British Council Nepal, on Thursday, held the International Schools Award under the Connecting Classrooms project to 11 dozen private and community schools from different parts of the country for excelling in nurturing global citizenship among their students and enhancing the teaching and learning environment in their schools.

 Out of 25 schools that submitted their dossier of assigned projects for the academic year 2015-16, 11 schools bagged the award, leaving 14 schools behind in the competition. In addition, two schools awarded in 2012 have been reaccredited for the ISA awards this year for continuing the project. Among 100 schools that were selected to run Connecting Classrooms project, 25 had submitted their final dossier. The awardees were nominated by an expert team after the evaluation of their performances. The British Council, in partnership with Department of Education and Curriculum Development Centre, has been implementing the project in Nepal for last four years with the objective of promoting project-based learning and empowering school students by building partnerships with the schools within the country and abroad. Addressing the award distribution ceremony Narahari Aryal, deputy director at Department of Education, said the project has promoted project-based learning which has been helpful in enhancing teaching and learning processes in the classroom. “The most important thing is that the project has enhanced the learning achievement of the students,” he said. He, however, cautioned the British Council to find out the reasons behind the high dropout among schools before completing the project. Only 25 out 100 schools submitted their final dossier.

Speaking during the programme Jovan Ilic, the country director of the British Council, said, “In an increasingly globalised economy, it is vital that our students are prepared for working and communicating with each other regardless of international borders. Nepali students are just as connected as UK students. For them to thrive in a competitive world, they must develop digital literacy, and 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving skills, creativity and imagination, leadership, and team building. With the International School Award, they do this by making a commitment to becoming

responsible and caring global

citizens and learning what this means in practice.” According to British Council, Connecting Classrooms aims at improve teaching in both the UK and Nepal in the key areas in professional development for teachers and school leaders and sustainable partnerships. Similarly, it also focuses on professional dialogue opportunities for policy makers and awards schools which are successful in equipping young people with the knowledge and skills for thriving in a globalised economy. It also aims at providing online access to high quality resources in order to support teachers in delivering improved learning outcomes for young people.

The team leaders from the awarded schools said that ISA has brought a massive transformation in the schools and students alike by enhancing their competency. “We worked hard, not just for a trophy but for ISA’s vision of creating global citizens,” said Baman Ghimire, team leader of Pokhara-based Motherland Schools, one of the schools awarded in the programme.