Education
Problem Statement
In the rural communities of Nepal,many parents cannot afford necessary educational materials for their children which leads to many students leaving school in the middle of an academic year. Lack of awareness, limited education and low economic conditions in many households, especially in the most disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society, leave parents compelled to have their children engaged as menial workers so as to maintain livelihoods. Moreover, our education system is characterized by rote learning and lack of creativity.In addition to this, there is a noticeable communication gap between the three stakeholders of education viz. students, teachers and parents.
What We Do
Thus, Peace for People aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. P4P is working to introduce innovative teaching-learning approaches where the students are encouraged to learn through music, sports, art, and physical activities. Our vision is to change the conventional teaching-learning approach practiced in Nepal. For this, P4P has been running pilot programs of creative teaching-learning practices and following up with the feedbacks for an effective impact by acting different phases as below:
Construction of School
Without a proper school infrastructure, it is impossible to provide quality education to the students. Peace for People has built 2 school buildings in Dhading and Kavre districts. Shree Janata Primary School of Dhading, which was once devastated heavily because of the 2015 earthquake, now has a semi-concrete building with 7 classrooms and 1 kitchen room. Shree Bhumesthan Primary School of Kavre, which was in a complete worn-out condition, now has a semi-concrete building with 3 classrooms.
Foundation for Education
Even though Nepali government has framed compulsory and free basic education and free education upto secondary level in its constitutional act, it has not been implemented effectively in all parts of Nepal. The parents of the community where we intend to work cannot even afford the basic educational materials required in order to send their children to school. Moreover, children's education is not a top priority for them. This has definitely increased the student dropout rate in local schools. Thus, Peace for People has been assisting 2069 students and 14 schools of 5 districts in regards to their educational materials for at least 1 year. Under the Foundation for Education project, the Free Quality Education for All campaign is being run by the organization which aims to provide every child an access to education.
Scholarship Grants
Peace for People Scholarship Program is a financial aid P4P provides to needy students (generally from an economically weak family background) based on their academic merits. In this scholarship scheme, recipients from lower secondary level to bachelor level are provided with the required educational materials for one to four academic years. Till the date, P4P has provided scholarship grants to 515 students of 14 different schools.
Parents Bootcamp
Peace for People organizes Parents Boot Camp in which the parents are engaged in informative sessions on the importance of education; role of parents in holistic development of a child; and correlation between parents and the school family. Empowering parents with knowledge and skills to understand their children and create a stimulating environment at home enables the children to reach their full potential.
Teachers Training
Peace for People organizes different workshops and training on the importance of skills in communication; innovative teaching-learning methods; digital teaching; and practical education. The national and international volunteers’ involvement is introduced in schools in different time frames of a year. Teachers are the prime stakeholders of education who have the potential to understand the psychology of a child and mold him/her into a well civilized citizen. Hence, it is very important for a teacher to impart quality knowledge through his/her teaching practice.
Global Classroom
Global Classroom is an unique opportunity for the children to learn and explore the world at a small age, which can have a strong positive influence on the child’s overall development and make them well-aware citizens of the globe. Here, the school level students get to interact with their fellow foreign friends and do interactive activities via a virtual video call.
Physical Education
In the context of Nepal, especially in the rural community schools, physical education is not given a priority in teaching-learning practice. As a result, most of the students regard their study as a burden because they are only encouraged to read the text books. Physical Education helps in mitigating this unwillingness of students to attend schools as it enables them to learn through playing.