Background

Since Rato Bangala School was established in 1992, the school community has devoted serious effort to develop quality education within the school. Over the years, this has been achieved by investing in the training of teachers both within and outside the school, and developing and testing new curricula and teaching methods.

In late 2002, after several meetings with parents and teachers, Rato Bangala decided that the time had come to expand and institutionalize its outreach activities. A Board of Trustees was formed, and at the suggestions of parents and senior students, we decided to work in five districts – Dailekh, Dhading, Lalitpur, Makwanpur and Myagdi – for an initial commitment of five years. The first five year phase was over in April 2009.

The Goals and objectives of the Rato Bangala Partnership in Outreach Programme (RBPOP) follow.

Goals

To help ensure that the children of Nepal get the opportunity to have a top-quality education, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, socio-economic condition, or geographic origin.

Objectives

• To provide training for education leaders in the community
• To provide teacher-training to new and in-service teachers working in government schools
• To offer scholarships to needy students that would otherwise not be able to attend school
• To support a limited of deserving but disadvantaged students at Rato Bangala School
• To assist public schools in remote areas in upgrading their facilities and equipment

Achievements

An independent review showed the following achievements:

• A marked improvement in the school environment, enthusiasm amongst staff to teach better, and a greater collaboration with parents.

• Students have become more responsible about the upkeep of the general environment of their schools, both within classroom and in the surroundings.
• Students are more interested in their academic work.
• Organisation of classrooms, displays of creative work made by students, group work amongst students, and students taking responsibility for their own leaning are other significant changes.

• In the 50 partner schools, the general outlook on education has improved, as have the teaching-learning practices in the classroom. Teacher have begun to use hands-on strategies to facilitate learning.
• Teachers have started coming to school on time, and, in some schools, the school day starts 15 minutes early.
• At least on school has developed as a leader school in each district.