ILAM, SEPTEMBER 18
Aaradhana Bhattarai, 13, who left a private school to join Grade VIII in a community school of Ilam a year ago, is now very good at making power point presentations and confident enough to present in her class.
Despite studying at a boarding school, she did not know how to use computer a year ago. But today she possess good knowledge of computer. This sort of transformation in students is rarely seen in the students of community schools, that also in a school around 500 kilometres away from the capital.
Fikkal Secondary School in Suryodaya Municipality, Illam, is s rare community school that does not only have sophisticated computer labs, but also conducts classes using digital boards.
With access to 'easy to use' boards and plenty of computers, students like Aaradhana and hundreds of others are not only good at using computer but also excel in subjects such as English, Mathematics and Social Studies. "Besides being tech-savvy, I have improved my performance in mathematics and English after joining the school," Tashi Lamu Tamang another student of Grade VIII told THT .
Only a few years ago this school used to struggle to get students. Moreover, many good students in the area used to join private schools or go to nearby towns in search of better education.
But in the last three years, the school has changed a lot.
The biggest change is seen its infrastructure. With the construction of a new school building equipped with modern facilities, a huge number of students have joined the school in the last few years.
Subsequently, the school, with financial support from the government, upgraded its classrooms , hired trained and smart teachers, provided clean toilets and drinking water facility to the students.
These changes helped the school enrol over 1,000 students.
Majority of the newly-enrolled students have come to this community school from private schools.
Moreover, the teachers of the school, who were hesitant to enrol their kids in their own school, now proudly enrol them here.
This year alone, around 200 students joined in Grade XI. Many students are still joining the school even though the session started a month ago. Many students who would otherwise travel to Kathmandu or other cities have opted to remain in their own village and study at this school. "It's not only about having more students in the school. We feel proud that we have brought down the students' drop-out rate to eight per cent from the previous 15 to 20 per cent in Grade X and 100 per cent admission rate in Grade XI and XII," said Principal Ganga Bahadur Mahat of the school.
Mathematics teacher Nawaraj Pokharel, who was seen teaching geometry to students using an interactive panel, said that with the new and improved teaching methods students paid attention in class and could understand concepts better.
Another key attraction of the school is the nutritious day meal and availability of free sanitary pads for girls.
Teachers believe that the number of students enrolled in the school from under privileged families increased after providing these facilities.
All these changes have been possible due to Nepal School Sector Development Plan 2016-2023, the government's eight-year plan to develop the overall school sector in the country.
Fikkal Secondary School is not the only school that has brought about significant changes in the infrastructure and the quality of education, there are 14 secondary and eight primary schools in Suryodaya Municipality which have brought about such changes.
All these schools now have access to internet with capacity to teach students through virtual mode. The local government has spent Rs 260 million for the school development sector in the last couple of years.
This means that the local government has invested on an average Rs 43,000 per student in a year.
Yognidhi Bhattarai, head of the education department of the school, said that the number of students in all community schools inside the municipality had increased and pass per cent of students had also gone up.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 20, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.