Aadhar Project Contributes to Significant Educational Infrastructure Development in Jumla

Jumla / April 27: The Aadhar Project, implemented in Jumla district by PACE Nepal with funding support from Plan International Nepal, has officially handed over newly built educational infrastructure to the respective rural municipalities.

Over the past 22 months, the Aadhar Project has been operating across three local levels in the Sinja region of Jumla and has successfully constructed 221 educational infrastructure units. Focused on enhancing community schools through physical improvements, the project has completed 121 different types of infrastructure in Hima, Sinja, and Kanakasundari rural municipalities.

The project constructed earthquake-resistant school buildings, child-friendly classrooms, toilets, drinking water systems, and menstruation-friendly facilities. During a public hearing, learning exchange, and project handover event held on Sunday, PACE Nepal’s Executive Director Kishor Neupane presented a detailed progress report. According to the report, the project invested NPR 79.3 million in building a wide range of infrastructure for community schools in the Sinja region.

Infrastructure constructed includes five school buildings, 20 classrooms, six child-friendly toilet complexes, 18 toilet units, 42 drinking water taps, wooden ceilings in 20 classrooms, roof maintenance, plastering, and drainage systems. Additionally, 65 meters of concrete fencing were constructed in six schools, menstrual hygiene management facilities were added to five toilets, and 10 steel water tanks were installed. Altogether, 121 infrastructure units were developed.

Executive Director Neupane also noted that the project invested in capacity building, policy support at the local level, school improvement planning, and strengthening the capabilities of staff and elected representatives. Capacity development programs directly benefited 128 teachers from 10 schools, 3,168 students, 5,497 parents, and 180 community workers.

In addition to the project’s budget, the three rural municipalities contributed approximately NPR 1.3 million toward educational infrastructure. Since its establishment in 2006, PACE Nepal has collaborated with 25 donor agencies across Jumla, Mugu, Kalikot, and Surkhet in areas such as social transformation, infrastructure development, climate adaptation, inclusive education, livelihood enhancement, nutrition, and disaster management.

To date, 75,947 people in Jumla have directly benefited from various PACE Nepal programs. Facilities provided under the project include child-friendly toilets, handwashing stations, clean drinking water, inclusive and accessible classrooms, and disability-friendly toilets. Karnali Provincial Assembly Member Devendra Bahadur Shahi officially handed over the project to the three municipalities, expressing gratitude for the major contributions to educational infrastructure and urging for proper maintenance and sustainability of the new facilities.

Gaurinanda Acharya, Head of the District Coordination Committee, commended PACE Nepal for identifying remote schools and constructing high-value infrastructure, calling on local governments to take further initiative in the education sector. Parents, teachers, and school management committee members from all three municipalities reported that the model infrastructure built through the Aadhar Project has significantly improved the teaching and learning environment.