Forty students including two world toppers from Nepal was awarded on 17 Feb 2014 in recognition for their excellent academic achievements in June and November 2013 Cambridge Examination Series.The event was co-hosted by British Council Nepal and Cambridge International Examinations to celebrate the achievements of young Nepali students.
During the event, Chief Guest Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Narayan Gopal Malego expressed his heartfelt congratulation to all the winners and also stressed out about the advantages of incorporating the A and AS levels in school academics in the country. He stated “This offers genuine opportunity for Nepalese to compete in the international job market. With so many of our fellow citizens leaving the country on a daily basis to work as unskilled labour overseas, we need to focus on strengthening access to relevant academic schemes and skill development programmes such as the Cambridge A and AS-Levels award scheme”
With the presence of British Council Nepal Country Director Brendan McSharry OBE; Director, Assessment of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) Di Palmer; and Cambridge Regional Manager of South Asia William Bickerdike also presented Cambridge International Examination certificates to various other category winners. The crowd cheered and applauded as the students went onto the stage to receive their respective awards.
Nirabh Koirala, World Topper in Language and Literature in English from Rato Bangala School expressed “I feel really elated. My English teacher, Ms Perry’s meticulous preparation for every lesson to bring the best out of her students had a significant impact on the level of hard work I was doing to improve myself in my writing.”
While Bibek Ramdam secured the highest marks in mathematics worldwide shared how after enrolling in A levels has broadened his thinking skills. “Initially I was very nervous to enrol in A Levels but I was astonished by the difference in teaching methods. We were taught to solve problems analytically and critically, which enhanced our thinking ability. It has definitely boosted my morale and built a strong foundation from where I can see that the possibilities are endless.”
“We have set the basic foundation and there are some things that have remained a constant-the joy of gaining knowledge, and the kind of mental expansion that comes of knowing more about literature and history and maths--and that’s the feeling we’ve tried to preserve through the GCE programme” proclaims CIE Assessment Director Di Palmer while emphasizing how the means and mediums of education over the years have changed as she addressed the crowd and the Cambridge Learner winners.
We have around 40 schools in Nepal who are offering GCE Exams but the numbers are growing every year. With the high demand of acquiring an international qualification based in Nepal, the GCE market is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years in Nepal.