Saturday, February 11, 2012

I have been back in Nepal

Well, it has been a while since last Blog. You may have wondered where I had disappeared to?

On the 12th October last year I touched down at Kathmandu International Airport and began a wonderful 4.5 month sojourn in Nepal. Other than the obvious much longer length of stay, it has been quite a different experience than all previous visits. In brief, I spent 3 weeks volunteering as an English teacher at Kalidhunga Higher Secondary School, introduced THRASS to the students and English staff at Majhgaun Lower Secondary School and conducted a 20 hours phonemics training program for 30 teachers in Letang, Morang.

Firstly, while Phulkaji was away in Kathmandu attending Masters level examinations, I fronted his English classes; class 6, 8 and 10. Here I attempted to follow the National Curriculum with limited success. The experience provided valuable insight, into teaching English in a rural Nepalese school from the perspectives of teachers, students, and school and resources management. Unfortunately, the experience left me a little jaded and disillusioned. Teaching and resource management in Rural schools and the national education system itself presents numerous challenges that both have impeded their respective developments and created a poor standard of educational achievement. The issues are too complex to articulate in this Blog, but will be the subject of further discussion as new directions are explored for assisting the development of Mirge's educational future. However, if we consider only that is within our immediate influence and have any chance to change, then the main issues that will continue to influence the development of quality education fall into the following categories: strong, effective and visionary school leadership, teacher training in 'learning centred' direct teaching methodology, computer training, long term English Language Courses, guidance and direct support for school management and student leadership, and finally facility construction.

Overall, I did not feel I achieved much at KHSS as a classroom teacher, but at least I was able to facilitate action on the function of the library. Now the school library has a designated teacher/librarian and borrowing is available to students throughout each day. ECCA has agreed to install a clean drinking water system which is due to be completed by the end of February. In addition, we have agreed to paint the school inside and out,  but there will be conditions. The school and its leadership will need to develop and commit to a long and short term plan of action to improve the school environment and manage greenery and nature club developments before we make final approval for painting. Sadly, other than a lot of talk, nothing of significance has been achieved in establishing environmentally sustainable practices. In all a bit disappointing, but ECCA have now realised that it is necessary to support the function of the Nature Clubs because neither teachers nor, students even after the training program, have skills nor any previous experience to manage creatively the Nature Club visions.

Do not though abandon all hope!

The original vision for school environment improvement and community development has not altered. In fact I am even more determined to put more effort into the program, despite the lack of progress. The current state of affairs is an indication of the need to tackle some of these impediments to change and through ECCA's direct facilitation and guidance we can do it. Quality Education is a must and as it does appear to be, even a desire for such developments is not enough for the KHSS to embrace the changes independently. Sometimes what appears to be a lack of will is more a lack of ability and not knowing what critical questions  for change to raise in the first place. Visioning on such matters is easier for us in the west because we have centuries of development and aeons of creative solutions that have been trial. The teachers of KHSS have had none of this. The teacher training is so very limited and their personal experience is considerably narrow. How can effective progress be made if 'you do not even know what you do not know'!

In the next Blog I will feature Majhgaun Lower Secondary School and the work undertaken there.