Home: Saina-Maina, Rupandehi, Lumbini

Education: B.Sc. (CSIT), Patan Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

When I was in Grade 5, I had a friend who studied in the same grade but in a different school. He used to go to a public school while I went to a private school. We used to do our homework together. But he was very weak in Maths so I always had to help him in the subject. He used to say that most of his friends were not so good in Maths either. I wondered how that was possible; the Math teacher was the same in his school and mine. We slowly realized that the teacher behaved differently with them because it as a public school where there were no strict regulations for teachers. While in our school, he worked harder, checked our homework regularly and even took extra classes if needed. The case was the same with another teacher who took Nepali classes in Grade 10.

I’ve always wanted to eradicate such inequalities in public and private schools. I myself have come from a very rural area of Kapilvastu district where there were no schools close by. Due to this, many children there have been deprived of education and the inspiration of a good teacher. Through the fellowship I’ll be going to a similar community and become an agent of change. I come from Computer Science background and I find the subject very interesting. So apart from teaching Science to my students, I want to make sure that the school progresses in terms of computer literacy as well. I want to change the notion among parents that if children learn to use computers, they will get distracted and won’t focus on their studies. I want to make them realize that computers have various other uses including studying. There are so many students who are visual learners and I’m sure that the use of computers in classrooms will help them to learn faster. Since the career options of students in rural areas are limited, I’ll encourage interested students to make a career in computer-related activities like software engineering and gaming, among others.

I remember teaching my grandfather to use a computer at home and saw how happy he was to do something he had never done in his life. That had made me feel very good. So if I come across elders who are interested to learn a computer in my community during the fellowship, I will be conducting adult literacy classes whenever I have the time and teach them how to use computers.

After the fellowship, I want to pursue my higher studies in a foreign country where science and technology has advanced so that I get more knowledge in the field. After that I’ll come to Nepal and work in rural communities and continue sharing my expertise.