Day one in the Teach for Nepal House

'In Nepal 82% of all children are in public schools'

'72% of these children fail the GCSE equivalent School Leaving Certificate (SLC)'

Teach for Nepal

    We sit on the terrace of ‘Teach for Nepal House’ overlooking Kathmandu. We, the ten Teach First participants who have just finished a grueling first two years, can barely contain our excitement for what lies in store for us over the next four weeks. We are here to deliver LRTT training to 65 Nepalese teachers, and incredibly, the first cohort of 34 Teach for Nepal participants. We are under strict instructions not to drink the water; eat the chutneys; salads or anything spicy, but to share our experience with educators in a new and exciting context.

    We split today up ‘Apprentice’ style. Sub-team two headed to central Kathmandu to get some ideas and prices for our excursions over the next four weeks. Sub-team one went to a meeting with one of our partners, Volunteer Initiative Nepal (VIN) to talk about logistics for our teacher training course, which ended up being a massive discussion on international education - there were so many similarities! As in so many education systems there are a mix of interest groups clashing on common issues: assessment, accountability, training, political interference.  Yet we all agree; if we can engage more children in learning we will move towards a fairer, more empowered tomorrow.

    The meeting with VIN was hugely reassuring. Bhupi (their founder) was really inspiring and his provision for our course was perfect. He explained about the high expectations that they have of our course, and the local excitement that is building around the programme. Apparently Head teachers, training providers, and members of the Nepalese version of Ofsted are attending the sessions! Bhupi was kind enough to lay out a lunch (curry and chapatti) and when asked if any of us wanted more, we dug deep on our Nepalese cultural awareness and tucked in to a second plate!

    Sub team Two endured a grueling morning of eating copious amounts of delicious momos in the winding backstreets of Thamel and practising basic Nepalese phrases with some of the locals. We (Parveen and Clare M.) squeezed in a bit of tough negotiation to ensure we have some exciting plans for the holidays. Sub Team Two visited the central and oldest square in Kathmandu and were exposed to a strange cultural mix of Hindu theology (81% of Nepalese follow the religion), Hippie history (Jimi Hendrix and friends used the ancient temples as a backdrop for their indulgences), and visited a living God (chosen partly on her ability to not be afraid when confronted by 92 slaughtered animals). Once reunited a group indulgence session in a UV-lit middle eastern restaurant rounded off the day nicely.