PHASE education programmes aim to raise levels of literacy and numeracy in remote communities, thereby giving children and adults more opportunities and choices. PHASE supports governmental schools in our programme areas with teaching materials, better buildings, water supply, toilets and playgrounds. We have also supply salaries for extra teachers and provided scholarships.
In 2009 we ran three nursery classes where trained local women looked after young village children, giving them a chance to develop a “learning routine” and social skills before they start primary school.
In 2011 our focus is on:
Alternative classes: These are small satellite schools, where groups of children of all ages are taught a slightly abbreviated curriculum, allowing them to catch up to class 3 of mainstream schools. Alternative classes allow children who have dropped out, or have not been enrolled earlier and are now too old, or for whom the school is too far away, to get a minimal education and carry on to ‘mainstream’ school afterwards. The first set of students graduated from PHASE alternative school in 2010 and a large percentage continued to mainstream school. PHASE accesses and tops up government funding which is allocated for this purpose and the programme involves teacher training, buildings and toilets, parents committees and supplying resources.
Adult Literacy Classes: Adult literacy rates are very low in our programme areas (around 30% for men and 10% for women), ten to twenty years ago educational opportunities were even rarer than today. Being able to read makes a huge difference to people confidence and independence: whether it is reading the instructions on a medicine bottle for their children, the sign on a bus, or a letter from a loved one working away.
Adult literacy classes have been extremely popular with the villagers and in 2009/10 ten six-month evening courses were completed in Sindhulpalchowk district, benefiting about two hundred adults, mainly women.
School Upgrading: PHASE has supported the upgrade of Jaldevi Secondary School in Hagam to a full secondary school which allows children in this area to take their School Leaving Certificate close to home. In 2010 year the first 13 students sat the School Leaving Certificate examination, of which seven passed at the first attempt and two more at the supplementary exam. This school has also been linked with a school in the UK.
