classes

Anand Bhairab Lower Secondary School - Classes

The school has eight teachers and about 345 students spread over eight grades. Not all students were present on the day of my visit. Most of the government schools seem to be relatively small, with large classes of 40 to 50 students. It seemed that there were over 100 students in Grade One, but where they were taught was lost in the confusion and misunderstanding of the language. It is obvious that classes are large, especially in the younger age groups. There are at least fifty Grade One students squeezed into the one classroom. The numbers are much smaller in Grade eight, with 17 girls and 8 boys. The Government does not pay for the boys' books and parents cannot afford to keep them at school. Educating the girls means that there is a chance that some of the knowledge will be passed on to the next generation.

Left hand side of the Grade 1 room showing some of the desks. The classrooms are small, without much more than blackboard and ten bench desks. Fifty students can be squeezed into each classroom. The only lighting is through two windows and the door, but the teachers seemed to be saying that electricity could easily be connected.

The real difficulty is that the teachers in Nepal have little idea of what we can offer them, so do not know what to request. It was difficult to understand their needs as their curriculum is different from ours. It will take a few visits and a bit of trial and error before we reach some sort of solution. We will need to ask for advice from people who have taught in Nepal and make sure that our contacts in Nepal are consulted.

The teachers liked the idea of students from Trinity presenting lessons to the classes and any visitor would be welcomed as a teacher. The only time of year that we can be certain of the school being open seems to be September. I have been assured that the weather at that time of year is suitable - fine and not too cold. The students from Anand Bhairab could act as guides for visitors around the surrounding farms or some of the historic places in Kathmandu or Bhaktapur.

Teacher requests:

Simple science equipment such as magnets
A microscope
A tape recorder which I think might be a cassette player.

They are not asking for books or charts, although they thought they could use charts of simple science formula. Most books and writing materials can be bought more easily in Kathmandu.