Date: August 07, 2008

Rato Bangala School

From the day Rato Bangala School first opened in 1992, the school's community has devoted itself to fostering a top-quality education. It has worked to achieve this aim by training its own teachers and those of other schools, as well as by developing new curricula and teaching methods.

Rato Bangala is a local school with a difference. All students take the SLC examinations after Grade X, and then progress to the A Level programme offered by the University of Cambridge. Rato Bangala School (RBS) is recognised as a Nepali school capable of providing an international standard of education, and is a registered examination centre for the University of Cambridge.

As part of its institutional philosophy, the school has always included an outreach component. Providing students opportunities to work for the larger good of the community has ensured that Rato Bangala grooms proactive and concerned citizens, who are able to take care of their own needs as well as those of others.

The age-appropriate community service programme at Rato Bangala includes cleaning up the local environment, working with the disabled, tutoring disadvantaged students, and helping to construct houses for the needy. In addition, the school supports a limited number of scholarship students within RBS and at other public schools, as well as sponsoring teachers in government and selected private schools for teacher training.

Rato Bangala Partnership in Outreach Programme

In late 2002, after several meetings with parents and teachers, Rato Bangala decided that the time had come to expand and institutionalise 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 Myadgi - for an initial commitment of five years.

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

Goal

To help ensure that all 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 number of deserving but disadvantaged students at Rato Bangala School
• To assist public schools in remote areas in upgrading their facilities and equipment

A local partnership initiative

The Rato Bangala Partnership in Outreach Programme receives financial support from RBS through monthly contributions of a percentage of the school fees paid by the parents. These funds support some of Nepal's neediest government schools in disadvantaged areas. They help to deliver an improved quality of education, and to ensure that students in communities with few resources have access to that education.

The programme is run as an independent activity of Rato Bangala School. The Board of Trustees, made up of RBS parents and staff, maintains transparent accounts. The programme's managers are fully accountable to the entire school body through the Board of Trustees. A Programme Officer looks after the overall program with the assistance of one fieldworker in each of the five districts.

Direct support

Ten schools in the five districts have been selected for a five-year collaborative effort. With the first two years already complete, serious plans are currently in development for the upcoming three years, using the experience gained over the past two.

Training

• The leaders of all partner schools participate in a training module to ensure proper cooperation and coordination within the school. The Programme Manager and five RBS field staff provide a strong monitoring and support system.
• Two teachers from each partner school undergo a two-and-a-half month residential Skill Development Training for Teachers, conducted at Rato Bangala School. Each school receives one Tin Trunk set (see below).

Scholarships

• Five needy students from each of the 50 schools get support to attend public schools. These scholarships cover school fees, uniforms, textbooks, stationary, book bags and extra reading material.
• A limited number of full scholarships are available each year at RBS for students from areas where RBPOP has worked. These students are from disadvantaged communities, and come to RBS after completing the application package.

Learning Environment

• Partner schools are provided with mini-grants in order to upgrade their school facilities and infrastructure.
• A practical Tin Trunk initiative has been developed. This box contains reading and other essential materials for primary-grade teaching for both students and teachers.

Input in the first year

• 44 partner schools received mini-grants to upgrade their facilities. 50 schools received Tin Trunks to improve teaching and learning. Four schools developed science laboratories.
• The head teachers of 50 partner schools and their School Management Committee Chairs, Resource Persons and School Supervisors participated in a three-day residential training. Each designed a School Improvement Plan.
• 91 teachers from Dailekh, Dhading, Lalitpur, Makwanpur and Myagdi participated in Rato Bangala's Skill Development Training for Teachers.
• Over 150 teachers received short-term training in teaching English in Grade I and the use of Tin Trunk material.
• 250 students received full scholarships to the partner schools.
• 12 students received full scholarships to study at Rato Bangala School. These students are from grades one to five.
• 24 students from Lalitpur District but outside the RBPOP area received scholarships to study in government schools.
• 25 households in Humla received support for lighting their homes under the program Humlama Ujyalo.
• Various schools in Myagdi, Lalitpur and Dhading who are outside the project area have also received support.

Achievements

• Participants said that they noticed 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 classrooms 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. Teachers 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 one school has developed as a leader school in each district.

Upcoming activities

• RBPOP will administer a standardised test to all primary students in all 50 partner schools. By establishing a year-to-year record from grades one to five, the programme will be able to identify trends in development and pinpoint where it needs to improve.
• A three-day training for all primary-school teachers of Dailekh and Myagdi will be provided.
• The district-wide training will be provided by teacher-leaders who have successfully practiced what they learnt in the Skill Development Training, subsequent to receiving a week-long training at RBS.
• Activities in the field will inform the direction taken by the project, as learning from experience will be the focus.
• RBPOP will continue to supervise and support schools, ensuring that they meet a minimum standard of quality education.

RBPOP needs

• Specifically, it seeks funds to finance the scholarship program for disadvantaged students at Rato Bangala. We seek individuals and groups that can provide either full or partial scholarships.