Kathmandu, Nepal:, In early 2020, recently recruited into the latest cohort of Teach for Nepal (TFN) fellows, Rashmi Thapa had been looking forward to heading off to Sindhupalchowk District and starting to teach at her assigned school. But the threat of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown meant that Rashmi and the other fellows could not begin their placements as…

The Government of Nepal's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology released the guideline on “School reopening framework in the context of COVID-19” on 7 November 2020: Local governments can make decision on reopening/reclosing or keeping the schools closed based on the assessment of the risks involved for COVID transmission at local level.…

This image shows a call for short fiction To mark International Day of the Girl Child this year on 11 October, the British Council, in partnership with Room to Read and UNICEF is announcing a call for short fiction stories by young people.  , Theme: My Heroine, Eligibility:, For age groups 10-14, Brief:, Write a story about your ideal heroine. Heroines are not limited to women actors that you see on television and in the magazines. The word means much more. A heroine could be somebody who is strong, somebody who is hard-working, somebody caring or somebody who makes a difference in your society or in this world. We would love for you to imagine a…, Theme: Our Lives Today, Eligibility:, For age groups 14-15, Brief: , Mental health is an area that is rarely talked about. Writing stories become a good way to express how you or the people around you are feeling. Reading stories about others also becomes a good way to understand people better. We would like to encourage you to examine your life and of people around you and see how different situations including…, OPPORTUNITIES, All stories will be published as an online compilation. 10 writers from each theme will be selected to participate in a week-long workshop on storytelling After the workshop, participants will rework their stories under the mentorship of children’s book professionals Two books, one on each theme with stories finalised by the participants will be…, JUDGING CRITERIA,  , Stories will be selected through a panel formed by the three partnering organisations and will involve children literature professionals. Stories that have women and/or girls as main characters are more likely to be selected. Imaginative and innovative stories are more likely to be selected. Stories should be original, How to submit your stories?

NEW YORK/KATHMANDU, 2, 8, August 2020 , – At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren – 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when COVID-19 shuttered their schools, according to a new UNICEF report released today as countries across the world grapple with their ‘back-to-school’ plans. “For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID…, Region,  , Minimum proportion of schoolchildren unable to access remote learning (%),  , Minimum number of schoolchildren unable to access remote learning,   East and Southern Africa  49%  67 million  West and Central Africa  48%  54 million  East Asia and the Pacific  20%  80 million  Middle East and North Africa  40%  37 million  South Asia  38%  147 million  Eastern Europe and Central Asia  34%  25 million  Latin America and the Caribbean  9%  13 million , Global,  , 31%,  , 463 million,     Schoolchildren from the poorest households and those living in rural areas are by far the most likely to miss out during closures, the report says. Globally, 72 per cent of schoolchildren unable to access remote learning live in their countries’ poorest households. In upper-middle-income countries, schoolchildren from the poorest households…, Notes to editors:,   The analysis uses findings from the UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures joint survey.   The number of children potentially reached by broadcast media or internet solutions are based on the availability of related assets (TV, radio and internet) at home, not their actual use by children.…

KATHMANDU, 18 May 2020 –, UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP and World Bank issued new guidelines on the safe reopening of schools amidst ongoing closures affecting nearly 1.3 billion students worldwide. The guidelines can be downloaded here . The agencies also warned that the widespread closures of educational facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present an unprecedented risk…, Policy reform:, Policy implications address all dimensions of the guidelines, including clear policies for school opening and closure during public health emergencies, reforms needed to expand equitable access for marginalised and out of school children as well as strengthen and standardize remote learning practices., Financing requirements:, Address the impact of COVID-19 on education and invest in strengthening education systems for recovery and resilience., Safe operations:, Ensure conditions that reduce disease transmission, safeguard essential services and supplies and promote healthy behaviour. This includes access to soap and clean water for safe handwashing, procedures on when staff or students feel unwell, protocols on social distancing and good hygiene practices., Compensating learning:, Focus on practices that compensate for lost instructional time, strengthen pedagogy and build on hybrid learning models such as integrating approaches in remote and distance education. This must include knowledge on disease transmission and prevention., Wellness and protection:, Expand the focus on students’ well-being and reinforce the protection of children through enhanced referral mechanisms and the provision of essential school-based services including healthcare and school feeding., Reaching the most marginalised:, Adapt school opening policies and practices to expand access to marginalised groups such as previously out-of-school children, displaced and migrant children and minorities. Diversify critical communications and outreach by making them available in relevant languages and in accessible formats. "Once schools begin to reopen, the priority becomes…

Dhanusha and Baitadi, Nepal:, Top Prasad Adhikari says that the longer the coronavirus crisis goes on, the more worried he gets about his students. Top, a teacher at the Shree Adarsha Secondary School in Mithila Municipality in Dhanusha District in Nepal’s southern plains, recalls how the announcement that schools would be shut down as part of the nation-wide measures to…, UNICEF Nepal has a, dedicated web portal, in the Nepali language for parents and caregivers during COVID-19, with useful resources on what parents need to know about the disease, how to talk to children, tips on handwashing, ensuring early childhood development at home and helping teenagers protect their mental health.

Dhanusha –, Mantoriya Mahara can be said to represent a new direction for her community. Mantoriya is a local of the Chamar Basti in Mithila Municipality in Dhanusha District, a village that derives its name from the residents, the Chamars – traditionally among the most marginalized communities in Nepal’s southern plains. Historical disadvantage means…

Mugu, Nepal:, Rajya Laxmi Rokaya and Sushmita Rokaya are almost always together. The two third-graders live just a few houses apart in Nigale, a small settlement perched on a hillside in Mugu District. They are part of a tight group of girls who spend most of their time in and out of school in each other’s company. “We’re very similar,” says Rajya Laxmi by way…

Elke Büdenbender, Patroness of UNICEF Germany and wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visited UNICEF programmes in Nepal from 3 to 7 February 2020. Notwithstanding many structural challenges such as access to healthcare and education, widespread poverty and high vulnerability to natural disasters, the…

Banke, Nepal –, Israil Idrisi is hard to miss. While most of his fellow second-graders chatter away in their classroom at the Gyan Sagar Secondary School in Nepalgunj in Banke District, nine-year-old Israil sits quiet in their midst, eyes widened and a well-worn pencil clutched in his hand. There’s a watchful, cautious quality about him, and a clear reluctance to…