Minister Bhandari Inaugurates and Hands Over Five New Schools

Jumla / Sep. 21: Social Development Minister of Karnali Province, Ghanshyam Bhandari, inaugurated and handed over five schools constructed with the support of the local NGO PACE Nepal, funded by Plan International Nepal.

These schools, located in Hima, Sinja, and Kanka Sundari Rural Municipalities, were built to improve the quality of education in public schools by enhancing educational infrastructure. This infrastructure includes child-friendly school buildings, toilets, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities.

During the inaugural session, Minister Bhandari expressed confidence that these improvements will help increase the quality of education. He emphasized the need to focus on both educational quality and improved infrastructure. The minister suggested that the trend of sending children to private schools, while only improving infrastructure in public schools, should end.

Highlighting the contributions of PACE Nepal and Plan International to improving educational quality, the Chief of the District Coordination Committee, Jumla, Gourinanda Acharya, requested that both organizations continue their work in other rural areas.

Directors of Plan International, Julie Gurung and Sandesh Shilpakar, shared that the organization has been working in 10 districts of Karnali Province to provide quality education in public schools. They also appreciated PACE Nepal’s efforts in enhancing educational quality in rural areas.

Executive Director of PACE Nepal, Kishor Neupane, stated that the organization is engaged in areas such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, food security, and quality education. He also emphasized that they are implementing their projects with transparency and accountability. Neupane expressed hope that rural municipalities will adopt the ideal school model to further improve the quality of education.