The present Education Minister of Nepal, Ms Chitralekha Yadav is a big fan of British Council Nepal. Although the invitation was sent just few days before the inauguration, she agreed to attend the A Level Expo. She did not just agree to inaugurate the programme but also agreed to have breakfast with the British Council Exams team, the Country Director, Brendan McSharry, Steve Adams, Director Examination SA and H.E. Andrew James Sparkes CMG, British Ambassador to Nepal.
The Minister is a big supporter of girls education as she herself struggled with her family for her own education. She being a girl child from a “Yadav” family, access to education was a rare opportunity. But she completed her Masters in Arts with English and Nepali though being married at the age of 15 and appearing for the School Leaving Certificate when her first son was just 10 days old. She started her career as an English Teacher and worked closely with British Council Nepal in the 1980s. Remembering those days she talked highly about British Council Nepal.
Inaugurating the event, she said the expo is being organised at a very opportune time as students await the results of School Leaving Certificate (SLC). She further added that “one of the components of democracy is to provide choices to all; therefore it is very important for students to get choices and choose the right way for the future. Students are exposed to lots of information, just getting access to it is not enough but it needs to be converting into wisdom, which is the most difficult thing. This expo is a great opportunity for students to get information so I would like to thank the British Council for organising it”.
H.E. Andrew James Sparkes CMG, British Ambassador to Nepal also spoke on the occasion and specified that he, himself was an A level student. “A Level prepares you for the subject that really takes you over your particular contribution for life”.
Brendan McSharry, Country Director, British Council Nepal and Steve Adams- Director Examination Services, South Asia, British Council were also present.
Lekendra Pandey, a student attending the Expo expressed that “organising this expo has given youths like me a platform to get first-hand information about what A Level offers thus guiding me to opt for the best A-level school.”
British Council organised A Level Expo and Seminar for the first time on 3-4 June to showcase what Cambridge GCE A Level offers. Over 1000 audiences from potential students to teachers and parents attended the two day fair. They were able to interact directly with the thirteen participating A Level school representatives and understand their offers -Quality entry into First and Second Degree education.
While the first day of the seminar primarily focused on key issues such as quality entry into first and second degree education, what’s on offer with the A-Level, its recognition and comparative analysis between A-Levels and +2. On the second day, a table topic discussion on Quality entry into first and second degree education with Deans of Tribhuwan University and Kathmandu University was conducted. The outcome during the discussion highlighted the quality standards required for enrolment in higher level of education in Nepali Universities.
At present in Nepal there are 44 Institutions licensed for running Cambridge International AS and A Level Education in Nepal.