Chitwan:Nepal Suskhma Pushpa Samaj, a Chitwan-based organisation which runs schools, on Saturday inaugurated a school building for children from the underprivileged Chepang community.

Navodaya school, (currently grade III to VIII with 175 girls and boys) got a new building at Belsi in Chainpur VDC-1 constructed with aid from different donors.

Built with a cost of around Rs 20 million, the new school building has 27 rooms. It will be the new learning centre for the Chepang children, said Gobinda Poudel of the organisation.

The Director of the Education Department, Kamal Pokhrel, inaugurated the new school building.

The school was established six years ago by a team of Catholic missionaries led by Father Michael Chirayath on a rented building at Jaimangal in Ratnanagar Municipality-13. The missionaries’ aim was to impart free education to the Chepang children.

“The school is running with financial wherewithal provided by various organisations like Centro Cooperazione Sviluppo of Italy, Missio Munich of Germany and Nepal Little Flower Society,” Poudel said.

“The school that began with 70 children now has 175 children”, said Mohan Thapaliya of the school management committee. “The school provides free education, books, food and boarding facilities,” he said, adding that the Chitwan District Development Committee grants Rs 100,000-150,000 annually for furniture. “Presently, we teach till the eighth grade and we are planning to upgrade the school up to the higher secondary level,” Thapaliya said.

The chief district officer and the chief district education officer of Chitwan spoke at the day-long inaugural function held at the school. The Chepang children put up an impressive cultural show after the inauguration in which they sang songs in English, Nepali and their own language.

One of the biggest buildings in the area, the school is visible to anyone travelling on the East West Highway.

source: The Kathmandu Post, 12 Nov 2011