Quality Education Nepal is a project of Rotary Australia World Community Service.
We established LEARN as an NGO in Nepal to train teachers and foster better education in schools in remote areas.
As a Public Benefit Institution, donations are tax-deductible by Australian taxpayers.

Contact us: Please email your thoughts about our support for Nepal at admin@nepalaid.org.au

Our response to the Nepal floods - donate via QEN!

Early news items suggested death tolls in the hundreds.  They have now been upgraded to thousands, comparable to the 8,000+ of the 2015 earthquake.  And the scenes of disaster have been horrifying!

Why contribute via QEN?

• Contributed funds will be directed to a known aid entity, Action For Nepal.  We know Founder/CEO Lakpa Sherpa and his wife Program Director Dr Jangmoo Sherpa (Michael Dillon has known them for many years), having met them both in Nepal and in Geelong when Lakpa attended his graduation from Deakin University.  We recently funded their Badel Water Supply Project at AU$ 154,000 to supply water to 155 households of Khotang District in Eastern Nepal.  They executed this project with the utmost professionalism.
• The integrity of our contacts in Nepal is beyond question - not only Action for Nepal but also LEARN ("Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal"), the NGO we have entirely funded since 2014 to deliver teacher training in Western Nepal.  We track every expenditure through direct access to bank accounts.
• Our contacts will ensure the funds are directed most effectively - no administrative costs outside of Nepal; thorough assessment of how best to direct the money, recognising the bigger challenge coming in the aftermath than in immediate accommodation and hunger relief.  All expenditure proposals to be submitted to the QEN Board for approval.
• Donation receipts will be tax deductible
• Every $ of your donation will be matched by another $, coming from Director's personal donations and/or QEN's Capital Fund (to a cap of $100,000)
• In months to come we will advise donors how our donated funds are being directed - a level of feedback not available from other donation recipients.

Visit our website to learn more about QEN: qualityeducationnepal.yolasite.com

The deal

• Send your contribution to Quality Education Nepal Inc. (QEN Holding Account) BSB 633000, a/c 161 114 335, and a email me (pjthall@nepalaid.org.au) to indicate you have done so, giving your address for our tax-deductible receipt (NB this is not our normal operating account but one reserved for Nepal flood relief).
• Your contribution will be matched $ for $ by QEN directors personally and/or from QEN's capital fund 
• all funds thus received will be transmitted to the separate account of Action for Nepal to be set up specifically for the disaster response
• expenditures of all funds sent by QEN in this way will be subject to proposals by Action for Nepal submitted to the Board of QEN for approval.
• We will provide feedback - not just a tax-deductible receipt, but also progress in expending the aid.

Why wait?  Do it now, thinking of so many people now suffering in Nepal.  Matching offer ends October 31.

With best regards

Peter (President) and Ronda Hall (Director)
on behalf of other Directors of Quality Education Nepal Inc.
Simon Cowen, Michael Dillon, George Hillary

New LEARN Crew

QEN has funded the operation of NGO LEARN ("Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal") in Nepal since it was established in 2014.  For most of that time it has operated with four full-time staff - Krishna Pun as CEO with two senior trainers and an Administration/Finance officer.  After Toya Prasad Ammai resigned a year ago he was not replaced, LEARN continuing to operate with three staff supplemented by trainers engaged casually as required.

Manista Pun joined LEARN as Administration/Finance Officer four years ago.  She resigned recently to join her husband as he pursues his masters degree in Agricultural Science at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW.

Following this and the recent approval of a further two-year teacher training program in Myagdi District by the Social Welfare Council, three new staff have been recruited to join Krishna and Program Specialist Kadga Kumar Shrestha at LEARN: Prakash Katuwal, Manoj Nepal and Bibha Roka.

LEARN staff from left: Bibha Roka, Accountant; Manoj Nepal, English Trainer; Krishna Pun, CEO; Kadga Shrestha, Program Specialist; Prakash Katuwal, Science Trainer

Badel and Norung Safe Drinking Water Project

We have been pleased to receive from Action for Nepal their third report of the Badel Water Supply Project now nearing completion.  QEN was the proud sponsor of this project by MoU signed a year ago, covering the total cost of NPR 128 lakh (AU$137,752). Please click the link above to read the report.

We thank Lakpa Sherpa and the staff of Action for Nepal for their excellent work in defining, planning and executing the project.   The project stands as a model of effective partnership between Quality Education Nepal, Action for Nepal, local government and the beneficiary communities.

The project is in Aiselukharka Rural Municipality in Khotang District of Koshi Province, eastern Nepal.  It will directly benefit 246 households, comprising 200 households in Badel (Ward No. 3) and 46 households in Norung (Ward No. 7), communities that previously faced persistent challenges relating to water scarcity, poor water quality, and long collection times.

As noted in the report,  "each household volunteered seven days of hard physical labour to support the excavation, handling, and jointing of the pipelines".  This entailed burying 4km of piping deep in the soil as shown in the photo below.   Detailed hydraulic performance evaluations have been conducted to ensure an outcome able to operate reliably for many years.

Donor contributions

Following publication of the project update below we emailed past donors to QEN drawing their attention to our continuing activity in delivering aid to the people of Nepal.   Six responses yielded a total of $3,150 with promise of more to come.  We extend our thanks on behalf of the Nepalese community. 

Project update - June 2026

QEN activity was interrupted at the end of last year due to setbacks in my health.  These were overcome by the insertion of a coronary stent in December and adoption of a CPAP sleep breathing booster in February.  Despite my age (88) I am much revived and looking forward to returning to Nepal in November.  Meantime I am pleased to be working with Director Simon Cowen preparing for him to take over as President of Quality Education Nepal Inc., likely at the next AGM.

Meantime I am pleased to welcome George Hillary back to our Board, joining Simon, Michael Dillon, my wife Ronda and myself.

I take this opportunity, as EOFY approaches, to welcome donations which can be made to Quality Education Nepal Inc, BSB 633000, account 161108436.  Donations are tax deductible, and if $20 or more qualify for membership of the Association including voting rights at the AGM in November.

Our teacher training activities continue apace in Nepal with Krishna Pun leading our NGO LEARN ("Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal").  He is currently finalising a program for the next two years for approval by the Social Welfare Council of which QEN will cover the entire cost of around AU$270,000,  This is 50% higher than the program now approaching completion as we extend training to teachers in the more remote parts of Myagdi District with a wider range of activities and support.  Adding to Basic and Refresher Training programs complemented by In-school trainer support, LEARN will be installing more computer laboratories (in conjunction with Edutech Nepal), and providing ICT and EMS (English, Maths and Science) training, the latter for secondary teachers (most of our training is focussed on the formative primary years).

As always, we will be providing training for school communities (School Management Committees, Parent Teacher Associations) and Child Clubs, and the monitoring of all these programs by government bodies including Rural Municipalities, Myagdi District Education Unit, Ministry of Education, SWC, District Administration Office, etc. 

QEN remains financially strong, with an investment fund of AU$1.76m. providing income to support ongoing activities.  Any donations received will enable us to extend our aid to rural Nepal even further, an example being the Badal and Norung Safe Drinking Water Project recently completed at a cost of AU$138,000.  This was a 1tph project supplying water to 246 households in two villages of Eastern Nepal.  1tph is One tap per household - a luxury for peopled used to water scarcity, poor water quality, and long daily collection journeys.  Click here for the detailed report for a full description.

Peter Hall, President

Details of our forthcoming program

Krishna's development of our training program for the next two years entails lengthy negotiation with respective rural municipal councils, other local authorities and the schools involved, culminating in approval by the Social Welfare Council.  The project will continue previous activities while adding some new elements;
1. Teacher training for basic level teachers (teachers of grades 1 to 8) - typically ten day programs for up to 80 teachers at a local high school
2. Refresher training for those who have already undertaken initial training (typically another six days)
3. In School Support Program (trainers visiting each and every school physically to observe closely and support their needs)
4. Computer lab set up (ten full scale labs to be installed in five rural municipalities, most with 10 computers, some with 20. This will be done conjunction EduTech Nepal)
5. Provide necessary teaching and learning materials including stationary, science lab materials, library books, etc. to each school at least once in two years
6. Provide funds to Child Clubs to conduct extra-curricular activities including gardening skills, cooking or practice of income generating activities
7. ICT training of teachers to improve their digital literacy and searching, and preparing online/offline learning materials.  Also creating opportunities for students to access computers and their extensive capabilities 
8. Engineering, Mathematics and Science (EMS) training to secondary level teachers to improve their skills in teaching senior students (a new concept, specially requested by teachers)
9. Monitoring all these programs by government bodies including Rural Municipalities, District Education Unit, Ministry of Education, SWC, District Administration Office etc. 

It should be noted that all our training is delivered by experienced, masters-qualified Nepalese teachers.   They have advantages over expats and visiting volunteers with their language (training is delivered in a mix of English and Nepalese as appropriate), cultural connection and curriculum knowledge.

Please note that when we started these training programs in 2010, the required qualification for primary teaching in Nepal was Year 10 schooling!.  We are glad to say that has improved - it is now Year 12 schooling!.  Still a long way to go!

If you recognise that such teacher training programs lead to better educated children, with the greatest prospect of lifting this poorest of countries out of poverty, please donate as indicated above.

Congratulations to Mahabir Pun

In 1998 we (Peter and Ronda Hall) met Mahabir Pun in Nangi village during a trek in the mountains above Beni, the administrative centre of Myagdi District.  He treated us to a slide show of the attractions of the area.  A year later, while in Australia, he visited our farm in Central Victoria.  We have maintained contact with him over the years as he worked in collaboration with Paudwar village (including Krishna Pun), fundraising for their respective schools.  H became widely known (see Google) for his development of the Nepal Wireless Network and later the National Innovation Centre  which he currently leads.

Mahabir has been internationally recognised for his initiatives, including the Ramon Magsaysay Prize and the Internet Hall of Fame.  After Gen Z rioters evicted the Nepalese government last year, the interim Prime Minister appointed him as Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation. .  On June 9 he was re-appointed to this position by the new government of Balendra Shah, despite his being the only independent member of the 265 seat parliament (elected by two-thirds of Myagdi District voters).  The story of his life is well worth watching - Nepali audio but with  English sub-titles.

Despite Mahabir taking to Facebook soon after his appointment asking people not to congratulate him (“Please don’t call me a minister.  If you really want to, call me the scrap scientist minister.”), we do just that:

Congratulations Mahabir.  May you be successful in further advancing the welfare of Nepal, as you always have!  (Mahabir replied: "Hello Peter,  Thank you very much. I appreciate for your support.")

Training gathering, Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality

Training in progress

Simon Cowen's visit to Nepal

QEN Director Simon Cowen has recently returned from Nepal where he attended the opening of the new Women and Babies Hospital in Dolakha, to which he had made a sizeable contribution.  He once again met with Dr Ram Shrestha, CEO of Dhulikhel Hospital which will manage the new hospital, to which QEN may be able to contribute operational funding in the years ahead.

Simon spent time with LEARN CEO Krishna Pun and the LEARN Board discussing the initiation of another two-year teacher training program in Myagdi District following the current program due to end in June.  As Krishna has agreed to continue in his role of CEO we are excited by the possibilities of this extension.

QEN sponsors Water Projects

In addition to our commitment to LEARN we have undertaken to fund Drinking Water projects for Badel and Norung villages in Aiselukharka Rural Municipality in Khotang District, Nepal.  The projects, to be administered by Action For Nepal, will renovate water supplies to 240 households damaged by the 2015 earthquake and subsequent degradation while also serving a school and community halls.

The project is needed to improve health by reducing waterborne diseases, enhance education through better sanitation, and boost economic activities by saving time spent fetching water.   It will empower women, promote hygiene, and ensure environmental sustainability, ultimately improving the overall quality of life and fostering community development at the villages.

QEN will support the total project cost of 137 lakh (AU$ 159,000).  We thank Lakpa and Jangmoo Sherpa, Directors of Action for Nepal, for their efforts in initiating this project.

LEARN proposal for Extensive new Education program

Current program

We are currently committed to supporting a program approved by the Nepal Social Welfare Council to train teachers of Annapurna, Raghugunga, Mangala, Malika and Dhawalagiri Rural Municipalities over the two year 2081-2083 (2024-2026).  Activities include:
* 6-day teacher training for 318 teachers in four school groups
* 5-day ICT training for 100 teachers in three school groups
* Child club mobilisation in 28 schools benefitting 454 children
* Establishing computer laboratories in eight schools, benefiting over 2,000 students
* Providing teaching / learning materials to all schools in the target areas
* Providing classroom management support in four needy schools
* Providing ICT resource support to 221 schools
All participating schools will receive follow-up support, while the program is subject to thorough monitoring and evaluation.

QEN Directors visit Nepal, Nov. 2024 - scroll down for pictures

Quality Education Nepal has sponsored teacher training in Myagdi District Nepal since 2010.  We expect a further two-year program recently approved by the Social Welfare Program to be our last, releasing Krishna Pun, CEO of our NGO LEARN (“Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal”) to pursue other interests in support of his community.

This will allow us to direct the income from our considerable investment fund (AU$1.8m.) in other ways. To that end, QEN directors Peter & Ronda Hall and Simon Cowen travelled to Nepal on 13 November to review LEARN activities and to assess opportunities for directing our aid in the future.  Co-director Michael was unable to join us for this visit, being in Europe promoting his film The Great White Whale.

Among the opportunities investigated is contributing to the operational costs of the Women and Babies Hospital under construction in Dholakha District, funded by Australians for Women's Health (A4WH.org) at the inspiration of Dr Ray Hodgson.  The new hospital is adjacent to and inter-connected with the exiting Dolakha general hospital, an outreach of Dhulikhel Hospital.

Other potential recipients include:
* Mahabir Pun's National Innovation Centre located at Tribhuvan University
* Edutech school computer lab program sponsored my Mike Chisholm of New Zealand
* Action for Nepal, local NGO headed by Lakpa and Jangmoo Sherpa
* LEARN, conducting new programmes.

Dolakha Women's & Babies Hospital under construction (right)
adjacent to existing (post-earthquake) Dholakha general hospital.

Dholakha Hospital from the south.  Women's and Babies Hospital centre (taller building, extending left rear)

Dr Anjana Dongol, Dr Ray Hodgson, Peter Hall, Ronda Hall, Simon Cowen, Krishna Pun, Helen Hodgson
with Dr Ram Shrestha, Founder and CEO of Dhulikhel Hospital

With the LEARN Board: Laxmi Pun, Kamal Thapa, Om Bahadur Paija Pun (Chair),
Krishna, Peter, Simon, Ronda, 
Dr. Sujata Pun, Oshin Paija, Krishta Tilija Pun (Treasurer)
Absent: Yam Bahadur Pun, Namaraj Thapa, Dharma Joshi

Successful trip, April 2024

The trip outlined below was very successful, confirming that LEARN teacher training programs will continue for another two years.  After that we expect to direct our aid to Nepal in other ways, probably including support for the operations of the new Mothers and BabiesAnnex of Dolakha Hospital now under construction.

Visiting Nepal

Peter Hall will return to Nepal in April to attend a teacher training course and to see a recently completed computer laboratory.  He will also attend a Conference run by Edutech to celebrate the installation of 250 such laboratories.

Peter and Ronda intend to return later in the year to review progress and future opportunities that QEN could support.  Together with continuing teacher training these include the provision of further computer laboratories and support for the work of Australians for Women's Health.  The latter includes prolapse surgical treatment camps, establishment of a clinical unit for the investigation and treatment of urinary incontinence and prolapse at Dhulikhel Hospital and more recently commencing the construction of a hospital for women in Eastern Nepal.

To appreciate the need for these facilities I recommend reading Heartbreak in the Himalayas by Dr Ray Hodgson, founder of A4WH, available from their website, online bookshops or for Kindle from Amazon (all money raised going into their project).

Should you be interested in joining us please contact Peter.  If not you can always donate to the cause - see www.nepalaid.org.au/donations.

Opening ceremony of computer lab. at Buddhi Bikas Secondary School

LEARN Website

We are pleased to direct you to the LEARN website at learn.org.np.  Please visit it to learn more of the NGO that we sponsor.

Return visit by Peter and Ronda Hall to Nepal

Having had their review of LEARN activities in November 2022 curtailed by Peter getting Covid, Peter and Ronda are planning to return to Nepal in May-June 2024.   They are also keen to catch up with Krishna's family, in particularly young Evan, now an active growing boy.

In addition they are keen to see the activities of associated charities - Edutech with which LEARN is already engaged in the provisioning of school computer laboratories, and Australians for Women's Health (A4WH) with its program of female prolapse surgery camps and its construction of a women's hospital at Dolkha in Eastern Nepal.  We look forward to association with these projects in the future.

Toya Ammai selected for US Aid Project

Rural teachers and their students are not the only ones to benefit from LEARN's training programs.  Our own staff do so as well.  Toya Ammai joined us eighteen months ago along with Khadga Shrestha to re-form our training team.  With the further experience he has gained working with us Toya has now been selected to join a US aid project.  We trust he will continue to put his skills to good use for Nepal's teachers, and wish him well as he takes this further step in his career. 

2023 Annual General Meeting

The 2023 AGM was held on Zoom at 4:00 pm on Sunday 26 November 2023.  Please select 2023 AGM under the AGMs menu for details including the annual reports.

Social Welfare Council appraisal

Every NG O in Nepal must have its aid programs approved in advance by the Social Welfare Council.  This can be a time-consuming process as the SWC does not take its responsibilities lightly, instead investigating thoroughly.  This recently entailed visits by an Evaluation Team to our training activities in remote parts of Myagdi District.

A recent email from the SWC Team Leader shows their appreciation of what we do:

Dear Krishna Sir,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the warm welcome and support extended to our team during the recent monitoring field visit at 6 different schools in Annapurna and Raghuganga Rural Municipality. It was a pleasure to collaborate with your esteemed institution, and I wanted to take a moment to convey our appreciation.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep admiration for the hard work and dedication demonstrated by the school management committee, parents, teachers and students at visited schools. The commitment to providing quality education and creating a nurturing environment for the students is truly commendable. We were thoroughly impressed by the passion and enthusiasm exhibited by the teachers and the vibrant energy within the school premises.

During our visit, our team had the opportunity to interact with the local level political representatives, municipality officials, school management committee members, parents, teachers, students and witness the impact of LEARN efforts firsthand. The level of engagement and eagerness displayed by the teachers and students was inspiring, and it is evident that they are benefiting greatly from the educational programs implemented at schools we visited. We were particularly impressed by the innovative teaching methods employed and the emphasis on holistic development.

Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude for the transparency and cooperation displayed by the school administration. The open discussions and exchange of ideas greatly facilitated our assessment process, enabling us to gain a comprehensive understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. Your willingness to share valuable insights and engage in constructive dialogue is truly appreciated.

Our team is now in the process of compiling the findings and observations from the field visit. We will carefully analyze the data collected and develop a detailed report (in SWC format) that will provide valuable insights to enhance LEARN performance and the educational initiatives at schools. We look forward to sharing our recommendations with you in furthering the development of over all projects and institution as well.

Once again, I extend my deepest thanks to you along with LEARN TEAM and everyone at schools for making our field visit a resounding success. LEARN dedication and commitment to the betterment of education are truly commendable, and we are honoured to be associated with your organisation.

Wishing you continued success in all your endeavours.

With warm regards,

Pramod Bhattarai

Team Leader, for LEARN PROJECT - SWC Evaluation Team

EduTech Nepal

We are pleased to report that CEO Krishna Pun together with Khadga Shrestha recently met with Mike Chisholm, founder of EduTech Nepal, and Ashok Dali to discuss how our organisations might work together.  EduTech has a Vision "To build a computer lab network to create hope and opportunities for over 10 lakh (1 million) Nepali children.”

Number 7 of their ten critical success factors is "Teacher training, training, and training".

The potential for our two organisations to work together is obvious, and will be pursued with enthusiasm.

Nepal Visit interrupted by Covid

Peter and Ronda Hall returned to Nepal in November 2022 to review the activities of LEARN.  Their trip started with a helicopter ride from Kathmandu to Khopra Ridge.  The helicopter had been hired to carry building materials for the further development of facilities for tourists and pilgrims, both at Khopra and higher up at Khayer Lake.  By paying passenger fares Peter and Ronda helped to offset the cost of hiring the helicopter which then undertook half a dozen trips carrying the materials from Ghaza to Khopra.

We were then taken to Paudwar where we had the opportunity to catch up with old friends including Raju Pun, a former Paudwar resident who had been living in London and made the trip back to Nepal in 2009 for the school's Silver Anniversary when we had the pleasure of meeting him.  It was great to renew the acquaintance.

Peter had a bad night on his second night in the village.  A RATS test confirmed Covid, and a Health Post test showed his blood oxygen was down to 76%.  As it was election day in Nepal the Government had decreed no travel in rural areas, in order to reduce the possibility of riots.  A certificate from the health post proved necessary to pass through five road-blocks en route to Pokhara.

Arriving around 7:00pm, Peter was admitted to the Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital where he spent a restless night.  Next morning a helicopter lifted him directly to the Grande Hospital in Kathmandu where he was admitted to ICU. Three days of top class treatment rendered him well enough to be transferred to a ward, to be released after another four days. He has since fully recovered from the ordeal.  The Grande aspires to be the best hospital in South-East Asia, a fully justifiable aspiration by my experience.

2022Annual General Meeting

The 2022 AGM for Quality Education Nepal will be held at 4:00pm Melbourne time on Sunday, 27 November.  Due to directors Peter and Ronda being in Nepal at the time, the meeting will be held only on Zoom.

Notice of the meeting including the President's Annual Report can be downloaded as a pdf from here.

All QEN supporters are welcome to attend, though membership of QEN is necessary to vote.  Membership is determined by donation of at least $20 during the current calendar year.  Instructions for donations can be found on our Funding / How to Donate page.

To attend, please email admin@nepalaid.org.au for a Zoom invitation.

Directors to visit Nepal

Directors Peter and Ronda Hall will be visiting Nepal for three weeks, departing Australia 15 November.  The purpose of the visit as registered with Rotary Australia World Community Service, will be:
"To meet the three new staff engaged by our teacher training NGO LEARN and to facilitate them in their respective roles.
To progress the development of LEARN's financial and operating systems.
To participate in cost-sharing discussions with two rural municipalities".

Peter's last visit was in February 2020, returning to Australia just a week before the Covid lock-down.  This will be his 18th trip to Nepal, and Ronda's 12th.

Opening and Closing Ceremonies for Learning Materials Development and Use Course, 23/04/23

New staff appointed to LEARN

LEARN ("Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal") has operated in Nepal under the guidance of CEO Krishna Pun  since 2014.  In 2017 Dwarika Nath Amgain was appointed to support him.  Dwarika subsequently resigned and three new appointments were made: Meen Shahi as Program Director; Ghopal Dhungel as Chief Training Officer; and Urmila Shreesh as Finance and Administration Officer.

Earlier this year Meen, Ghopal and Urmila resigned for differing personal reasons.  We wish to thank them for their valuable service.  Over their time with LEARN many courses were delivered, benefiting hundreds of teachers.

These three have this year been replaced by Khadga Kumar Shrestha, Toya Prasad Ammai and Manista Serpuja Pun respectively.  We welcome them to our operations in which they have already been actively involved.

Khadga and Toya, like Meen before them, have previously worked for REED Nepal, the training NGO for the Australian Himalayan Foundation.

October 2022.  Its rainy season, with landslides, leeches and rain, rain, rain
but Nepali teachers are not deterred - LEARN training is on!

If you would like to support these programs, please contribute to Quality Education Nepal, BSB 633-000, a/c 161108436 giving your surname as reference, confirming with an email to admin@nepalaid.org.au to receive a tax deductible receipt.

Four photos say it all:

ECED (Early Childhood Education Development) course - All eyes on the trainer

ICT (Information and Communications Technology) course.  Note the equipment.

42 proud graduates of ECED & ICT courses with their trainers.  Note babes in arms on the left.

Home is up hill, with babes to carry.

Coming Soon

A new website for LEARN is under construction, and will soon be published.

This arose from an offer received from the Australian Charity Guide for "a Free Website Built For Your Charity, fully designed, built and launched".  Practera is a platform to providing high quality experiential learning programs that connect University students to authentic industry projects, internships & experiences.  Their offer was for a team of Masters and Bachelors of IT students of Kings Own Institute, Sydney to build a website as a project for their degrees.  A team of seven Nepali students chose our project.  It is in its final stage of testing before release.

2021  Annual General Meeting of Quality Education Nepal Incorporated

The eleventh AGM of QEN Inc. will be held at 4:00 pm on November 28, 2021
at 29 Blue Mount Road, Trentham, Vic. and online via Zoom.

Please email admin@nepalaid.org.au to receive a Notice of Meeting and invitation to attend.

The formal meeting should be brief, followed by discussion of continuing activities of QEN and LEARN.

Teacher training recommences

The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 brought teacher training to a halt,  Over the past eighteen months, the team has worked to improve our training courses, and the administration of both QEN and LEARN.

It has been a relief that vaccinations have allowed the easing of restrictions, to the extent that training could recommense, starting with the initiation of a new three-year program in Rakhu Municipality, to be jointly funded by QEN and the Municipality.  The following photos are from the Closing Ceremony of the 10-day Basic Training Course.

Some highlights follow.

Highlights of the Rakhu course - 137 teachers receive ten days training

LEARN CEO Krishna Pun has reported on a program run by his team at Muktidham Secondary School, Raghuganga, Myagdi District from October 1 through 10.  Here are some highlights:

Anticipated enrolment of 120 teachers was exceeded, with 140 registrations being 93% of eligible primary teachers in the area – both figures being records since QEN-supported training programs commenced ten years ago. Teachers attended in their own time, despite the alternative attractions of the annual Dashain festival.

1. Registrations did not count the youngest attendee. Laxmi Paija from Shiva Basic School, Darmija who brought her 20-days-old baby!  Laxmi stayed for two days before being persuaded to return home to care for the child.
2. The Raghuganga Municipal Health Centre was engaged to conduct random Covid antigen tests. Two of 30 tests conducted yielded positive results leading to exclusions from the training.
3. Three other participants left the training before completion of the ten days to fulfill personal commitments, leaving 134 successful graduates.
4. Proposed antigen testing every three days did not eventuate, as no trainers or participants showed any symptoms.
5. Rural Municipality Chairperson Bhab Bahadur Bhandari and Chief Administrative Officer Amrit Subedi both attended the opening ceremony, as did LEARN Vice-chairperson Laxmi Pun. Bhab Bhandari was unable to attend the closing ceremony as he had tested positive to Covid and had to isolate.
6. Training was delivered in four groups of around 34 trainees led by a masters-degree qualified trainer supported by an experienced lead-teacher graduate of previous training programs.
7. Participants selected some of the current intake for additional training to become lead teachers and in-school mentors for their colleagues.  They will receive additional training to qualify to assist in future training courses.
8. A hoped-for photo of the entire group of 150 participants (trainers, trainees and visitors) did not eventuate as many were busy receiving and arranging transport for distributed teaching materials. A photo of almost 100 was impressive enough.
9. A lengthy and detailed report of the training given will now be prepared.

A further training program for teachers of the Pakhapani Municipality commenced on October 28, to be fully funded by QEN.  The transition from Covid lockdown to intense activity is very gratifying.

Progress to June 2021

We commenced teacher training in Myagdi District of Western Nepal in 2011 (Nepali year 2068).  We are pleased to report progress in student Learning Achievement scores of primary students in that first cluster of Ghara schools.

Needless to say LEARN training has not been the only contributing factor, but more than 30% improvement over seven years has been remarkable.

Training activities have been in abeyance during the pandemic,  Just as it appeared we would soon be able to resume, the incidence of cases increased dramatically as Nepalis working in India returned home.  Resumption has thus been delayed.

Please read our Newsletter No. 9 for more detail (or download it as a pdf).

Rotarians whose clubs offered sponsorship to Global Grant applications that were rejected by The Rotary Foundation are urged to read Rotary rejection (or download it as a pdf), as are TRF staff and trustees involved in that rejection.

To make a tax deductible donation, please do so to Quality Education Nepal Inc., BSB 633000, a/c 161108436 or go to How to donate for more detail.

Note to Firefox users:  If you get no response to clicking for a download it may have gone to your Downloads folder.  You can change this in Firefox by: 1. Clicking the Firefox Menu icon (3 bars, top right); 2. Choosing Settings; 3. Scrolling down to Downloads in the General section; 4.Browsing for your target folder, or checking “Always ask you where to save file”

Annual General Meeting

Our AGM will be held in Trentham at 4:00pm on November 29, 2020.  Notice of meeting can be downloaded HERE.  Members and visitors are invited to attend in person (subject to Covid restrictions) or via Zoom.  Please email pjthall@nepalaid.org.au if you wish to do so.

Please read the President's report for an outline of our recent activities.

Status update

With training interrupted due to Covid lockdowns, we are busy preparing for a resumption as soon as possible.  Meanwhile we're making use of the opportunity to improve our capabilities.  This has included the development of a new three-year plan for approval by the Social Welfare Council and relevant Municipalities.

We are also progressing major enhancements to our accounting system.  Not only will we have a detailed three-year budget, but for the first time will have a system capable of comparing actual expenditures with budget.  This will be important as we foresee sharing program costs with Municipal Councils.

We remain dismayed by the attitude of The Rotary Foundation to our programs, and more so by their audit procedures which led them to pressing the Host Sponsor of our one successful Global Grant project to deny their legal obligations.

We have yet to progress our submission to TRF as described below, as we give priority to moving forward.  However, we will return to it and to writing a book about the evolution of our work in Nepal since 1993.

New submission to the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation

Our disappointment in Rotary arising from our failure to attract funding from The Rotary Foundation has been compounded by a bad experience with a random audit of our first and only Global Grant project, 1525855 Teacher Training, Tatopani, Nepal - a three year project that reached a satisfactory conclusion on 31 March. 

The auditor reached favourable conclusions:
"After reviewing the audit report, The Rotary Foundation (TRF) was pleased to note the following:
■ An effective community assessment was conducted by the cooperating organization, “LEARN”.  In addition, they also carried out appropriate teachers training in remote areas.
■ The beneficiary teachers were satisfied with the training/learning"
"I congratulate all the concerned for correctly assessing the need of the society and completing the project as envisaged in the grant."
“this project was well implemented and managed efficiently by the cooperating organization, LEARN”

On the other hand he criticised the financial management of the project, maintaining that it was not a fixed price contract as specified in the MoU between LEARN and the sponsor clubs, but a cost reimbursement contract in accordance with normal Global Grant practice.  Moreover, they claimed a refund from LEARN based upon incomplete costing data that LEARN had supplied. The net result was a shortfall in payments due to LEARN of US$ 4,600 which QEN has had to cover.

This outcome was reached against the advice of Sponsorship Manager of the International Sponsor club.  He had not been invited to participate in the audit in any way, and when he submitted a lengthy letter of protest to its conclusions, his letter was ignored.

Rather than seeking redress in the courts, we have concluded that a joint submission to the Trustees is in order.  This will appeal for an independent review of Global Grant processes.  I invite you to download a draft of that submission.

I appeal to Rotarians with any thoughts on this matter to email me at  pjthall@nepalaid.org.au.  We would be glad of further evidence of adverse experience with Foundation global grants that might justify such a review.

For elaborate details of our audit experience, please download my response to TRF.

Moving forward

Our pursuit of a change in the Rules for Rotary Global Grants to enable project propositions developed by QEN has ended in failure.  Despite International and Host Sponsor clubs havig signed an MoU to accept full responsibility, that was not good enogh for the Foundation.  This was confirmed in email correspondence with five trustees including four Past RI Presidents.  Giving the impression they had not even read the submission, it was a very unimpressive response!

That will not stop our progress in delivering much-needed teacher training in Myagdi District.  Training has stopped for the present due to the pandemic, but the team are working hard developing programs and making other preparations for returning to a new normal.

An importand development has been the joint-funding proposal agreed with the Rakhugunga Rural Municipality as described below.  We expect that to be a precedent for other Municipal Councils.

Another promising step has been correspondence from the Rotary Club of Calgary.  One of the oldest clubs in the world, chartered 1914 and with around 220 members, they have progressed from the Foundation's limit of ten concurrent Global Grant projects, and have now indicated interest in the possibility of initiating a teacher training project in the manner we had proposed.  Coming directly from a sponsor club, this should overcome the TRF objections.

We therefore look foward with confidence to our impact on the quality of teaching in Nepal continuing to grow.

Completion of Rotary Global Grant project 1525855 - Teacher Training Tatopani

We are pleased to report the satisfactory completion of the three-year project to train 75 teachers of the Tatopani cluster of schools in Myagdi District.  Please click here to download the Impact Assessment report.

This project has set a great example of what can be done to improve the quality of education for pupils in remote areas of Nepal, if the funding can be achieved to extend LEARN training programs to more teachers.  LEARN is now working actively with Rural Municipalites in Myagdi District to achieve just that.

Despite our setbacks with The Rotary Foundatiion, we are hopeful that we will be able to persuade them of the importance of applying Rotary funding to such an important cause.

LEARN in Lockdown

Along with much of the rest of the world, LEARN has gone into lockdown, with training suspended and staff working at home.  While it is a shame to see our training delayed, it is not a bad thing for us as it gives us an opportunity to consolidate management and to make preparations for an even better future.

Our negotiations with The Rotary Foundation regarding Global Grant funding were set back by the cancellation of all meetings of the Trustees, but it has left us in email contact with five Trustees, all Past Presidents of Rotary International.  We are hoping that even in the absence of Trustee meetings they may be able to help us get back on track towards much-needed funding.

Meanwhile we continue to receive private donations, for which we are most grateful.

Meeting with the Director General, Council for Education and Human Resource Development, 26/2/20
From left: Section Office Ram Chandra Sharma; LEARN CEO Krishna Pun; QEN President Peter Hall;
DG Turashi Prasad Thapaliya; Director Ghan Shyam Arayal; LEARN Program Manager Meen Shahi

DG Turashi gave his endorsement to the extensiion of LEARN teacher training programs to more teachers,
building on the foundation being established in Myagdi District.

Funding Support from Nepalese Government

Exciting news!  An MoU has been signed between LEARN and the Rakhugunga Rural Municipality for QEN and the municipality to share the costs of a three-year program of training for 80 teachers of the Rakhu cluster of sixteen schools (a project that we had hoped would be funded by The Rotary Foundation but which they rejected - see below).

Whereas government schools were formerly funded via district offices of the Department of Education, they now fall under the local municipal administration.  Our collaboration with the municipalityhas the personal endorsement of Dr. Tuibashi Prasad Thapaliya, Director General of the Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD) which has now replaced the Department of Education.

This is the first time our work has received funding from government in Nepal.  We now expect other programs to be financed in this way, in both Rakhugunga and neighbouring municipalities.  This will enable us to extend training to a growing number of teachers.

Submission to The Rotary Foundation

Last year, an application to The Rotary Foundation for a US$122,000 project to extend training to a further 80 teachers of Rakhugunga Municipality was rejected.  It had failed the Global Grant funding guidelines.

Foundation Director of Grants Abby McNear has put it this way: "The overarching point we keep making is that global grants are to fund projects initiated and controlled by the Rotary clubs that sponsor them. Unfortunately, the application we declined gave every indication of the clubs simply seeking funding for another (Rotary) organization’s work. Our concerns are amplified by the fact that the clubs have not sought an appeal of our decision, yet you continue to do so. And as we have explained before, only the sponsor clubs may appeal, not the organizations with whom they wish to work."

We had made every effort to comply with the Global Grant guidelines, including securing the commitments of clubs in Canada and Nepal to take project management responsibilities as International and Host Sponsors respectively, confirmed by signed MoU.  The Foundation has chosen to conclude that this transfer of responsibilities is not genuine.

Is this the way you would expect the Foundation to respond, given their responsibilities for sound investment of the funds in their care?

We would very much appreciate your input on this matter, especially if you are a Rotarian.

We have drafted a submission to the Foundation Trustees.  This can be downloaded  from HERE as a .pdf, or HERE as a Word document that you can edit with comments and return to us.  We would very much appreciate your input on this matter, especially if you are a Rotarian. 

Meantime,QEN has responded to the rejection by diverting other funding to allow the project to proceed in accordance with commitments made to the recipient commuity.

This means that without the further support of Rotary, our need for funds is even greater.  If you can respond to this need, your contribution would be very much appreciated.  Click HERE to go to our Donations page.

Newsletter No. 8

For an overview of our teacher training programs as they stand we refer you to our latest Newsletter which can also be downloaded as a link from the Newsletter page.

A Challenge from The Rotary Foundation

Since Nov. 2018 we have put enormous effort into attracting Rotary support for extending our teacher training in Nepal. The response from Rotary clubs around the world has been extremely gratifying, yielding sufficient funding for not one but two Global Grant projects, total value US$250,000, to train 160 teachers over three years.

Application GG1876442 Teacher training, Rakhu, Nepal was submitted June 26.  The project had been fully funded by 13 Canadian clubs matched with DDF at 85c/$, both matched $/$ by the Government of Canada, and then by the Foundatioin Global Fund.  Our intention was to await its approval, then submit the application GG11987661 Teacher training, Arman-Baranja, Nepal to be funded by 46 clubs in seven countries.

International Sponsor Club Woodstock-Oxford, D7080, Ontario, Canada has been advised by The Rotary Foundation that the GG1876442 application has been rejected, the grounds being:

• the application was not planned based on a community assessment. Clubs or districts that apply for a global grant to support a humanitarian project or a vocational training team must conduct a community assessment first and include the results in their grant application.
• Global grants cannot fund activities primarily carried out by an organization other Rotary.
• Additionally, it is concerning that a previous project with LEARN has had difficulty in providing the financial documentation necessary to meet the Foundation’s reporting requirements. 

We respond to these points as follows:
1.  The issue should be whether there is demonstrated local support for the project - not whether a community assessment has been conducted in accordance with TRF guidelines.  We have the strongest local support imaginable, from local teacher level to Municipal Council Chairs and the Vice-Chair of the Social Welfare Council.
2.  TRF Grants are given to educating people across the world in universities that are not Rotary organisations.  This project is no different.  The same objection was raised with respect to GG1525855, but it was then approved.
3.  To condemn a project for the failings of a Host Country Rotary Club that is not involved does not pass the Four Way Test.  That club was replaced by a much more reliable club for the GG1876442 application.

We will not let the matter rest with the TRF rejection, but will pursue it to the highest levels within Rotary.
Please click HERE to download a submission to the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation.

Meanwhile I ask that all clubs and districts that have so generously offered support to our initiatives to be patient, awaiting the outcome that the teachers and school children of Nepal deserve.  Please refer to our Rotary Global Grants page for further details.

Peter Hall, President, Quality Education Nepal Inc. (27 July 2019)

Annual General Meeting

The Eighth Annual General Meeting of Quality Education Nepal Incorporated was held at 29 Blue Mount Road Trentham, Victoria on Sunday the 11th day of November 2018 at 4:00pm.  Formal Notice of Meeting (including the Annual Financial Report) is to be found on the Association page, and can be accessed here.  The meeting was accessible by Conference Call as advised in the Notice of Meeting.

Australian Aid Friendship Grants

The Australian Government has recently announced  program of Friendship grants of up to AU$60,000.  We believe we are well positioned to gain such a grant.  Not only will it help us in the short term, it will also pave the way for a subsequent application for accreditation with DFAT.  At a base level this will yield $150,000 per annum for five years, though it will take a considerable amount of work on our part to qualify.

The current round of grants will be particularly helpful, as we have been under pressure from the Nepalese government to direct more of our aid to "hardware" - such things as buildings and furniture, teachers salaries and scholarships rather than teacher training.  We remain firmly committed to teacher training as our first priority, but these funds should allow us to provide science equipment, musical instruments, child-friendly furniture, and model classrooms to show just what can be done.

Visit the Donations page under Contacts to make a donation.

Rotary District 0550 Annual Conference

Rotary District 9550 encompasses North Queensland, the Northern Territory and Timor Leste.  Peter Hall was invited to speak ai their Annual Conference in Ingham on May 6.  He was in good company, the other speakers on the program being:

* PDG Eric Wood, Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator; Director, Ausralian Rotary Foundation Trust 2016-19

* PDG Greg Ross, Australian Rotary Health National Chair

* Robert Fels, recipient of Rotary’s “Outstanding Service Award” for his promotion of peae initiatives over 30 years

* Stephanie Woolard, Rotary Peace Fellow and recipient of the international Rotary Responsible Business Award for her establishment of the Seven Women project in Nepal.

Click here to download Peter's presentation.

        Ronda and Peter with DG Robert Tatiani

Important meetings in Kathmandu

After returning to Kathmandu from the Closing Ceremony in Dana we had a busy week, in which time we achieved a number of important meetings.  They included:
* the Australian Ambassador Peter Budd
* District Rotary Foundation Chair Rajendra Rajbhandari
* Rotary District Governor Elect Chintamani Bhattarai
* Rotary District Governor Nominee Kiran Lal Shrestha 
* Rotary District Governor Designate Rajid Pokhrel
* Social Welfare Council Vise-Chairperson Nilmani Baral with
* SWC Deputy Director, Planning & Prog Approval Ram Raja Bhattarai

These meetings have engendered support for our training programs in general, and for further Rotary Foundation Global Grant projects in particular.  The latter will facilitate the extension of our programs to more and more teachers.

We were pleased to be able to entertain the latter at dinner at Nepali Chulo Restaurant together with all four LEARN staff.

Closing Ceremony, 10-day Training Course, Dana (April 2018)

The Closing Ceremony of the second 10-day training program for teachers of Tatopni Resource Centre was celebrated in Dana in the Kali Gandaki valley on April 20.  The program, extending over three years, is funded by a Rotary Foundation Global Grant supported by the sponsorship of eight Australian Rotary clubs, three Rotary Districts and eight Nepali clubs.Yam Bahadur Gurung, music and dance trainer; LEARN Training Officer Gopal Dhungel; District Education Officer Ram Kumar Shrestha; Ronda Hall; Peter Hall; Meen Shahi, LEARN Program Manager; Mr. Jayaram Subedi, Resource Person of District Education Office; Krishna Pun, CEO of LEARN; Shanta Bahadur Nepali, Head Teacher of Gyan Prakash Secondary School; Achyut Dahal, Chief Administrative Officer of Annapurna Rural Municipality .