A Gift That Keeps On Giving

On July 7 NCEF Board member and former President Steven Lustig recently celebrated his birthday. Instead of traditional gifts, many of Steven’s friends and family donated to NCEF. In fact, these birthday donations alone earned the organization $615. Happy belated, Steven, and thanks to all who donated!

Students and Teachers in Chitwan, Part I

by Neelam Dhungel, NCEF member and volunteer

Ed note: This article was compiled from translated interviews with area teachers and students and will be followed up in the November newsletter with more detailed information on our students in the Chitwan area.

Challenges for Students & Teachers

Every school has a dropout rate and Shree Primary is no different. Currently, Shree’s dropout rate is around 5-8% every year. Students drop out for a variety of reasons, and migration is one of the most common. Chitwan has a very diverse population. People migrate to Chitwan from all over Nepal. In fact, out of six students interviews, four of their families migrated to this area.

Students do not necessarily complete an academic year with the school when they need to move, which disrupts their studies and makes rejoining a classroom more difficult. Sometimes natural disasters like floods and landslides force families to flee to different areas. Students join a new school and when the calamity is over they go back to their previous school. It can be a very disruptive process and contributes heavily to the dropout rate. Aside from natural disasters, many children have parents who work low-paying daily wage jobs for which they have to move place to place.

In general, poverty is the single greatest challenge facing students and teachers alike. Poverty and education are directly related and in a country like Nepal, where primary education is not free, it is difficult for the poor to send their children to school. Moreover, the parents themselves are deprived of education due to poverty. “My parents have only completed sixth grade while my uncle finished eighth grade,” says student Sonu who aspires to complete at least tenth grade.

Lack of higher education is one of the causes of poverty. Without a good education people can’t get good, well-paying jobs and without these jobs they can’t afford to keep sending their children to school. It is a vicious cycle that affects generation after generation.

For those who can afford education, they often still cannot afford new technologies, books, uniforms, shoes, and any other additional costs that may come up during the year. “I introduced two optional classes that required students to buy two books. Each book merely cost Rs. 100 [about $1 USD] but none of the kids’ parents could afford it. Since they didn’t have the books their performance in the class was very poor,” said one teacher with frustration. (Ed. note: These are exactly the kinds of gaps that NCEF looks to fill. Your donations provide not only tuition but books, uniforms, school supplies, and other necessities for a good education.)

Because of poverty, lack of education, long working hours, and a variety of other factors, many parents are not very involved in their children’s academic progress. “If only the parents asked their kids to do their homework, it would make a big difference,” says one teacher. She adds, “Parents’ negligence has been one of the main barriers in the students’ progress.” (Ed. note: NCEF volunteers in Nepal encourage all parents to support their children in their studies.)

Another factor is the influence of older siblings on younger ones. Sundar, a fourteen-year-old eighth grader has two older brothers, one of whom is in Kathmandu and one is home but does not attend school. Sundar’s home does not have an environment conducive to bettering his studies, but this does not mean he is not a good student. In fact, Sundar is among the brightest students in his class.