Technology-Friendly Education at Bharse Janasahayog School
At Bharse Janasahayog Secondary School in Bharse, Satyawati Rural Municipality–8, the community-led “technology-friendly education campaign” has proven effective in retaining students. The campaign was launched after the number of students at this historically significant school kept decreasing year after year. With ongoing migration, villages have been emptying annually, and fertile fields are becoming fallow.
Purpose and Fundraising
Bharse has also not remained untouched by migration. To reduce the need for families to leave the village specifically for education—where parents were moving away together with their children—the Bharse community initiated the “technology-friendly education campaign.” Through this campaign, more than nine lakh rupees were raised, and technical education was started.
Equipment and Teaching Arrangement
According to Bharse community leader Sujan Galami, the school has arranged 19 computers and one computer teacher and has started instruction. For the 40–45 students studying in grades 4 to 8, a separate computer class has been arranged to provide daily knowledge and skills. Many expatriate residents from Bharse have supported the campaign, and those living in Kathmandu and the Tarai have also been contributing.
Leadership and Impact
Lieutenant Kul Bahadur Budhathoki and Subedar Moti Bahadur Thapa, among others from Bharse, are leading this campaign. According to campaigner Budhathoki, the campaign has ended the compulsion of three or four students huddling around a single computer and has removed the need to go to the city after the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) to learn computers. He expressed gratitude to everyone who made the campaign supportive and smooth.
School History
Bharse Janasahayog Secondary School is one of the oldest secondary schools in the district. After informal studies began in Bharse as early as 1986 BS, the school was formally established in 2008 BS. From 2018 BS, teaching began as a secondary school. The school’s development has been supported by local voluntary labor, assistance from India, and the tireless efforts of Bharse social workers.
Enrollment Challenges
Due to migration, Bharse Janasahayog Secondary School faces a major challenge in retaining students. At one time, eight to nine hundred students filled the school; now, it is difficult to keep even one hundred students. According to Ward Secretary Vidya Bhandari of Satyavati Rural Municipality–8, during the fiscal year 2081/082, 55 people from 19 families left Bharse and resettled elsewhere.
Current Numbers
According to Principal Lokhari Pandey, there were 120 students last year; now the number has dropped to 105. Pandey stated that students have started leaving not only after SEE but also from lower grades, causing the numbers to decline. Currently, the school has 18 teachers and staff and 120 students.
Community Initiatives
Residents of Bharse have been undertaking exemplary social work. They have organized annual health camps and constructed ponds, temples, and Buddhist stupas. They have also created a gallery on the history of Gorkha and Bharse and established the Bharse Gallery.
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