INITIAL STUDY

We conducted an initial analysis in the village to understand the current state of our programs.

About Gulmi

Gulmi District, a part of Lumbini province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. It is a hilly district that lies in Lumbini Province. Surrounded by Syangja and Parbat district on the east, Palpa, and Arghakhachi on the south. 

Purpose of the Travel 

• Identification of the issues in the schools mentioned in this report
• Needs assessment/Status of the students 

Date of Travel: 12^th – 14/15^th June, 2022

Schools Visited 

Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School – Majuwa, Gulmi

Shree Majhi Primary School – Majhi Gaun, Gulmi

Majhi community, Nepal

Majhi is a minority as an indigenous caste / ethnic community among the 125 castes / ethnic groups of Nepal. There are 206,000 Majhi are living in the world (Surya, 2018). The 83,727 Majhis are one of the indigenous peoples in Nepal who are living in their own language, dress, culture, etc (GoN, 2014). Majhi have had a special and intimate relationship with the rivers of Nepal. The main traditional occupations of the Majhi people are fishing, boating, building and river transportation services in Nepal. 

Education plays a vital role in human life. The Majhi have limited educational opportunities. They have very low literacy level. No Majhi has a Master’s degree, only 15 have bachelor’s degrees, 35 have certificate level qualifications and 130 have the qualification of S.L.C. (School Leaving Certificate) (Surya, 2018). Millennium development goals and sustainable development goals focused in zero hunger, no poverty good health, education for all, reduced inequality among the all people of the world (UNDP, 2020).

Shree Majhi Primary School 

Shree Majhi Secondary School, a community school was established in BS.2053 is located in Majhi Community of Gulmi, Durbar Village Development, ward no 1. 

The school has around 74 students in total studying from grade 1-5. Most of the kids of the Majhi community study in this school 

Students Details

S.No	Grade	Girls	Boys
1	Nursery	12	13
2	1	6	5
3	2	5	7
4	3	5	5
5	4	6	3
6	5	3	4
	Total (Girls/Boys)	37	37
	Total students	74

Meetings during the visit

1. FGD(Focused Group Discussion) with teachers/locals
2. Interview with Students
3. FGD (Focused Group Discussion) with parents 
4. Interaction with drop-out students

Focused Group Discussion with teachers

Focused group discussion was conducted to understand the situation of the school. Total of 7 teachers participated in the discussion. The following were the conclusions drawn out from the discussion.

• Some students attend school only during examinations and not during normal school hours.
• The school provides stationary items (received from donor organizations and other individuals/institutions) to students who do not bring them or cannot afford to bring them.
• The donor organizations providing stationery equipment to the schools is also now on the verge of winding up.
• Children do not have proper school dress or appropriate school bags.
• The school needs few computers. They have requested a computer this year but they are not sure if they would receive it.

Interview of Students

• Most students are overwhelmed with domestic chores.
• They do not come to school as they are mostly engaged in household works.
• Some students expressed that their parents often ask them to stay at home because they have household chores.
• Some students belong to household with no parent or single parent with no proper guidance and/or supervision.

FGD with Parents 

• Most parents are aware of the importance of education and believe that children need to study.
• It’s difficult for some/few of them to afford for their children’s education but are still managing. 
• Ask for scholarship to the boys as well in Gyanodaya School, Majuwa. Currently, we have only been supporting girls’ education through WayToSchools.org.

Interaction with few girls who dropped out of schools 

Few drop-out students were gathered and discussed on their reasons for leaving school. They dropped out school in grade 6, 7, 8 and 10. Few of them mentioned that they do not want to return to schools because of gaps in schooling. Few reasons for dropping out of schools are:

• Personal family issues
• Financial Issue
• No interest to study/failed various time

Main Observation at Shree Majhi Primary School

• There are handful of parents who still are not aware on the importance of education and rather send their kids to household chores than to schools.
• No library and a playground/pedagogy materials/toys for children. Presence of these could be an attraction for children to come to school which would also support in their learning process
• Art classes and activities may also help brighten the students and teachers’ mood.
• 2 of the school rooms are not used and managed – they could be used for productive purposes.
• No proper school dress and school bags.
• Some students (Grade1-5) moved to the other school(Gyanodaya) at Majhuwa for better facilities (especially girls as they do not have to pay tuition fees at that school)
• Many students were found to be poor in their studies.
• No clean/hygienic kitchen for student’s lunch:

Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School

This school being a government school was found to have most of the facilities where there were around 900 students altogether. The school also consist of hostel which is a compulsion for grade 10 students especially.

FGD with Majhi Group (Grade 6-10)

• They feel that they are not given enough attention by the teachers while teaching. (Being from a Majhi community)
• Some students have difficulty paying for other regular costs (Copies, Dress, Books, Hostel for grade 10 students) except the tuition fees.
• They are also asked by parents to discontinue their studies.
• Some girl students have faced uncomfortable situations due to flirting from adults and kids at school.

Overall Observation at Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School   

• The school is equipped with most of the facilities for students.
• The school is also equipped with Sanitary pads and the students are educated and aware on the use of sanitary products.

The school is also on the verge of completion of its new building which will comprise of library, museum, canteen, sports club etc.

Recommendations

• Teachers’ training should be provided regarding various teaching methods with pedagogy materials. 
• A mini library should be set up at school so that students get extra knowledge and readings besides course book.
• A small play room set up with various playing materials/items could not only give children the motivation to come to school but also enhances their creativity. 
• Scholarship package should be planned with a proper system to be given to the students on merit and need base
• Kitchen should be managed properly with clean and hygienic food.
• Organize various extra-curricular activity sessions in the school once a week including some awareness program sessions (menstrual hygiene, child abuse, health and sanitation, importance of education etc.).
• Exchange program with various other schools in the area could give the teachers and students to think out of the box and learn from each other and help them grow as an individual too.  

Immediate Action plan

• Prepare to sponsor the drop out girls for their study so that they go back to school without any fear of financial pressure.
• Get the information from various sources on the government’s financial support (tuition fee, school renovation, lunch) to the local educational institution in the village. 
• Explore for various trainers from government/institutions/NGOs who could provide training to teachers on creative teaching methods.
• A small meeting with the VDC of the village to explore on the ways to support the school and the role of VDC in this process.
• Prepare proper action plans on the area of our focus and work on it accordingly.