KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31

A few children are seen creating decorative and informative designs inside the newly established two libraries of the newly reconstructed building of Durbar High School, the country's first modern school.

Some volunteering youths have gathered in the libraries which have now over 9,000 reading materials. More books and reading materials are pouring in every day, thanks to Zonta Club of Kathmandu for establishing modern libraries in a bid to support students studying at two community schools inside the building.

The libraries are established at Bhanu Secondary School and Sanskrit Secondary School. Both the schools are now operating at the Durbar High School complex.

The modern libraries equipped with digital technology are likely to support over 1,000 children studying at the schools. The library is expected to provide support to needy children who do not have access to modern books, apart from their academic books.

These libraries are established with generous support from Maya Rana Tufo, as homage to her late father Prabhakar Sumsher JBR, a renowned business personality and philanthropist.

Durbar School Library Project in charge of the Zonta Club, Kamal Keshari Tuladhar shared with THT that this library would be helpful, particularly for children from underprivileged families who do not have access to internet or any smart devices as other students who go to private schools in the capital have.

'The world has changed massively in the past decade, but the Nepali education system still operates with 10 years old curriculum. This is sad because such curriculum mostly hinders the potential of children in community schools as children in private schools are often taught advanced courses,' Tuladhar said.

'The books in the library have been selected to attract students as developing interest in books can be a daunting task for children. 'These books will help students gain knowledge outside of their curriculum and encourage them to dream big, which is normally lacking in school text books,' she added.

Expressing gratitude to the donor Maya Rana, Zonta Scholarship Chari Meekha Mathema said that the very act of dedicating such significant support in the name of father shows that Nepali society is changing and even a daughter can do better for their parents. Zonta club especially works for advancing the status of women by improving status of women through service and advocacy.

Mathema further said the libraries would be helpful for students to realize their passion as they would be able to focus on what they want to do in their life. 'There is a prevailing disparity between the situation of students in community schools and private schools. This has to stop and it must begin with such small steps. This is a house of knowledge and we want to replicate it in other community schools as well.'

With the support of similar organisations such as Child Protection Support Nepal, the Zonta Club had already provided 40 smart phones and 20 laptops to the same school after the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed in 2020.

She said online teaching in Nepal was not easy to implement as majority of students in community schools did not have access to internet or simple smart phones to support their education even inside the capital.

Zonta has also agreed to provide two employees, a certified librarian and an assistant-librarian to operate the library for three years. The employees will then hand over its management to the schools. The libraries will be officially handed over to the respective school managements amidst a ceremony on November 3.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 1, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.