Community Schools in Jitpursimara Undergo Remarkable Transformation

Bara. Dilapidated school buildings, broken toilets, a shortage of teachers, and a low number of students—this was the state of Shree Janakalyan Basic School in Jitpursimara Sub-Metropolitan-15.

However, this rural community school, which was once troubled and on the verge of closure, has now undergone a complete transformation.

The school received a new lease on life after Principal Gokul Kunwar launched the 'Let's Build Our School Ourselves' campaign, involving alumni, the school management committee, teachers, social workers, local organizations, and parents.

Two years ago, the school had only 35 to 40 students; today, 131 students are enrolled. Additionally, it now features an organized library, well-maintained early childhood development classrooms, a science laboratory, and sufficient sports equipment.

As the school's physical infrastructure improved, children of parents, teachers, management committee members, and staff who previously attended private schools began enrolling here. Recent data from the sub-metropolitan city shows that the school's academic results have also become excellent.

Principal Kunwar says that although he works from morning until evening to improve the school's education, the exam results make him forget all his hardships.

'I forget all my troubles when the Grade 8 results come out,' he said. 'It makes me happy to see the students doing well.'

Since Kunwar took over as principal, 100 percent of students have achieved 'A-level' results in the Grade 8 examinations conducted by the sub-metropolitan city.

Furthermore, when he realized that a lack of classrooms would be a major problem at the start of the new academic session, Principal Kunwar raised funds through social media from alumni living in Nepal and abroad to construct new structures.

Last year, the sub-metropolitan city awarded a contract for the construction of a new two-story school building at a cost of 6.2 million rupees. However, the project was left in limbo after the contractor, N.N. Construction, Birgunj, abandoned the work, claiming they had not received payment for the 'running bill'.

'After the contractor left the building under construction, we launched a campaign among alumni via social media to build new classrooms,' said Principal Kunwar. 'Even though parents are becoming aware of community schools, their trust has not yet been fully earned; it is our responsibility to build that trust.'

Harikrishna KC, Chairman of the School Management Committee, says the principal's role has been crucial in the school's improvement.

'Our community school is now much better, and the principal has played the lead role in this. He works at the school from morning until evening,' said Management Committee Chairman KC. 'We are just observers from the outside. He is the one who strictly manages all the teachers.'

Kunwar, originally from Achham in Sudurpashchim, was previously a teacher at the same school. The sub-metropolitan city appointed him as principal two years ago.

Data shows that since the sub-metropolitan city adopted a policy of educational reform, several troubled basic schools that had previously been downgraded have seen significant improvements.

Shree Saraswati Basic School in Jitpursimara-2, which was downgraded three years ago (from Grade 8 to Grade 5), is also becoming a model school now.

Although the enrollment register showed a significant number of students, only 40 to 45 students used to attend regularly. However, Principal Rudra Prasad Dhakal says that the number of students is increasing due to educational activities, sports, extracurricular activities, organized early childhood development classrooms, attractive school uniforms, and well-managed mid-day meals.

'Parents do not trust a school that has been downgraded once, and it takes a lot of hard work to return it to its former state,' said Principal Dhakal. 'Our local parents still do not fully trust us.'

Community schools in the urban areas of the sub-metropolitan city have many students who are children of industrial corridor workers, low-income families struggling to make ends meet, and children with autism or physical disabilities.

Due to a lack of parental awareness, there are many issues such as students not attending classes regularly, neglecting hygiene, and failing to complete homework.

'After we started organizing extracurricular activities, libraries, computer labs, and parent meetings, they began to take interest and encourage us,' said Dhakal. 'We are trying to slowly change the perception of many parents that community schools do not provide quality education.'

There are 60 community schools within the Jitpursimara Sub-Metropolitan City, where 16,748 students study and 433 teachers are employed.

In most community schools, the teacher-student ratio is unbalanced, leading to an excess of teachers in schools with few students and a shortage in schools with high enrollment.

Principal Dhakal suggests that the municipality should introduce a separate plan to improve troubled schools.

Harish Prasad Bhatta, an officer at the sub-metropolitan education branch, notes that while some basic-level schools are improving physically and academically, secondary-level schools remain weak.

'Due to a lack of manpower, we are bogged down by administrative work within the municipality and have not been able to interact with students and parents,' said Bhatta. 'Our schools are improving academically, but physically, there is a compulsion to sit under tin roofs in extreme heat, and the budget allocated by the federal government does not arrive.'

The sub-metropolitan city has created a local curriculum to introduce the tourist, religious, and cultural sites within the municipality and has distributed it free of charge up to the primary level in both community and institutional schools.

The municipality has been providing free uniforms annually to students studying up to Grade 5 in community schools.

Although the number of students in community schools is slowly increasing due to free education, mid-day meals, uniforms, sufficient sports equipment, and organized early childhood development classrooms, quality educational results have yet to be achieved.