A Nepali couple currently pursuing education in the United States has donated $10,000 ( Rs 1 million) from their wedding expense to Teach For Nepal.
Teach For Nepal is a movement working to address educational inequality in Nepal that launched in 2013.
The couple of Bibhusan Shakya and Shilva Shrestha donated the amount to provide quality education to children in Nepal, Teach For Nepal stated in a press release.
“Contributing towards Teach For Nepal work was one of my dreams and by investing in the educational sector I feel that I can change the lives of many students," said Shakya.
Shakya who moved to the US for higher education in 2004 completed his PhD in Physics from Cornell University in 2013 and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Michigan.
Shrestha who was born in Kathmandu’s Shankamul is currently doing her PhD in Biology in the University of Michigan. Shrestha expresses although dowry system has been reduced in Nepal, a lot of money is spent on gold during the marriage to show off which she thinks is unnecessary and this action is a step to end that age-old tradition. “We both are still studying and we believe that our action will influence other to give towards the betterment of our country.”
One of Teach For Nepal's first initiatives has been to establish a program to recruit high achieving graduates and young professionals into teaching Fellowship. This initial Fellowship provides an initial intensive residential training followed by two years on-the-job training for new Fellows in the classroom. Now in its sixth year, the movement has achieved support from local government and shown strong results based on a number of assessments.
Fellows completing the Fellowship go to secondary schools serving lower-socio-economic-status communities. As well as complementing traditional teacher education, every year the Fellowship aims to draw a new pool of talented individuals into teaching and provide them with the leadership skills they need in order to have a long-term, systemic impact on educational inequality.
Currently, 111 Fellows are teaching English, science and maths in 51 schools in six districts across Nepal changing the lives of 10,000 children, it is stated.
