ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2022
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Over 31,000 young leaders on 2,400+ campuses across 140+ nations applied to join the Class of 2022. 200+ campuses worldwide (just 8%) were selected to host the 3,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT SPANDAN SHRESTHA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
Kathmandu School of Law | Kathmandu, Nepal | Advancing SDG 4 & UNAI 3
" I am aware that nothing worthwhile ever comes easily. For success, considerable effort is required.
However, many Nepalese students from rural areas are still denied access to higher education. They travel to the cities for their schooling and struggle on their own. Government schools don't operate well, and private institutions are too expensive. I come from a middle-class family myself, and I have witnessed my parents struggle to cover my educational expenses. I strongly believe that the key to growth is education. This inspires me to make a contribution so that everyone can easily access education for the benefit of the country and themselves in the future. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Jaagriti
" Jaagriti” Sanskrit word that indexically means " Awakening” in English. Our project focuses on the 4th SDG goal “Quality Education” which is also guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, Article 31. The Act Relating to Compulsory and Free Education, 2018 guarantees compulsory and free education up to basic and higher secondary levels respectively. Our aim is to aware of fundamental rights such as “free and easy access to Education” and hold the authorities accountable. Along with holding the authorities accountable, our goal is to work along with the local level government to provide what is stated by the state for the people.
To describe our project modality " Jaagriti" most easily, it would look somewhat as:
1) We, in the project, will initially study the government policies and measures taken for the implementation of The Act Relating to compulsory and Free Education,2018. Not just limited to it, we'll further study and analyze the implementation part as well. To study the implementation part, we’ll do both empirical and comparative studies.
2) In an empirical study, we along with our volunteers will visit different schools in Nepal. On our visit, we will conduct legal awareness on important provisions of the Act for students, teachers, and other staff as well. In the meantime, we will also conduct surveys with students and teachers along with the locals on implementation issues and get certain questionnaires answered by them. The same thing will be done on a societal level. Through this, we can do both legal awareness and collect primary data for our research.
3) In a comparative study, using Right to Information (RTI), we’ll collect information that affects quality education such as Budget allocation, the Recruitment process of teachers, Teaching-Learning methodology, Sanitation, Extra-curricular activities, special provisions for differently able (deaf, blind), etc. as mentioned in the Act. Through comparative study, we can better figure out the problems in implementation.
4) Once we come to know the problems in implementation, we can also suggest certain measures to be taken by the Government of Nepal to better implement these laws. We have aimed to present research reports to Education Ministry, concerned departments, NGOs, INGOs to make a positive impact at the policy level.
About the Millennium Fellow
Spandan Shrestha is a bright undergraduate law student at Kathmandu School of Law in Nepal. He is brilliant, energetic, ambitious, and ardent. Spandan is continuously looking for opportunities and platforms to argue for changing the way the world is structured, as well as ways in which a person can substantially impact their society through their activities. He has recently volunteered a significant amount of his time for his community and is keen to learn new skills. He's currently pursuing the Chinese language. He is a promising and diligent young man who supports social justice in Nepal.
