THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE NEPALESE CHILDREN'S EDUCATION FUND

gyan: n. knowledge acquired by direct perception

A Day in the Life: Nepal High School Students

Volunteer Yubraj Ghimire walks us through the daily lives of our students, including the challenges these children face every day.

Several months ago, NCEF volunteer in Patan Yubraj Ghimire enlightened us about the differences between private and public education in Nepal. This month, we follow him through the daily schedule of our high school students.

Patan volunteer Yubraj Ghimire

High school students face many challenges and responsibilities in their studies. They wake up early, often as early as 4 or 5AM, beginning the day with a light refreshment. Later on, they have a light breakfast: normally tea, bread, and other local foods. If they have homework which wasn’t completed the night before, they take this time to finish their studies. By 8:30AM they have finished studying and break for a meal. After putting on their school uniform and packing up, they head out for school, most of which begin at 9AM. Some students take the bus to school, but most go by foot, oftentimes taking an hour or more to walk to school. Very few students use public transport and most don’t have the option of a bicycle or a parent’s vehicle.

School assembly is called around 9AM. Students gather in an arranged line where they sing the national anthem, the school song, and, on special occasions like Education Day or Student Day, listen to speeches by administrators about the importance of these special days. Other times, 15- to 30-minute speeches on topics of awareness, such as AIDS Day or Earth Day, will be given.

Classes begin after the assembly, generally around 10AM. Students have 8 classes per day, each of which is 45 minutes long. After 2nd period, they have a 10-minute break for refreshment and after their 5th period they take a 45-minute lunch break. Some children gather together to play sports; football, badminton, table tennis, and basketball are all favorites that can be played within the school grounds. Others play indoor games like chess or ludo. Around 4PM, after the remaining 3 periods, the school day comes to a close.

A second, end-of-day assembly is called and students gather for a brief prayer and school song before leaving for home. Once home, most students change out of their uniforms and have a light snack and then head out to play with friends. Many children play football, cricket, or carrom, but others spend this time watching movies, cartoons, or gaming.

From 6-8PM students work on homework, pausing around 8:30 for dinner. After dinner is a time to finish up school work, watch TV, or play. Bed time is generally around 10PM, when students go to bed and begin the cycle again the next morning.

Holidays, of course, are somewhat different for each family. Saturday is a public holiday in Nepal, so children as well as parents are mostly free of work. After chores like bathing and laundry are completed, many families go to the movies, swim, play in parks, or visit relatives. Most students take advantage of the holidays, engaging in lots of activities other than studying.

The typical school life for younger children is essentially the same as for our high school students, but they have less pressure on their studies and less work to do at home and in the classroom. Primary school children sleep longer and spend most of their free time playing. However, they are very much dependent on their parents for help in completing their homework, which can pose a great challenge to our students, many of whom have parents who are illiterate.

In many ways, high school students in Nepal have a schedule that seems familiar to western high schoolers. However, the day-to-day challenges and personal responsibility that the NCEF students face is very clearly present from their early morning wake time to their lengthy and laborious commutes. For this reason we’d like to congratulate all of our students for their hard work and dedication to their education and to thank our donors for their continued generous support.

In Next Month’s Newsletter

Next month, we will continue bringing firsthand reports from our students in Nepal.