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  • Title: Nepal moves mountains with literacy.
    Author: Hanford H.
    Journal: World Watch; 1992; 5(6):9, 32. PubMed ID: 12285837.
    Abstract:
    Women's literacy in Nepal is 13% compared with 38% for men. 70% of children, primarily girls, enrolled in school drop out. Many girls are never enrolled. Nepal is a country with rapid population growth, poverty, and an eroding resource base. A description is given of the effective Chili Beti, a women's literacy program operated by the Nepalese government and UNICEF. The target is girl's not enrolled in the formal school system. Classes are conveniently arranged so as not to interfere with household life in a traditional, rural society. Classes begin in November and last for 6 months at a time of day agreeable to students and parents; this avoids a conflict with field work and household chores. The program began in 1983 in a few remote areas and has expanded to include 75 districts. 5000 girls have completed the course. Attendance rates are 86%, and 25% graduate into the primary school system. The goal is to reach 1.7 million out-of-school children by the year 2000, and to expand the program to include boys as well. Success is attributed to course material which is made relevant to girls' daily lives and builds simultaneously practical knowledge and self-confidence, i.e., building latrines or halting rat infestation. Songs and group activities (planting gardens) are used to reinforce classroom presentations. A unique feature of the program is the use of the cartoon character, Kamali, who is a young village girl engaging students while gradually acquiring skills and becoming a Chili Beti teacher herself. Kamali also mobilizes her community to fight soil erosion. After a year of lessons, a secret is revealed: that Kamali is a member of the lower caste; this instills hope that changes is possible. Teachers are also role models and are selected from the local area. There is a month long teacher training program involving recruitment of girls for the program and teaching in and out of a classroom setting. The program challenges attitudes about the appropriateness of education for girls, and has the support of national government leaders. The connection between female literacy and lower birth rates is being recognized as being a way to meet population reduction targets. Providing opportunities for work for educated girls is the next step needed.
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