Sunil Dhungana, a student of Tilottama Secondary School in Tinau Rural Municipality, says he enjoys going to school these days. The reason being that his school has started conducting classes on a new subject that Dhungana finds very interesting. The school has introduced the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), an 18-month course, to make students employment-ready when they complete their school education. It is the second school in Province 5 and the first in the district to start technical education.

Dhungana, who is from Bagnaskali Rural Municipality, is learning automobile repair works. “The subject is very interesting. It will also provide us with practical knowledge,” said Dhungana.

Like Dhungana, there are 22 students, including those from neighbouring Bagnaskali and Rainadevi rural municipalities, who are taking theoretical classes on automobile repair for the time being.

The school has specifically chosen automobile repair as a subject for the technical course since the area sees a massive traffic flow, said Pramod Karki, a trainer at the school. “We will start practical classes in a month. These students will be able to find jobs easily, as they will be skilled enough to repair small and large vehicles,” said Karki.

In the current fiscal year, Tinau Rural Municipality has allocated 13.3 million for the school’s infrastructure development. Jhabindra Gyawali, the school headmaster, said the school decided to run technical education classes after consulting with guardians and the rural municipal office.

“The students who have passed their Secondary Education Examination have been admitted to the programme. They will learn skills to get a job after the course’s completion,” said Gyawali, adding that the objective of the school is to make students economically independent.

The technical class runs from 6 am to 9 am every day. After 10 am, students join their regular classes, he said.

According to the school administration, the school charges an admission fee of Rs 5,000 and a fee of Rs 65,000 for the 18-month course.

“75 percent of our classes have practical lessons; therefore, this course is expensive,” said Gyawali.