JICA Nepal organized an official ceremony in Kathmandu to honor the winners from each category of painting contestant.The winners (1st, 2nd, 3rdpositions) were awarded gifts and certificates from OKUBO Akimitsu, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal, Pramila Devi Shakya Bajracharya, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science &Technology and Ana Prasad Neupane, Project Director, CLPIU.

Amidst the two days event, the winners also visited Patan Secondary School and Patan Durbar Squareand Radio Nepal inSinghadurbaras part of their excursion in Kathmandu.

One of the winners of said that “Winning this contest has been a very proud moment and a very joyous occasion for me, my parents, and my school as well. I am very thankful to the organizers for this opportunity where I could hone my skills and showcase my passion for art.”

Bajracharya, Secretary MoEST said, “Opportunities as such, in context to this painting competition or any other activities come very rarely in a student’s life. I am delighted to know that large numbers of students participated in this contest irrespective of their age, gender, and location. I suggest all participants to continue their efforts in fulfilling one’s passion and thank JICA Nepal Office and CLPIU for organizing this event.”

Similarly, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal said, “JICA Nepal through this kind of competition anticipates contribution to education services and promotion of talent and skills of the students not only restricted to their academics but also in extracurricular activities which could play a major role in shaping their career.”

To facilitate the conducive learning environment for the school students, JICA Nepal Office and Central Level Project Implementation Unit(CLPIU) / Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) organized a painting contest amongst the 274 schools reconstructed by the Emergency School Reconstruction Project (ESRP) in Nov-Dec 2023aiming to engage school students in painting activity with a dedicated theme - “My New School: My Pride”.

Altogether 120schools participated in the contest, with an active participation of more than 1000 school students in both categories of basic and secondary level. The final artworks were judged in different dimensions by professional artists, Project Director of CLPIU and Chief Representative of JICA Nepal.

After the earthquake of April 2015, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) initiated the Emergency School Reconstruction Project (ESRP) to rebuild schools damaged by the disaster which were expected to serve as potential regional hubs for improving the quality of education.

Total 274 schools with 765 Blocks and over 4700 rooms were built under ESRP to support the reconstruction of disaster resilient schools in Gorkha, Dhading, Nuwakot, Makwanpur, Rasuwa and Lalitpur Districts, based on the earthquake-resistant type design guidelines under the principle of “Build Back Better (BBB)”.

The Project was implemented by Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU)/ Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST). The construction of all 274 schools was completed in April 2023.