Project paper : Nepal : girls" access to education (367-0151)

Replicable, community-based WEC"s will be established in 30 rural communities in two remote districts having low female enrollment: Myagdi and Pyuthan. The WEC"s, which will consist of single buildings built by voluntary labor and capable of acommodating 20 children and 2 teachers, will house two programs. (1) The parents who comprise local WEC Steering Committees (SC) will supervise a cooperative preschool program for boys and girls aged 6-10. To this end, the SC, with the help of DWE field coordinators and PCV"s, will nominate local women to receive initial and ongoing training to enable them to serve as leaders in the pre-school program. These leaders will be paid by the project initially and from parents" contributions later on. (2) The WEC"s will use a small program fund to support nonformal education activities - e.g., adult literacy programs, girls" clubs promoting health and nutrition, and infant care cooperatives - which address local disincentives to female education. It is expected that in due time the WEC"s will serve as local resource centers for the extension and training activities of organizations in various development areas and as means of disseminating to the community development-related information provided both by these organizations and by the DWE. The project will help the MOEC establish a DWE to provide ongoing administrative support and policy development/guidance regarding female education. The DWE will monitor and evaluate ongoing programs and gather, analyze, and disseminate relevant information - e.g., on scholarships - to enable organizations to increase their percentage of female participants. To link DWE research to WEC operations, project personnel will establish a monitoring and evaluation system and develop curriculum and training programs at the preprimary level. The project will provide short-term, third-country training in early childhood education and in-country training for field coordinators, PCV"s, and preschool leaders.