Karnali Province has launched a Life Skills Education Program to help students gain practical knowledge alongside classroom learning. The program is part of the province’s effort to make education more hands-on and relevant to real life.
Introduced as a pilot project, the program has already shown positive results. As mentioned in this year’s provincial policy, the government proposed the idea of a “Book-Free Learning Day” once a week. Based on this plan, the program is currently running in nine schools across Surkhet district.
Under the initiative, students receive skill-based and practical knowledge one day a week. According to the Karnali Province government, this has contributed significantly to the development of practical learning among students.
Initially, the program was piloted in four schools of Birendranagar: Amarjyoti Secondary School, Jan Secondary School, Bhairav Secondary School, and Janasewa Secondary School in Ghusra.
In addition, the program has been introduced in Sharada Secondary School of Bheriganga Municipality, Jeevan Jyoti Secondary School of Lekbeshi Municipality (Dasharathpur), Vidyajyoti Secondary School of Panchapuri Municipality, and Janjyoti Secondary School of Barahatal Rural Municipality.
Deepa Hamal, Director of the Education Development Directorate, Karnali Province, informed that the program has also been extended to Siddha Bahira Secondary School in Birendranagar—the only school in Karnali dedicated to students with disabilities—to ensure inclusivity in life skills education.
As part of the weekly sessions, students are taught practical life skills such as agriculture, technology, electrical wiring, plumbing, cooking, and sewing/knitting. Director Hamal emphasized that this is an effort to make education more practical and relevant to the needs of the current era.
“This program has been launched as a pilot in nine schools. The aim is to shift education from being purely theoretical to becoming more practical,” said Hamal. “We are seeing encouraging results.”
Recognizing the growing importance of practical knowledge over theoretical instruction, the provincial government now plans to expand the Life Skills Education Program across all schools in the province. A budget of NPR 3.5 million has been allocated for the program.
