Kathmandu to host international education conference
Now that most children are enrolled in school across Nepal, the government is working with private organisations to put more attention on improving the quality of education they get.
The latest activity in this public-private partnership is the International Conference on Quality Education in Kathmandu jointly organised by Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and Rato Bangala Foundation.
The conference will bring together policy-makers, district-level officials, teachers and researchers from around the world and Nepal for the second International Conference on Quality Education (ICQE) at Rato Bangala School from 24-26 August.
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The ICQE centres on Number 4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which highlights the need to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities. It also focuses on the School Sector Development Plan of the government.
Nepal also aims to graduate to middle income country status by 2030, and the conference is expected to discuss the educational and human resource needs of the country that needs to be readied by that time. The Conference Steering Committee consisting of the Ministry of Education and Sports and Rato Bangala Foundation.
“We have worked hard to come up with 14 parallel sessions over two days and we are looking forward to the opening and having participants enjoy and learn from what the presenters have to give,” said Shanta Dixit, Chair of Rato Bangala Foundation.
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The conference will feature 60 expert-led presentations, workshops, and panels revolving around the theme ‘Ensuring Learner Centred Education’. Six central sub-themes, from Education Financing to Education for Sustainable Development, will guide the sessions. Success stories on introducing quality education to district classrooms will also be featured. The chief guest of the opening ceremony is Minister of Education, Science and Technology Giriraj Mani Pokharel.
Over 600 participants, including 300 public school teachers throughout Nepal, are expected to attend. In addition, researchers, trainers, teachers, and doctors from Singapore, the United States, India, China, and Bangladesh will also participate. The involvement of public and private sector participants provides a forum for the bilateral exchange of ideas, reflections, and pathways towards sustainable and inclusive quality education, the Foundation says.
Post-conference events will then be organised in each of the seven provinces to ensure that child-centred quality education remains at the forefront of local government agendas and individual schools. Rato Bangala Foundation, which is dedicated to delivering high-quality training to schools across Nepal with a special focus on government schools, will help ensure that such follow-up is timely and effective.
The Foundation plans to hold the conference every two years to provide continuity to efforts to improve the quality of instruction in Nepal’s schools. Ensuring sustainability and inclusion, raising the quality of instruction not only improves a child’s learning, but empowers the entire community of which the learner is a part.
The conference is made possible by the sponsorship of Ncell, Asian Development Bank, European Union in Nepal, Janata Bank and Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd. Further details are available on www.rbf.org.np