By Upesh Maharjan, Janakpurdham, Oct. 3: The “Provide Good Education,” campaign which has been launched in four local levels- three municipalities and a rural municipality- of the Dhanusha district is proving to be effective in promoting inclusive education and ending child labour.

The programme has been successfully run in Lakshminya Rural Municipality, Nagarain Municipality and Sabaila Municipality and Ganeshman Charnath Municipality, which carries the aim to educate children involved in child labour and end the child labour in the area for the last two years.

Asman Nepal which is facilitating the campaign has said that around 80 per cent of students have been attending schools regularly and the learning capacity of children have increased from 30 per cent to 60 per cent because of the campaign.

Dilip Yadav, team leader of the Provide Good Education project, said that alternative teaching and learning methods have been adopted in view of the psychological effects that the children might be facing owing to the closing of physical classes in school due to the COVID-19 pandemic and so as to give continuity to students' learning activities.

He informed that one teacher was deployed in each block of the village/street along with distribution of exercise books to students and programmes such as "one teacher per five students" and "school at home, parents as teachers" were also launched simultaneously for facilitating alternative and online learning.

Mothers' Group, Girl’s Network, Children’s Club were also formed and mobilised to lure the out-of-school children to schools and also monitor the education status of the children.

Bihari Dhami, a member of Ganeshman Charnath Municipality Ward no. 2, said that the continuity of educational activities even at the block level despite COVID-19 breakout has increased the learning habits of the children for the poor family and the Dalit community.

Likewise, Pramod Kumar Lal Karna, the Principal at Gyanodaya Secondary School of Nagadiya in Lakshminya Rural Municipality, said that the campaign has motivated both students and teachers as well as the parents on teaching-learning activities.

Because of the coordination between the school and Aasman Nepal, Gyanodaya Secondary School has been upgraded from a lower secondary school consisting of only 85 students to a secondary school comprising of 400 students, he added.

Due to assistance for toilet construction, cleanliness and sanitation situation in the schools, we have been able to attract more girl students and overall number of students has increased, said Principal Karna.

Punam Yadav, a social mobiliser of the project, said that awareness of the presents that education should be given to the children has increased impressively due to the campaign.

She said students got involved in learning activities even during the lockdown period because of alternative learning methods, additional educational activities, which continued students learning process.

Another social mobiliser, Archana Thakur, was of the view that awareness of the importance of education has swept over the Dalit settlement due to the project.

Amirsha Kumari Adhikari, secretary of Gauri Girl’s Network located at Ganeshman Charnath Municipality, said that Muslim students who were not attending schools earlier are now attending school.

“99 per cent of child labour has ended in Ganeshman Charnath Municipality,” she added.

Shankar Dhakar, a minor who was a worker at a hotel in the past, expressed happiness over being able to read and attend school now after being rescued by the campaign.