Empowering Local Communities through Local Language Education and Skill-Based Trainingwith Open Learning Exchange Nepal – Project 021
Project 021 / 2024 – 2028
The project addresses two critical challenges in Nepal's education system: the lack of learning materials in local dialects and the absence of free and quality educational resources for skill-based training, particularly in rural areas. OLE Nepal proposes to expand the Hamro Ramailo Katha (HRK) digital app to include three local languages (Newari, Maithili, and Tibetan), fostering early childhood development and native language teaching. Additionally, the Skills-Based Training (SBT) digital app will offer vocational courses to enhance employability, focusing on marginalized communities with limited access to traditional educational resources.
- Key objectives: The project aims to increase access to digital learning resources in native languages for early learners, support native language teaching in early grades, and provide quality self-learning materials for vocational and skill-based training. It seeks to engage parents, teachers, and communities to enhance education accessibility and quality, developing and testing 60 interactive animated stories across various languages. The project also aims to expand the SBT app with 16 courses, including 10 new vocational courses, implementing personalization and progress tracking features in both HRK and SBT apps. The emphasis is on promoting community ownership for sustainability and impact.
- The main activities include the promotion of language learning in local dialects by expanding OLE Nepal's HRK app to incorporate Newari, Maithili, and Tibetan. This enables children to learn in their mother tongue, fostering a deeper understanding. Additionally, efforts involve diversifying learning resources, translating and adapting 50 stories and gamified activities into target languages, incorporating local narratives for cultural relevance. The project also emphasizes strengthening early childhood education by involving parents through the HRK app, preserving and promoting local stories. Furthermore, there is an expansion of skill-focused training with the development of 10 new courses in areas such as agriculture, entrepreneurship, ICT, health, hygiene, and financial education, making the SBT app accessible on mobile devices for self-directed learning.
Project details
€ 274 941
The project aims to directly impact a diverse range of beneficiaries, fostering positive educational outcomes and skills development across multiple communities in Nepal. The total estimated number of direct beneficiaries over the 5-year project duration is approximately 23,000 individuals. Primary beneficiaries include students, parents, teachers, and local governments in Nepal, spanning diverse socio-economic backgrounds and gender groups across Tibetan, Newari, and Maithili communities. Specific student populations in Dolpo and Mustang range from 50-200 per school, with larger populations in Kathmandu and Madhesh. For HRK app training, 1-2 parents per child and 3-4 teachers per school. For SBT app training, 50-100 students in each school in Mustang and Dolpo, 100+ students in each school in Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Madhesh province.
Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) is a Nepalese social enterprise founded in 2007. It works to improve the quality of education and reduce inequalities in access to educational resources between regions, schools and different population groups. Its mission is to integrate digital technologies into the teaching process to provide all pupils, including those in rural and remote areas, with equitable access to high-quality educational content.
The organisation develops and distributes digital resources free of charge, tailored to the national curriculum. Among its key tools are E-Paath, a platform for interactive activities, and E-Pustakalaya, a digital library accessible online or via offline servers. OLE Nepal also equips schools with IT equipment and trains teachers so that they can integrate these tools into their lessons on a long-term basis.
Since its inception, OLE Nepal reports that it has benefited more than 400,000 pupils in over 400 state schools and trained more than 4,000 teachers. The organisation has also deployed more than 7,000 laptops, 1,700 offline servers and developed more than 1,000 learning modules, stories and educational games. These initiatives enable schools with limited or no internet connection to access a wide range of educational resources.
Through its interactive content, training programmes and the strengthening of school infrastructure, OLE Nepal aims to make learning more accessible, engaging and inclusive.
- Content development: Head office in Sanepa, Lalitpur.
- Research/needs assessments, community workshops and field testing:
- In ethnic Newaris communities in the Kathmandu Valley,
- In Maithili communities in Madhesh province, and
- In ethnically Tibetan high mountain areas such as Mustang and Dolpo, covering the provinces of Gandaki and Karnali.
- The project targets schools throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.
IT
Education
Equal opportunities
SGD 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SGD 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries
SGD 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
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