Making Dreams Happen for Out-of-School Girls through Community Learning Centers

Since 2018, People in Need (PIN) Nepal has been implementing the Aarambha-Leave No Girl Behind (LNGB)[1] project in Bara and Rautahat districts of Madhesh province, under the FCDO/UK aid's Girls Education Challenge (GEC) programme[2]. The project operates in 21 palikas of Bara and Rautahat, reaching 9,497 girls through collaboration with Aasaman Nepal (ASN) and the Social Organization Development Coordination Committee, Parsa (SODCC). Aarambha specifically targets out-of-school (OOS) adolescent girls aged 10-19 in remote palikas across the Madhesh province, which has the highest illiteracy rate in Nepal.

Aarambha aims to enhance the life chances of targeted marginalized girls by providing basic literacy, numeracy, and life skills sessions in non-formal education (NFE) settings specifically through accessible community learning centers (CLCs). Under the project, 462 CLCs were conducted in 21 palikas of Bara and Rautahat. Upon the successful completion of accelerated learning courses at these centres, graduates were able to either transition into formal schooling into 1^st to 9^th Grades, or get upskilled through trainings on technical/vocational skills, which were market-needed. They furthermore received the necessary equipment. Both learning and employability interventions have been successful in addressing early marriage and breaking down harmful social norms. The project cycle data shows that 9,497 OOS girls have been educated on literacy and numeracy skills under the project, with 4,986 successfully transitioning to school and 2,347 to technical and vocational education and training (TEVT). The project has also consistently tracked the girls’ learning progress through assessments in both formal education and TVET pathways to ensure positive returns.