KATHMANDU: The British Council (BC) Nepal on August 13 awarded the International Schools Award (ISA) to 12 Nepali schools at an event organised at Hotel Radisson, Lazimpat.

According to a BC Nepal press statement, the award is endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Education and this is the third year that Nepali schools have been awarded through this award scheme.

Special guests — Khagaraj Baral, Executive Director, National Centre for Educational Development; Diwaker Dhungel, Executive Director, Curriculum Development Centre and Dev Kumari Gurung, Director Planning Division, Department of Education — handed over the trophy and certificates to the school, principal and ISA coordinator. The awarded schools are Sirjana Community Secondary School, St Capitanio School, Adarsha English Boarding Secondary School, Durga Lower Secondary School, Achane Higher Secondary School, Traibidya Shikchhya Sadan, Sakalya School, Reliance International Academy, Babylon National School, Karnali Education Foundation, Suryajyoti Lower Secondary English Boarding School and Delhi Public School from Kaski, Palpa, Parbat, Baglung, Dhading, Kathmandu, Jhapa and Dharan, as per the press release.

The statement quoted Brenden McSharry OBE, Country Director of BC Nepal as saying, “In an increasingly globalised economy, it is vital that our students are prepared for working and communicating with each other in their learning and skills development programmes across international borders in order to secure a prosperous and harmonious world. For our students to thrive in a competitive world, they must develop digital literacy, critical thinking and problem solving skills, creativity and imagination, leadership skills, team building and working skills, ICT management expertise and a commitment to becoming responsible and caring global citizens. International School Award tries to embed these essential elements of the students’ growth in the curriculum through this award.”

The ISA is a yearly award given to participating schools. Applications from interested schools are called in every year, August/September period and schools are selected based on their application. The BC offers the ISA as an accreditation framework for schools to record and evaluate their international work and embed it into the curriculum. The ISA acts as a benchmark that ascertains schools as having an outstanding level of support for — nurturing global citizenship in young

people and enriching teaching and learning.