Kalika Manavgyan Secondary School in Kalikanagar, Butwal, has consistently excelled in good teaching and learning practices and has earned the title of the best community school in the country. The good practices adopted by Kalika Manavgyan are also becoming a good example for learning in many community schools in the country.

Kalika Manavgyan has also become a center of choice for students from the poor to the elite and from the weak to the talented. The leadership of this school, which has been continuously excellent since 2071, the teachers who believe in teamwork, the school management committee that supports the school leadership, and the effective coordination between students, parents, and the community are the standards of excellence. 

The main strength of Kalika Manavgyan's success is the 'teamwork' and hard work of the teachers and the passion for the future in the students. Principal Dinesh Thapa is also clear about this. He said that this secondary school is continuously becoming successful due to the school's academic routine, the administration dedicated to the students, the teachers who are passionate about their profession, and the close relationship between disciplined and hardworking students. 'Where teachers enter the classroom with positive energy and students enjoy themselves, that is the success of the school,' said Principal Thapa.  

Located in Kalikanagar, Butwal-10, this secondary school is studying 7,935 students from about 70 districts of the country, including 12 from Lumbini Province. The development of the school's physical infrastructure is also equally attractive. The school, which was the first in the country continuously from 2070 to 2075 in the technical stream, received the national and international school award in 2073.

7,743 students are studying in the general stream and 192 in the technical stream. For the students, 12 building blocks, 157 classrooms, 6 additional classrooms, 2 playgrounds, a children's garden, 8 science laboratories, 6 computer labs, a fine arts lab, a digital lab and an electric lab, 2 libraries, a reading room, a program and assembly hall, 82 toilets, 51 projectors and smart boards as per the requirements have been arranged.

Bal Bahadur Pun, the ward chairman of Butwal-10, who is also an alumnus, said that this school has established a different identity not only in studies but also in extracurricular activities. ‘It has made a leap forward in the last 10 years and has become a model school at the national level,’ he said.

Many of its products in grades 11 and 12 have secured scholarships in the engineering, medical and management faculties at the undergraduate level. According to Principal Thapa, 95 students, including only 20 in MBBS and 24 in engineering, are currently studying on full scholarships. 

History of the school

The school, established in 2018 in Yogikuti, Butwal under the name of Bishwa Shanti Nepal Rastriya Prabhu, was converted into Kalika School in 2029. In 2032, it was approved for secondary education, in 2065, it was approved for grades 11 and 12 by the then Higher Secondary Education Council, in 2067, science subjects were added to the same level, in 2070, computer engineering and in 2073, law subjects were added. Kalika Secondary School and Manavgyan Secondary School established in Ramnagar, Butwal in 2041 merged in 2075, and Kalika Secondary School was converted into Manavgyan Secondary School.

The school, which has moved forward with the motto of ‘Collective Planning: Collective Implementation’, currently has 350 teachers and staff. For good practice and academic achievement, the school has formed a monitoring committee of 2 assistant principals, 12 secretariat heads, and 38 people to implement the annual plan, said Nityanand Gyawali, chairman of the school management committee.

‘We have internalized the mantra that if the teacher is happy, the students are happy,’ he said. ‘We have arranged incentives and rewards based on factors such as the efficiency and personal capabilities of the teacher and staff.’

Teachers at all levels have been provided with equal facilities. He said that there is no distinction between private and permanent teachers in the school. He said that students are also taught to find solutions to problems on their own. The school has the experience that students become more responsible in that task. 

Following Tilottama’s Shanti Namuna

Another community school in Rupandehi, Shanti Namuna Secondary School, is moving forward in the footsteps of Kalika. Shanti Namuna Secondary School in Manigram, Tilottama Municipality-5 presented itself as a model in this year's SEE results. Students who scored 4 GPA passed many exams across the country. Out of 609 students who participated in last year's SEE exam, 18 got '4 GPA' and 54 got 3.6 to 3.99 GPA.

After this, the discussion about Shanti Namuna spread across the country. Behind the good results, teachers, students, parents, school administration, management committee and local government also contributed to Shanti Namuna. Principal Kul Prasad Lamichhane said that the school has become excellent due to the coordination from teachers, students, school administration, school management committee to local government.

'We never pressured students to get 4 GPA,' he said, 'We created an environment for learning according to the students' mood. We never discriminated between young and old, rich and poor. The results were also excellent after the students were made to feel that school is dearer than home.' 

Another attractive aspect of Shanti Mavi is the child-friendly environment where you can sit and play inside the school. The school leadership, which implements the plan collectively, is also supporting its success. This has increased the number of students every year. He said that the efficient administration and leadership of the school are the 'world' of every success.

Shanti Numana, which opened in 2016, has attracted students from 29 districts across the country to study in Shanti. More than 2,500 students are from districts outside Rupandehi. Currently, 229 teachers and staff are working in the school.

Shanti Numana is the only school in Nepal that offers courses in Mechanical (TSLC) subjects. Since 2058, the subject has been taught in the technical side under the annex program. Three-year hotel management courses are also offered. Shanti is not just about learning letters. Life skills are also imparted through agriculture. Students grow mushrooms, pickles, and cultivate gadflies.

Radish and mustard greens are cultivated. The students make sinki themselves. The school sells seasonally made pickles of lapsi, amla, and mango. Not only that, the students play the naumati, panchebaja, and madal. There is also a bhajan team. A group of 12 students from grades 6 to 10 attend programs such as pujas, weddings, and fasts held in various villages and temples in Tilottama to sing bhajans. 

Cooking, plumbing, and wiring are also taught. School teacher and cultural coordinator Ranjit Bhandari said that students earn 13,000 rupees by playing the instrument for two hours. 

Out of that, 3,000 rupees is deposited in the school fund. The fund is used to repair the instrument. Under the Earning While Studying program, the vegetables grown by the students are consumed in the school, said Principal Lamichhane. The resource class for the visually impaired has been operating since 2045. 47 children are studying. 13 people with hearing loss and blindness have been studying since 2077. 33 children with autism have also been studying for three years.

Mayor Ramkrishna Khand said that work is being done to promote Shanti Namuna as the pride of the municipality. ‘We are trying to develop Tilottama as an educational hub,’ he said, ‘The local government is there with excellent schools like Shanti Namuna.’ The municipality allocates 50 million rupees annually for programs including improving the quality of community schools. He also said that Tilottama has taught the culture of equality by painting all community schools in the municipality the same color. 

Kanti, instilling hope in science

Kanti Secondary School in Butwal is one of the best schools in Lumbini Province. Five thousand two hundred students are studying here. Kanti Mavi, which was established in Butwal-4 in 2008 by merging Ganesh Vidya Bhawan Primary School and Janata Vidya Bhawan Primary School, started as ‘Ganesh Janata Vidya Bhawan’ Primary School on 2 December 2010. It has been operating classes for grades 11-12 since 2064, after becoming a middle school in 2016, a high school in 2026, and various subjects of science, management, humanities, and education. The school has more than 4,000 students and 115 teachers and staff, said Principal Govinda Gyawali. Kanti has also been operating classes for grades 8 and 10 of the open school since 2065. Gyawali said that the school seeks out and enrolls hundreds of students who are beyond the reach of regular schools every year.

‘We have succeeded in becoming the first in the Western Region in the 2071 SLC examination and the first in Lumbini Province in the 2073 SEE and the first in Nepal in the community school category in the 2076 class 11 results,’ Gyawali said, ‘The school is also achieving excellent results nationally in the class 11 and 12 board examinations.’ 

Students from 22 districts are studying in the school, which focuses on law and science in classes 11 and 12. The school is now the first in schools and campuses after Kathmandu and Pokhara to make the study of science more systematic and effective in an experimental manner. From this laboratory, students can observe, study and research about planets, satellites, the sun, the earth, and celestial bodies, he said. 

Naveen Industrial in Technology

Naveen Industrial Kadar Bahadur Rita Secondary School in Butwal, which is teaching by prioritizing the study of the technical field, has 5,064 students. The school offers civil engineering in the technical direction from classes 9 to 12. Classes 11 and 12 are also taught in the science, management, civil engineering, law and education groups.

The school, established in 2033 in Devinagar, Butwal-11, has students from 58 districts. The school has 184 teachers and staff. Classes 11 and 12 are taught in the management, civil engineering, science, hotel management, law and education groups. The school received the International School Award 2017-2020 and 2021-2024 from the British Council.