Nepalese Community Society of Calgary (NCSC)
OVERVIEW
NCSC Nepali Pathshala is a community-based education center established to promote Nepali heritage, language, and culture among Nepalese children in the Calgary area. The Center is run by dedicated self-esteemed volunteers holding a common passion for passing our rich culture and traditions to the next generation. Most of our learners are either born in Canada or migrated to Canada in the early stage of their life. The literature indicates that culture plays a pivotal role in a child’s well-being that unites individuals and connects generation to generation. Being raised in Canada they easily adopt Canadian culture which is not as same as Nepali culture. Therefore, Nepali Pathshala aims to teach children to read, write and speak the Nepali language and adopt its culture. This develops a platform for students to communicate with their families (especially grandparents) and bridge gaps between generations in both language and culture.
Establishment:
Established in 2015 by the Nepalese Community Society of Calgary (NCSC) Nepali Pathshala aims to preserve and transfer Nepali language, culture, and literature to new generations. Since its inception, Mrs. Shama Upadhyay has been actively involved and contributed as the Principal educator till 2018. Her expertise in teaching the Nepali language to students is noteworthy. The success of Nepali Pathshala to date is the combined efforts of teachers, volunteers, students, parents, NCSC Executive members, and the Pathshala Board of Directors. At present, Mrs. Shradha Rupakheti is serving as the Principal since the academic year 2021-22.
Objective:
The objective of Nepali Pathshala is to provide Nepali language learning opportunities to Nepalese children residing in Calgary. To enable them to write, read and speak in the Nepali language. Further, Nepali Pathshala aims to protect and transfer Nepalese culture and values to the younger generations.
Student Registration
Every year during the month of August, Nepali Pathshala conducts an open house for registration. Parents interested in enrolling their children are provided with registration forms and media consents forms. Registration for new enrolment starts in September. The annual Registration fee for our program is $50.00 and should be paid at the beginning of the school year. Students’ enrollment has increased from 15 in the 2015/16 academic year to 82 currently (see figure below). Three paid female teachers and 8 volunteers (7 females and 1 male) provide education to the children.
Classrooms
Nepali Pathshala runs three classes starting September every Sunday for two hours in an annually contracted community space provided by the 1000 voice, Genesis Centre. The classes are in-person but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the current method of instruction is online using the Zoom platform from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM every Sunday. Classes run in three cohorts based on students’ understanding of Nepali language and culture: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. Currently, there are 4 classes (Level 1, 2,3, and Blended class) running with a total of 82 students enrolled. Nepali Pathshala School follows the public-school calendar which runs from September to June and closes during July, August, during the summer and Christmas holidays. Further, classes are closed on Sundays of the long weekend holidays.