- English literacy teaching methodologies
- teacher training methodologies for primary and secondary education
- lesson planning
- Early Childhood Education methodolgies particularly in language development
- the development of appropriate sustainable and cheap teaching aids
- these are fundamental areas of modern education in which most teachers have received no training.
The project
This project’s centre will be the Shree Amar Jyoti Gaun Pharka, a government Secondary School. This school is situated in the eastern part of the Pokhara Valley, about 10km from Pokhara town, which is some 200km west of Kathmandu. This is the only secondary school in the community, with five ‘feeder’ primaries, one of which is a private school, serving a big 'village' comprising various small communities including Rish Danda, Kaphal Ghari and Sillinge.
The volunteer programme will work with Shree Amar Jyoti Gaun Pharka Secondary School and the 5 'feeder' primary schools - with total student numbers of approximately 750 - volunteers will work with 8 to 15 English teachers at a time. Most of the work will be done at Amar Jyoti Gaun Pharka with some time, depending on the volunteer's role, spent at one or more of the other schools.
According to the Nepalese curriculum, lessons should be held in English, although teachers’ own lack of skill and confidence in the language make this an ideal rather than a reality. Therefore, broader use of the English language in the schools is the primary goal of this project – English is the single most important educational tool a Nepalese child can have. Without it, they cannot take public exams and the School Leavers' Certificate.
English offers some children a passport to a future – language can be taught through demonstrating modern teaching methods in classroom lessons, as well as through basic arts and crafts, creative writing, life-skills and associated conversation.
A long term goal is to enable local staff to gain enough confidence to involve the children in their own learning and replace the current prevalence of 'chalk-and-talk'....another is to build the language skills within the school cluster to such an extent that future volunteers will be able to assist develop other areas of the curriculum - particularly IT.
Context
The area where the school lies is known as Jaldhare Danda (after one of the many hilltops in the area). It has its natural beauty, with a fresh and quiet environment. From here one can see four different Himalayan ranges and the Pokhara Valley including Fewa Lake (the biggest lake in the valley).
The school has a long history for a rural school in Nepal. It was established in 1962 as a primary school (grades 1-5). The number of the students at that time was low - just 12 students - and most of the students were male. The school became a Lower Secondary School (grades 1-8). For about 35 years no investment was made in the school at all, causing attendance to drop even lower. Students were compelled to study in the open, under a tree during the summer due to the heat. During the monsoon rains school was often disrupted. Students had to bring their own straw mat or they had to find a stone to sit on. Sometimes students used to sit on their sandals too!
"With the establishment of Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge in 1998, prospects gradually became brighter for the school. The local Nature Guides from Tiger Mountain lead walks in the village for tourists and provided much support to introduce the problems of the school to the foreign visitors. Guests, who saw the poor condition of the school, started to contribute funds on an ad hoc basis. The Lodge’s charity account has been able to raise almost three million rupees (approximately USD 39,000) between 2001 and 2009. The construction work of the school was started with the help of other donors and in 2007 the school upgraded to a Secondary School (1-10 grades) with its modern classrooms including desk bench, drinking water, electricity, and toilets – all things not considered ‘routine’ in rural Nepal. A library was also provided with the support of a charity called Room to Read. Currently (2009), a similar partnership of community, government, charities, and Tiger Mountain is working to establish a computer lab, with workstations, internet access, and full servicing support – a real leap forward for a rural school."
Hari Adhikari - Tiger Mountain Representitive on The School Steering Committee
The local health post is next to the school so students have had the benefit of that since its establishment.
Most of the people who have been living here are semi-subsistence farmers. When parents can afford private education, they send their children to private schools, but when the cash runs out, they send the children back to the government school. Parents send their children to the private school because of the perceived quality of education and English medium teaching. Parents are very proud of their children’s ability to use English, which often can only be effectively achieved in private school. They see no value in the government school’s secondary education curriculum delivered in Nepalese. It should be noted here that Nepalese has a small vocabulary that cannot easily accommodate technical and modern concepts.
If students can get quality education, particularly English language skills, from government schools, then economically poor parents are not compelled to send their children to private school, with all the costs incurred, or feel further social exclusion.
Different ethnic and caste groups live in this area so volunteers will experience a rich cultural diversity whilst enjoying the welcome of the Pokarah Tiger Mountain team who will be your hosts during your stay.
