Nepal: Building Schools in Remote Villages

This a story of hope and determination coming from the remote mountain villages of Nepal. In 2007, a chance encounter with a trekking guide named Moti Bhattarai led to a life-changing commitment from Q•Learning Ltd.’s Managing Director to help build a school in his home village of Hangdewa.

Despite the challenges, Q•Learning worked with the village to build not just one, but two schools for children aged 4 to 16. The villagers gave the land, helped build toilets, brought window frames, and continued to support the schools. Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO has funded the schools, paying the teachers a premium salary. This way they are providing school uniforms and books to the children, and maintaining the schools.

But the impact of this project extends far beyond the classroom. The school has inspired a new generation of young people to pursue medical, nursing, engineering, and other careers. And with the support of donors worldwide, the Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO continues to fund educational improvements that can transform lives and communities.

The Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO and Making a Difference

One of the founders of Q•Learning contacted us and we were able to make a donation in the form of headsets to help the schools out. Here is our conversation with the founders of Q•Learning:

STEALTH: What was one of your biggest challenges this past year?

Q•Learning: Well we finally got good Wi-Fi after years of struggling during Covid. The Wi-Fi signal came from Delhi and journeyed backward and forwards across the Himalayas into both China and India, and was pretty useless and irregular when it arrived. I contacted everyone I could in government, telecom companies, and the British Embassy/DFA, but got nowhere. We considered investigating access to a satellite via the Gurkhas or launching our own satellite! Suddenly, out of the blue, a random guy arrived with some fibre-optic cabling, so we negotiated the price right down and we had it installed. It now means we can show our children (most of whom have never been more than a few miles from home) what the world looks like beyond the Eastern Himalayas. They even have lessons with Millfield School and the teachers do CPD with our Education Trustee, renowned Roy Blatchford CBE. A real game-changer.

STEALTH: You mentioned that the quality of their headphones was really bad?

Q•Learning: That’s right, the one missing ingredient is the quality of the headphones. Although everything is cheaper in Nepal, the school has spent £1.50 each on 14 headsets, which often causes problems in hearing what is being said. Higher quality will make a huge difference as our children speak excellent English but are not used to different accents. It will also mean they can listen to music, enjoy films, and more.

STEALTH: We’re glad we could help out! Can you tell us more about the conditions you saw in the school in Hangdewa?

Q•Learning: Sure, Hangdewa is a small village perched on the side of another mountain where schooling is normally in wooden huts with no glass in the windows, closed and dark in the autumn and winter, one light bulb, 90 to a class and no resources or computers.

But thanks to our corporate sponsors, trustees, child mentors, and donations we have two solid schools without mud floors, have bricks and glass, a watertight roof, a computer room, a practical science lab, a Montessori infants’ school, art and music, sports and cups won and the happiest and most educated children for literally hundreds of miles

We have created real-life chances for these children and there are currently 240 children at the school.

The Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO Achievements

From November 2020 to March 2022.

Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO’s first task was to send grants to Hangdewa during the lockdown for the teachers (and a few parents of students) to ensure they could feed themselves and their families when the schools were closed. All children were monitored for well-being and a grant was made to install fiber-optic cabling for zoom lessons. When the schools reopened, money was sent for catch-up classes and coaching so that all children quickly performed where they had been expected to.

The CIO has increased grants (to 25% of students) for the poorest children and girls to ensure all children have equal access to quality education. No family is charged more than between £5-£12 a month for their child’s education. School class age was extended to age 14/15 (class 8) by a full grant for all students. Grants are given for all students to receive textbooks in all subjects, notebooks, eye tests, and school uniforms, and for those who need to receive glasses and sanitary wear.

Access to science and technology has been enabled through grants made (and direct donations) of more laptops, 56 kindles pre-loaded with books, 256 new library books, and a practical science laboratory/classroom fully resourced for children to work in small groups.

What is the impact of the Creative room?

The commissioning of a creative room has enabled students to learn either the local madal drum or guitar, as well as to have regular art classes. Traditional dance, football, badminton, and short tennis have been added to the syllabus for girls and boys. Chess is encouraged and grants are made for resources, with one of the students winning the school league.

The school has come in the top 4 schools (out of 20) for all other leagues (sport, spelling, general knowledge quizzes, etc) and all top-class students gained scholarships to their preferred next schools (between 35% and 100%) by excelling in their basic school leavers certificate. The Montessori School (age 3.5 -7) was granted money to develop its playground with fenced areas and swings, as well as sports equipment.

How are the Grants to Teachers Helping?

Teachers have been given grants for CPD, enabling them to have spoken English classes online and to form a choir to learn English songs. They have all learned basic IT skills and can use Word, Excel, Paint, and PowerPoint. School leaders have been given access to coaching from teachers in the UK and partnerships formed with excellent UK schools.

Grants are made for pregnant and new mothers to be given paid time off, and a creche is created when there is a need. Teacher numbers have grown to 20 with a teacher/student ratio of 1/12 overall with 1/10 maximum in lower classes. Lead Montessori teachers (all women) have been trained in Kathmandu and all received their certificates.

In Conclusion

The impact of this project extends far beyond the classroom. The school has inspired a new generation of young people to pursue medical, nursing, engineering, and other careers. With the support of donors worldwide, the Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO continues to fund educational improvements that can transform lives and communities.

Q•Learning faced many challenges during the pandemic, including poor Wi-Fi, but installing fibre-optic cabling and better-quality headphones have made a huge difference. The Q•Learning Nepal Trust CIO has also sent grants to Hangdewa to support teachers and families during the lockdown, increased grants for the poorest children and girls, extended the school class age, and enabled access to science and technology.

The commissioning of a creative room has also had a positive impact, enabling students to learn music, art, and traditional dance and adding sports like football, badminton, and short tennis to the syllabus.

To learn more about how to help this project visit Q•Learning’s website and learn how to donate to the cause yourself.