Sayapatri Society has moved from a neighborhood club of Volunteers to an organization with thematic expertise on higher secondary education and civic activists who can stand at difficult times.

When Sayapatri Society was first established by a group of enthusiastic volunteers, it was out of their desire to contribute in the local development of their village in Syangja – a district in western part of Nepal. Over the years, some of the members moved on following their different career paths while some new ones joined in envisioning change. The persistence of the ones who stood by, those involved in teaching in particular, was the major factor for the organization’s growth and its renewed focus to work on education.

At a time when school education up to class 10 was the major area of interest for almost everyone including the government, donors and non-government organizations, Sayapatri identified the issues and challenges of higher secondary education ( classes 11 and 12) as an important area of work based on their own observation.

From 2011, Alliance for Social Dialogue/Open Society Foundations has supported Sayapatri Society on their idea to study the challenges and opportunities of Higher Secondary Education (HSE) – an issue rarely debated and low on the list of priorities for many organizations (both national and international). This was a first systematic endeavor for the organiztion and it began its first formal engagement in the education sector.

With the objective of understanding and discovering the issues of HSE, Sayapatri focused its work on schools of Syangja and Kaski districts. Initially, with its activities focused mainly on consultations and discussions, Sayapatri was engaged with everyday problems of the school management, head-teachers, teachers and students. With the eagerness to address these problems, Sayapatri began to work as a change agent. In order to move beyond these realities and connect everyday concerns to broader policy concerns, ASD encouraged Sayapatri to look into sustainable solutions. Following this, Sayapatri consolidated the issues related to the integration of HSE within the framework of Secondary Education, allotment and management of teachers particularly for higher secondary level and standardized examination system through collection and documentation of case studies from across the country. Most importantly, while other stakeholders chose to neglect, Sayapatri persevered through policy dialogue with Higher Secondary Education Board and Ministry of Education and has been able to highlight these concerns.

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