A school building constructed with funding from the Indian government was officially opened on Thursday in Patan Municipality, Baitadi district, in Nepal’s Sudurpaschim Province. The inauguration ceremony was jointly led by Narayan Singh, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Nepal, and Gauri Singh Rawal, the Mayor of Patan Municipality. Shree Bhumeshwor Secondary School, established in 1951, was upgraded to the 10+2 (secondary) level by the Nepal government in 2011.
The school currently has an enrollment of 300 students. During the event, Mayor Rawal, along with the School Management Committee and other stakeholders, expressed gratitude for the developmental assistance extended by the Indian government. They highlighted that the new infrastructure would significantly improve educational resources in the region, known for its underdevelopment. The construction of the school building and related facilities was part of the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) implemented through Patan Municipality.
The HICDP initiative, formerly known as the Small Grant Projects scheme, was launched in 2003 to support various sectors prioritized by the Nepal government, such as health, education, water supply, sanitation, and rural electrification. The Indian Embassy reported that a total of 573 projects, amounting to nearly NPR 13.59 billion, have been executed across Nepal. Among these, 294 projects are focused on the education sector, including the construction of 217 school buildings. In January 2024, an agreement was reached during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Nepal, increasing the financial allocation for each project under the HICDP from NPR 50 million to NPR 200 million.
The Indian Embassy emphasized the extensive cooperation between India and Nepal across various sectors. The implementation of HICDPs underscores India’s ongoing commitment to supporting Nepal’s development endeavors, particularly in enhancing grassroots infrastructure in key sectors.
