Kathmandu, May 11
The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) says it helped Nepal rebuild 274 schools after the 2015 earthquake.
The Central-Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU) under the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology organised an event to mark the closure of the Emergency School Reconstruction Project, in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
JICA Nepal says it spent JPY 14 billion (about NPR 14 billion) to support the reconstruction of disaster-resilient schools in the Gorkha, Dhading, Nuwakot, Makawanpur, Rasuwa and Lalitpur districts.
“All the 274 school buildings are reconstructed with multi-hazard resilient structures which are child, gender and disable-friendly to provide an improved learning environment for the students based on the concept of Build Back Better which increases resilience not only physically but also socially,” a JICA statement says, “Besides the school buildings, the support also includes classrooms well equipped with furniture, laboratories, early childhood development centres, separate toilet blocks for boys and girls, solar backup, playground, boundary fences and footpath pavement.”
During the ceremony, Education Minister Ashok Kumar Rai thanked the Government of Japan for providing its assistance for the reconstruction of the school buildings with a concessional loan post the 2015 earthquake and contributing towards enhancing the education sector.
Japanese Ambassador Kikuta Yutaka said, “The aim of Japan’s assistance is not only limited to the rebuilding and retrofitting of the schools but also to build back to the further extent under the concept of Building Back Better.”
