Background and rationale:

The concept on flexible learning centre (renamed as Kheldai Sikne Kendra or KSK) and a mobile learning centre (renamed asGhumti Sikai Thalo or GST) has been conceptualized to support the Government's plan on School Sector Reform Plan(2009-2015) to improve access,equity and quality in line with the spirit of the UN's Education-for-All initiative and Nepal's MDG. It focuses on meeting the diverse learning needs of marginalized children and adolescents in different socio-cultural contexts.

Although high primary school enrolment (95.3%), due to a low quality education children are either not going to schools or have dropped out. The low primary-level net attendance ratio, just 68.8 percent underscores that achievements in the NER alone are not enough (CBS, 2011). Only 69.4 percent of the students enrolled in grade 1 make it to grade 8 according to MOE flash report 2012/13, the current non-formal programs are not so flexible, that suits the needs of these working marginalized boys and girls. This modality is expected to meet this need through multi grade multi level teaching methodologies with the centres operating (according to flexible time of children) longer period in a child friendly environment. Coordination and continuous meeting with local government line agencies, local stakeholder will be carried out throughout the process. In partnership with local Municipality on lead, the proposed model will be executed with technical support & backstopping from Samunnat Nepal.

The two innovative models are locally named as  Kheldai Sikne Kendra (KSK) or playing, learning center and Ghumti Sikai Thalo (GST) or mobile learning cart is aimed to provide second chance education opportunities to the vulnerable and marginalized out of school children and adolescents in order to enhance their quality of life.

Program Description:

A. Kheldai Sikne Kendra  (KSK):

• a flexible learning centre with a learning environment which meets the special needs of out of school children and adolescents at a time most convenient to them.
• child friendly activities using the multi-grade multi level (MGML) methodology so that the trained facilitator can reach out to a number of children of varied age groups and learning levels and also meet their aspirations.
• curriculum focused on eleven core areas including basic numeracy and literacy (English and Nepali), Child Rights, Social Responsibility, Science and technology, creative therapy, health, life-skills, entrepreneurship, basic stimulation.

B. Ghumti Sikai Thalo (GST) :

• The GST is a mobile learning cart with wheels and flexible boards that can be taken to different places where street children and adolescents are gathered like bus parks, cinema halls, vegetable markets and other such sites so that they can access a learning through different learning materials like games, charts which promote literacy, numeracy and life skills.
• The aim of GST is to provide outreach services and minimize the high risks associated with these vulnerable and marginalized groups of children and adolescents. The other objective is to promote these children to the KSK or formal schools.

Beneficiaries: The target beneficiaries will be urban out of school children and adolescents aged 10-18 years, street children, children selling newspapers, porters, domestic and industrial labourers, children working in the construction works, automobile workshops and other daily labour works, children in the transportation sector, children employed in hotels and hospitality jobs etc. Around 300 are targeted in the first year of piloting period.

 Implementing partners: Local Municipality (Nepalgunj, Bharatpur, Ratnanagar) and local NGO partner with technical support from Samunnat Nepal and funded by UNICEF.

Anticipated Results: To test the feasibility of the flexible learning centres in terms of its effectiveness to deliver quality learning to the intended beneficiaries for replication/ scale up by the government in other locations.