In Jhapa, five schools with low pass percentages in the SLC exams befriend with five schools that have been doing well every year. This friendship helps low-performing schools do better in the SLC exams.[break]
"Low-performing schools learn ways of securing good results from successful schools," Laxmi Prasad Timsina, an under secretary at the DEO, says. "This has proved helpful for not-so-successful schools."
Bhadra Higher Secondary School, where only 6 percent of students passed the SLC exams last year, established a friendship relationship with Himalaya Higher Secondary School, Damak, which has consistently maintained more than 70 pass percentages in the last five years.
As a result, 39 percent of students passed this year´s SLC exams from Bhadrapur School. Other schools that have befriended with successful schools have also secured impressive pass percentages.
"They (teachers of Bhadrapur School) observed the way we teach our students," says Bidur Khatiwada, principal of Himalaya School. "Our frequent interactions helped them improve in the SLS exam results."
Unlearning how children learn