Hamro Pathshala Educational Programme

This programme involves various strategies for creating an interactive classroom to foster the education of rural, economically poor, and disadvantaged students in subjects like mathematics, English, and science. The initiative relies on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) - as provided through rural, community-based access centres that promote community empowerment and work to address the digital divide by combining community broadcasting (e.g., community radio and television) by local people in local languages. As part of Hamro Pathshala, this CMC combines community radio in local language with telecentre facilities. Over 99 episodes of the 30-minute programme were broadcast between August 2005 and March 2006.

The programme combines actual teaching with school content covering awareness, general information, and teaching and learning experiences. Hamro Pathshala is run by local teachers who have volunteered from 3 local high schools. Four local teachers participated in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-supported, 2 phase, weeklong training on educational radio concept development and radio literacy. During the training, teachers were also introduced to and trained in how to use computers and the internet to access educational materials and to learn about teaching methodologies. Thus, capacity building in the sense of strengthening the skills of teachers to use ICTs to guide their students is a core feature of this initiative.

Madanpokhara CMC has also extended its network with the establishment of 4 telecentre facilities in government-run schools; Hamro Pathshala has become the part of the school curriculum in these 4 centres. (Damkada high secondary school, where one of the telecentres is located, has about 30 visually challenged and blind students.) These facilities are used for basic computing training, digital content production, and access to the Hamro Pathshala programme for students studying in class 8 (which will later be followed by access to those in classes 9 and 10). The recorded educational programmes are archived in the form of a digital library in each of these telecentres. Students and teachers use these archives to access the previous day's lessons and to spark discussion about each programme. This library is a strategy for reaching out to students and teachers who have missed the live broadcast.

Evaluation and assessment are key components of this project. Organisers indicate that the telecentre facilities provide opportunities for the programmer to seek immediate feedback. Students and teachers are also encouraged regularly to submit feedback in the form of letters. In addition, to study the impact and effectiveness of the programme, a 5-member advisory and monitoring committee was formed; it consists of experts from the District Education Office (DEO), experienced teachers, and representatives from CMC. This committee meets once a month to evaluate and provide feedback. In addition, 2 full-time local researchers from Madanpokhara CMC use the tools of ethnographic action research (EAR) to shape the development of the programme. Teachers also participate in the process of EAR to study the impact of Hamro Pathshala, with a particular focus on the needs of the students.

Education, Technology, Girls.

According to local DEO, the percentage of students in Palpa district who passed the SLC exam in 2005 was only 26.43%; compared to other South Asian countries, the SLC failure rate in Nepal in general is very high. Organisers point to factors such as poor education policy, the shortage of trained and motivated teachers, and understaffed and under-funded rural government schools. These underlying issues were apparently exacerbated when, during a period of conflict, Maoists shut down private schools and banned the use of government funds for development work. Organisers say that, as the blockade closed highways, students appearing for SLC had to walk to the district headquarters every day for their exams. In particular, those from ethnic groups like the Magar tend to hail from families who are completely dependent on agricultural and cannot afford to send their daughters to private school in Tansen, the district headquarters. It is in this context that the Madanpokhara CMC devised the plan to use media for education to improve student performance, as well as the teaching and learning process.

The main goal of the radio station based at the Madanpokhara CMC is to contribute to local development by promoting public awareness and dialogues, knowledge sharing, good governance, community participation, and local culture and positive entertainment. It is run, managed, and controlled by the media committee comprised of various community people engaged in development work.

Organisers claim that Hamro Pathshala reaches over 27 village development committees (VDC) and the Tansen Municipality. According to the DEO, 15,000 students from 60 high schools in the region directly benefit from the programme.