Ullens Education Foundation (UEF) is proud to announce the beginning of a formal partnership with Sapana Village Social Impact (SVSI) following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 28, 2022 at the SVSI premises in Sauraha, Chitwan. Both non-profit organizations, UEF and SVSI have entered into the partnership with the common goal of establishing a working relationship of long-term collaboration in education. UEF has extensive experience with school management, teacher training, integration of innovative teaching methods, and implementation of progressive education methods. Likewise, SVSI has been running Sapana School in Chitwan as well as executing various rural development projects that provide ample opportunities for service learning. The MoU recognizes the potential for mutual benefit of the two institutions working in collaboration.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Dhruba Giri, President of SVSI, and Dr. Arnico K. Panday, Chief Executive Officer of UEF. Mr. Giri expressed the importance of child-centric education in Chitwan: “Schools in Chitwan have long been teacher centric. We wanted to start a school where quality education and child-centric education merged, so that children would not have to leave their families to study in Kathmandu in search of good educational institutions”. Likewise, Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudel, Board Member of SVSI, communicated the need for institutions in Nepal that produce students who want to stay back in the country and rebuild it. Dr. Panday highlighted that UEF, as a non-profit organization dedicated to excellence in education, believes that its responsibilities extend beyond Ullens school, and that he is thrilled that its first partnership outside of Kathmandu valley is with SVSI, a like-minded, socially responsible non-profit. The MoU signing ceremony was graced by the Honorable Mayor of Ratnanagar, Mr. Narayan Ban. He voiced that a collaboration of two institutions sharing similar objectives will bring children who are deprived of opportunities as well as children who go to Kathmandu or other cities to study, back to schools in Ratnanagar.
Via this partnership, the two institutions will focus on jointly developing four key areas. From UEF’s side, the organization’s newly established teacher training academy, Ullens Center for Educator Development (UCED), will support Sapana School in integrating its child-centered approach and elementary school requirements of the Government of Nepal. Additionally, UEF will provide opportunities for teachers and leaders of Sapana School to experience hands-on learning at Ullens School as well as theoretical training in areas of need. Likewise, from SVSI’s side, the organization will provide service learning opportunities to UEF’s high school, IBDP and gap year students within the various rural development projects that it runs. SVSI will also provide field trip opportunities for Ullens School students in order to better understand human-wildlife conflicts, biodiversity and conservation, as well as life in rural Chitwan.
Both parties hope that despite the different scales, geographies, and histories of the two establishments, the partnership will succeed in enhancing knowledge, resources, and networks for the growth, development and learning of both institutions.
