In order to bring the children of Nepal, and consequently the future of Nepal, into a modern world, ECC feels that English needs to be more aptly taught. Students need to be more competent in understanding, speaking, reading and writing English if they are to increase their future opportunities.
Currently, the ECC is developing programs in the near vicinity of Kathmandu. But in the future, the ECC hopes to extend their reach to the rural area of Nepal, where children live in true poverty. Beyond simply giving these children a better education, ECC hopes to give them hope for a better future by placing their English abilities on par with both privately-educated Nepalese children and the rest of the world.
The ECC hopes to better the education system of Nepal on three levels:
- Helping to enhance the training and quality of teachers
- Involving parents and community in the children’s education
- Improving learning environments to help children stay in school
Teacher Training
The ECC understands the importance that good teaching has on a child’s ability to learn. In Nepal, many teachers are ordinary citizens who have never received any form of training in teaching. In order to improve the quality of primary education, the ECC takes part in training sessions all around the country where teachers can learn new techniques and gather tools to use in the classroom. Through teaching the teachers, the ECC works to better teach the children.
Parent and Community Education
The ECC also understands the importance parents and the community have on a child’s academic career. Without proper understanding of the importance of education in a child’s life, parents are bound to neglect proper encouragement. It is common in Nepal for parents to ask children to stay home to help with work or simply overlook the fact that their child isn’t attending school on any given day. By educating parents on the importance of sending their children to school, the ECC works to decrease dropout rates in schools. Also, in a system where the government offers little support to schools, often the majority of a school’s funds must come from the community. By getting the community actively involved in the goings-on of school and making the community aware of its importance to their school’s livelihood, the ECC hopes to increase both funds and needs given to partner schools by their communities.
Improving Learning Environments
Schools in Nepal do not offer proper facilities for children to learn in. Many schools lack water, toilet facilities, protection from cold winters, school supplies, space and even teachers. The ECC works to improve conditions on a number of levels. For example, in the ECC partner school in Gamauli, the ECC has partnered up with women in Yoshinkel, Nepal to get warm clothes knitted for the children in time for the harsh winters. The ECC has also provided water bottles and lunch boxes for children to take water from home with them to school so their school day is not interrupted by thirst. The ECC has also helped secure two teachers’ salaries through the help of generous private donors. At the Bhuboneswori Secondary School in Dhading, the ECC has helped set up a pen pal system with students in Finland in order to assist young students in their English education. The ECC has also helped raise building funds for partner schools in order to add more rooms to school houses and to improve current schools.
Often times classes can have up to 80 children in a single classroom, making it impossible for children to focus on their studies.
Major partner schools of the Education Concern Center (ECC) include:
Bhubaneshwori Secondary School
Located in Dhading, Nepal, Bhubaneshwori Secondary School inclues 15 teachers and 500 students. With rapidly growing community support, it is expected that more than 100 students will enroll in this school from neighboring schools due to the improved physical facilities and academics. This is an example of the impact ECC partnership with this school has had. ECC continues to focus on training and managerial support at this time.
Sepat Siranchour Secondary School
Located in Syangja, Nepal, this school has 11 teachers and 356 students. The majority of the students are this school are considered from the Dalit caste, members of the poorest and most disadvantaged community. ECC has provided support for the school library and purchased uniforms for some of the students. ECC volunteers attend meetings and are involved in management and decision-making at the school.
Krishna Primary School
Located in Gamauli, Nepal, ECC has been working in partnership with the local community to rebuild the school toilets. ECC was also able to secure funding to help the community build a water pipeline from the local market so that students now have access to fresh water at the school for the very first time in school history. ECC continues to provide teacher training and parent education to the students at this school. The school is already realizing improved attendance rates due to the interventions to date.
