!
In five schools, CEPP organized a training activity for the School Management Committees, a kind of expanded parent council, which also includes teachers and people from the village who are concerned with education. CEPP field workers Amit (photo taken in Shree Primary School, Jutepani), Bir Bahadur and Bishnu (photo taken in Janjyoti Basic School Hakpara) discuss with them the rights and obligations of the SMCs, the impact of Covid 19 on the (education of the) children and the measures to protect people against the pandemic. How can teachers motivate the students and their parents under the present circumstances? How can parents support education?
Even though the schools are still closed, CEPP has so far been able to set up seven child-oriented classrooms in five different schools, together with teachers and parents. The murals are about the children’s daily environment.
If the school is closed, the teacher will come to you! Teacher Panchee (from Hakpara) teaches outdoors every day. Her dedication is moving. Parents and a girl next door look on with interest ...
In Chapp, Makwanpur District, the school has not reopened yet. The teachers live further away and do not come to the village. The parents open their home to education for small groups of children (cluster teaching). Sani, motivator of CEPP, is from Raigaon but now resides in the village and lives with the community. She goes from house to house to talk to parents about education. The parents provide their house or a piece of land. Sani teaches 2 to 3 hours every week to 7 different clusters. Sani has no pedagogical training, but is full of motivation and strength. The whole village is counting on her. Amit, Bir Bahadur, Sani, Michael, Bishnu, Panchee and the other CEPP staff and teachers are the silent heroes and heroines of education in Nepal, along with so many parents ... It is the people, their dedication and motivation, their strength and enthusiasm , which ensure that the children still receive some form of education. Day after day! Let's keep encouraging and supporting them!
You can also contribute to this on account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 of Bikas non-profit, with the mention "From School to School". Thank you for your interest and for reading this article about the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices!
Dhanyabad
Right from the start, in 2008, the Sint Vincentius Institute, a secondary school in Gijzegem, East Flanders, has supported the 'From School to School' project. Every October, on World Teacher’s Day, they campaign on the right to quality education, also and especially in Nepal. Thank you to all students and teachers for your contribution of 460 euros! The Group of former teachers and pupils of the school support us year after year as well!
August 2020
The monsoon has also started in Inner Terai, the work area of CEPP, the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices. The children help to plant the rice. After all, the schools were closed due to the lockdown of 22 March.
CEPP distributes materials to protect people from Covid 19. Teachers and parents are trained in the pandemic.
The government leaves the organization of alternative forms of education to the local authorities. Since 16 July, cluster teaching has taken place in CEPP's field of work, but because there is usually no external guidance and because many teachers come from other regions, in practice this only happens in 5% of the schools.
In Janjyoti Basic School, Hakpara, in Sindhuli District, Michael Rai, field coordinator of CEPP, helps teachers to distribute textbooks in the students' homes. Cluster teaching is done in small groups. On even days, the even classes (Class 2, Class 4 ...) come to school for 2 hours. The younger children are taught in the morning, the older children in the afternoon. On odd days, the odd classes are taught. Before the children enter the classroom, Michael takes their temperature. Teacher Panchi teaches a group of children from Class 2. First-year pupils and children from kindergarten make exercises.
Before and after: Michael and Ram from CEPP make a wooden platform for Class 2 and for Class 3. The teachers help. A wooden surface can easily be kept dust-free and insulates against the winter cold.
In Sree Primary School, Jutepani, cluster teaching is not possible. The principal of the school lives in a different area and cannot reach the school. Still, the teachers and the parents (especially the mothers!) are motivated. They are making a bamboo fence and taking care of the plantings.
Jutepani and Hakpara are two of more than 30 government schools with which CEPP collaborates in remote and poor villages in Sindhuli, Rautahat and Makwanpur District. They organize training for teachers and parents, motivate children, parents and teachers, create child-oriented classes and natural playgrounds with them, and work with local and national authorities to improve the quality of education.
We would like to invite you to view photo reports about the evolution in Jutepani and Hakpara in the past school year and about a teacher training in neighbouring Simras:
Your support is welcome on the account of BIKAS non-profit organization BE 32 2200 7878 0002, with the mention "Friends of Paul and Carine" or "From School to School". Thank you and stay happy and healthy!
April 2020
Let's work together
Our work stay, from January 8 to February 26, 2020, gave us the privilege to collaborate with 10 different schools and to provide teacher training together with CEPP and students of the teacher training department of Erasmus Hogeschool Brussels. We could encourage and inspire each other!
Susma, kindergarten teacher of the Brick Children School made these little dolls that help children to recognize emotions.
Her colleague Sanita sewed an interactive world map for older children.
A natural playground was created in Jutepani
In Simras, children, 20 teachers from 15 different schools and 6 CEPP staff took part in the teacher training.
In Hakpara we made a World Class together. In this school, each class has its own vegetable garden.
KULeuven Architectuur, Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel and CEPP joined efforts for the realization of the Post School in Chaap
A workshop for 14 educators from the Cerebral Palsy Centre. We made materials adapted to the needs of children with a disability, such as these high contrast images. Children with CP often also have visual problems.
Unofficial inauguration of the Post School!
Unofficial inauguration of the Post School!
If you would like to support the efforts of CEPP (Centre for Educational Policies and Practices), your contribution is welcome on the account number BE 32 2200 7878 0002 of BIKAS, with the mention 'From school to school' or 'Friends of Paul and Carine '. Thank you! Paul Beké en Carine Verleye
January 2020
Trees
Shree Primary School, Jutepani, and Shree Janjyoti Basic School, Hakpara, are a 45-minute walk from each other, in Sindhuli District, southern Nepal. Before 2019, Jutepani’s playground had two trees, Hakpara’s only one… However, the temperature here can rise to 40 degrees in the summer. Making schools greener is one of the main activities of CEPP, the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices, a Nepalese NGO that is committed to free ànd better education in this region. Together with the local community, they provided a green enclosure with natural and local materials such as bamboo and shrubs. And also trees, so that the children can play in the shade. 17 trees and shrubs were planted in Jutepani, Hakpara’s (large) playground now has 50 trees and shrubs…
Vegetable garden
School premises are not well maintained and they don’t interest anyone. To make the school environment more lively, CEPP promotes the creation of kitchen gardens. The children and their teachers bring seeds and saplings in order to grow flowers and vegetables in front of their classroom. In this way, children learn how plants grow and what they need. It helps children to love plants, to take good care of them and to understand how important they are.
World Environment Day
90 children participated in a drawing competition: “Me and my green environment school”. As a reward, 278 plants were distributed.
Child-oriented classes
Parents, children, teachers and Belgian interns helped to improve first-grade classes in Jutepani and Hakpara: painted walls, a raised wooden floor with carpet, low benches… Jutepani is becoming an environmentally friendly and sustainable learning and living environment – and so is Hakpara!
Download additional photos
With special thanks to HESpace Children’s Foundation and to everyone who supports CEPP through BIKAS vzw, account number BE32 2200 7878 0002. Please add ‘From school to school’ or ‘Friends of Paul and Carine’ as an entry.
