Education Nepal Project #15921

Training 1500 Teachers |Empowering 5000 Girls/Boys

by PHASE Nepal

Training 1500 Teachers |Empowering 5000 Girls/Boys

Project Report | Oct 25, 2016
Creating Model Classrooms, a new dimension in PHASE Teacher Training Programme

By Kapil Joshi | Training 1500 village teachers

PHASE Nepal has been running a Community Development Programme in Bajura District since 2013. Bajura district lies in the far western development region of Nepal and is characterized by rugged topography and lack of basic physical infrastructure. Accessibility to the district is limited.

As per the estimate of the District Education Office, Bajura, the literacy rate among the population over 15 years of age is 40% with large discrepancy between male (59%) and female (22%). Similarly, the literacy rate of the population above 6 years stands at 56% with male literacy at 69% and female at 43%. In 2016 PHASE conducted a series of Teacher Training and School Mentorship Programmes in 11 schools in Kolti Village Development Committee (VDC). 58 teachers were trained and 18 outstanding teachers were provided additional training for mentoring their fellow teachers in the schools. In addition to providing teachers with the skills of interactive teaching methodologies, the best teaching practices training module contains a day of gender sensitivity training for the teachers. This equips the teachers with the strategies of creating girls friendly classrooms and school environment. It includes encouraging girls' students to participate more in classrooms and outdoor activities. One of the core mission of the projects is also to empower deserving female teachers as mentors. PHASE has been able to identify two smart, energetic and motivated female teachers who are now mentoring their fellow teachers acting as PHASE mentors teachers.

As the programme aims to improve access to and quality of education in Bajura district, PHASE will initiate a follow up project which will involve creating model classrooms in 11 participating schools. Model classrooms create positive and fun learning environments, proactively engaging the pupils. In addition, the model classroom will strengthen the capacity of trained teachers, trained and motivated teachers will create good and positive impact on the students. As a first step to initiate the follow up project, PHASE Nepal met with School Management Committee and teachers of Budhinanda Primary School in Kolti VDC in the month of August. The SMC and teachers of the schools were more than eager to initiate the follow up project.

They were thankful for the continued support PHASE Nepal has been providing to the school.

After the meeting, materials required to build the model classrooms was finalized in consultation with the SMC and teachers. The materials includes whiteboard, carpet and cushions, musical instrument(s), a sound box, water filter, dustbin and a first aid box.

PHASE will hold meetings and consultation with other 10 schools of the VDC to build model classrooms in those schools. The follow up support will be provided within 2 years' time. After building the model classrooms within the mentioned timeframe, PHASE will also support in the capacity building of the School Management Committee (SMC) and the existing school child clubs. The SMC will be oriented and trained as part of capacity building activity. Required funds will be provided to Child clubs to conduct their activities. PHASE will also provide refresher training to the teachers as per the need.

"I am very glad. PHASE Teacher Training has helped me a lot to develop skills of interactive teaching. But in the remote school like ours we severely lack supplies. Now our skills will be supplemented with the materials we have received from the model classroom project"

Birjan Shahi, Principal, Budhinanda Primary School, Kolti Bajura.

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Jul 27, 2016
Teacher training in Gorkha and Bajura

By Maya Gurung | Communications Manager

PHASE team in Keraunja

Recently, PHASE Nepal conducted teacher trainings in Keraunja, Kashigaun (Gorkha district) and Kolti, Pandusain (Bajura district). PHASE trained around 100 teachers from government school in these communities in best teaching practices, gender sensitivity and school mentorship. The project educated 30 mentors from the 100 teachers based on their outstanding performance. By this programme, PHASE aimed to improve the classroom environment, better participation of girls and to create local leadership within the schools by creating mentor teachers for sustainable change even after the project is completed.

After the programmes were concluded, PHASE Nepal received the following feedback of different stakeholders:

Teachers

“The PHASE approach is unique and we appreciate that you first observe the teachers before the training and develop the training based on shortcomings and weaknesses of the teachers. Many of the teachers from my school are observed for the first time. The PHASE Nepal teacher training has rejuvenated our enthusiasm. The best part of it is the continuous follow up and feedback. Being selected as a mentor is a big opportunity for me. It’s great because we teachers are sharing ideas with each other and there is an environment of interaction in the school.”

Bir Jung Shahi, Principal of Budhinanda Primary School in Kolti (Bajura).

"We are very happy that PHASE resumed its educational services and remembered us one year after the massive earthquake. We are glad that you have understood our problems and our efforts in running schools in TLCs. Although it will take some time to build permanent infrastructures for the schools, we can still maintain quality in education if we get training support like this. We hope you come up with more training in the future too. We love the PHASE approach in teacher training because it is focused on practical skills. As a mentor teacher I will try to develop a habit of sharing among teachers in my school. I would like to request you: bring more follow up trainings and cover difficult subjects like English and Maths."

Saraswati Gaire, Teacher of Gandaki Lower Secondary School in Keraunja (Gorkha).

Administrators

School Supervisor Vivi Raj Soti (Bajura) after his monitoring visit:

"I am glad that I got the chance to monitor your project. I think you should replicate this in other VDCs of Bajura because it is precise, practical and delivered in the village so that the teachers do not have to spend days travelling to the district headquarter."

District Education Officer of Gorkha, Hari Aryal, inquired us about the project and called the PHASE team to visit his office at the district headquarter in Gorkha and told us:

"I was especially concerned about Kashigaun and Keraunja because they are high in the mountains and do not get in touch with the outside world often. They aren’t even on the tourist trail so there is not much exposure. I am happy that you are doing the project there. I like your training because you are focusing on the practical aspects of the teaching strategies what compliments with what we are trying to do from our resource centre."

Student

"I come from a marginalized, so called low caste, family and I carry high ambition of becoming a lawyer and advocate the implementations of good laws and fight against malpractices. I have felt that after your training, teachers have started to ask more questions. What makes me happy is that they now give more chances to girls in the class. I also love the group work as it allows me to talk about my ideas with my friends. It's fun learning like this."

Samjhana B.K., age 13, Kolti (Bajura)

All teachers and students would like to thank you for your support!

Low cost training materials

Samjhana, student from Kolti

Handing out certificates to teachers in Keraunja

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May 9, 2016
PHASE Nepal's education programmes

By Maya Gurung | Communications Manager

Observation of teacher in Kolti, Bajura

This Global Giving campaign is funding some of PHASE Nepal’s education activities in some of the remotest regions of Nepal, including teacher training in rural schools such as Bajura. PHASE Nepal is also conducting alternative classes in remote Northern Gorkha to ensure children are getting the education that they are entitled to.

Sumi, the PHASE Nepal Education Officer, recently visited Bajura district in far west Nepal to monitor our teacher training work there. Having observed one of the teachers who took part in the awareness level training, Sumi said:

“Naina is a teacher at Chandra Nath Lower Secondary School in Kolti, Bajura. He has been teaching primary school children for 18 years. He chose this profession because he loves teaching and playing games with the students.

It was a very nice morning when I arrived and the children were excited because it was time for mathematics class. The students knew that there was going to be lots of fun and activities related to numeracy. The students seemed very happy in Naina’s class.

The teacher told me that he had learnt so many teaching techniques in the training and he has been using them in his classroom. He also said that PHASE Nepal’s training provided lots of ideas and methods which made it easy to plan lesson in a way which involve children and help them to learn and engage in fun way. He thinks this type of training should be given to teachers in schools all over Nepal.”

Alternative Schools in Chumchet, Northern Gorkha

Chumchet is a cluster of very remote villages high in the Nepalese Himalaya around four days walk from the nearest road. PHASE has been working in this region, mainly on health programmes, since 2007. Following the successful establishment of a primary health post (where there was previously no medical care) the next step of our integrated community development programme is to work with the local government to establish primary education provision.

PHASE set up two alternatives schools one in Shree Sidhha Ganesh Primary School and the other in Yarchu village. The purpose of the alternative school programme is to prepare small children for enrollment in government schools when they grow older (as schools are often several hours walking away from home, small children aren’t sent there when they very young).

There are 37 students currently attending Shree Sidhha Ganesh Primary School – 11 male students and 26 female students and 33 children attending Yarchu school.

Prasika has been a teacher in the PHASE Nepal’s alternative school for 5 months, she is very happy about working with the children in Yarchyo, Gorkha. In the beginning, Prasika was nervous about living in such a remote place which is 5 days walk from the nearest road. However after 5 months she is enjoying working in the region and wants to continue teaching there. Prasika told us: “It’s amazing to see how the children in Yarchyo are so interested in studying. They come to the school regularly. They are excited and very involved in games and activities.”

Pema is a 13 year old boy who is in Prasika’s class he told us: “I wish Saturday would not come, because on Saturday I have to take the cattle to the forest to graze. I would rather be in school with my friends learning and playing. My teacher is very kind. She gave us warm jackets and shoes for the winter.”

Urmila, another PHASE Nepal alternative teacher has worked for 3 years. She said: “The students’ writing, speaking and reading skills have improved a lot. Before, when we asked questions to the students, they used to repeat the question back to us as their first language is Tibetan not Nepalese. For example: if we asked “What is your name?” they repeated “What is your name?” But now they can communicate in Nepali language and even in a little bit of English.”

Kalpana the PHASE alternative teacher in Taju village in Northern Gorkha also shared her experience: “The children used to feel very shy before. Now they ask questions when they don’t understand what we are saying or teaching. Girls actively take part in games, like the boys. Before, girls used to feel very shy to play football but now they are actively involved in all games and in class activities. They are doing very well in exams too.”

We would like to thank you all for your continuous support to PHASE Nepal and the children in Nepal!

Sumi taking feedback from teacher in Kolti

Student of PHASE's alternative classes in Chumchet

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