The Shree Nu Bahakot School was the location of our first computer centre installed outside the Kaski District. At the time, it was the most advanced centre that we installed and included a fibre-optic internet connection. We were planning on using a less reliable WiFi connection that is usually the only option available in rural areas. The availability of fibre optic in the village was a surprise and we took the opportunity to have an optic cable run from the nearby junction point into the school.

Nu Bahakot had five computers prior to our arrival, but only three were working. They were old, very slow and utilised power-consuming CRT monitors which made it difficult to keep them on for more than an hour with a battery backup system during power outages.

This is a common situation in rural schools. They may have a handful of computers, usually old ones that were donated that are slow and the operating system and software is out of date. Often they do not work at all or work very poorly given their age and there is no point in using resources to fix them. During classes, groups of students would huddle around and share a computer which makes it difficult for them to develop any computer skills.

After the installation of the centre, our Manager of Training, Ves Raj Bastola, delivered training on the use and management of the system. Ves Raj is a teacher at the Shree Bhumeshwor School in Astam, the site of our first computer centre. Over the years, we have trained Ves Raj to a point where he was able to confidently deliver technical support and training programs to all of our centres in Dhital and this first one in Syangja. He is an exceptionally talented teacher and, coupled with his IT skills, has excelled at building the confidence and skills of fellow teachers in using computers and the internet in an educational environment.

We installed the centre using reliable, fast and ultra-low power technology. We provided a 4th generation Intel i5 server with SSD drive and ten Ncomputing thin client terminals with keyboard, mouse and LED monitor, that equated to 11 Windows computers. We also provided a WiFi router and connected the school to the internet using fibre optic and paid for the connection for the first three months. To ensure operation during power outages, we also installed a 150AH UPS backup battery supply and surge protection fuses to ensure that the devices are protected.

We also delivered a technical training program for the teachers on how to use and manage the new server during and after the installation was completed. A two-week computer literacy training program was delivered to the Nu Bahakot School teachers and members of the Pragati Women’s Cooperative as a joint program a number of months later.

The computers and internet allowed teachers to deliver content-rich educational programs and students were able to develop their computer literacy skills. The extensive training provided to teachers also gave them the capacity to provide support to members of the community who were using the facility after school hours for communication and access to information.

Our heartfelt thanks goes to the Mackintosh family, as we could not have completed this project without their financial support.
 
 

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