Rong Municipality introduces app for parental education

By Prem Adhikari,Pashupatinagar, Jan. 8: Rong Rural Municipality in Ilam has introduced a mobile app-based digital system to make parental education more effective. 

The municipality, which has been conducting monthly parental education sessions to encourage parents of students in community schools to take an interest in schools, launched the app to enhance the initiative.

Shruti Tamang, head of the education, youth and sports section of the municipality, said that the app has been designed to update all details of parents, focusing on child care, home education and improving children’s health.

According to Lokpriya Khanal, an expert from Prayas Prarambha, who provided technical support for the initiative, the mobile app is the first of its kind in Nepal dedicated to parental education.

Khanal, who has also been working as a facilitator in parental education, stated that the app was developed not only for Rong but also to be useful for other municipalities across the country.

“Using technology saves teachers’ time, which they can utilise for other school activities,” Khanal said.

The mobile app, designed for use by the education section, facilitator, teachers and schools, helps measure parents’ participation and evaluations. 

It provides information on students’ attendance, parental interest in children’s studies and their participation in school activities.

The municipality has been organising monthly gatherings of parents of community school students under a set guideline to provide parental education. 

It has even introduced a mandatory rule requiring parents to attend these sessions once a month, while students stay home to assist their parents with household tasks.

Mani Kumar Syangbo, chair of the municipality, shared that over 1,300 out of 2,300 parents of students from 30 community schools have already received parental education. 

The app allows the registration, attendance, evaluation, attendance reports, assessment reports and parental ID cards to be accessed digitally, increasing parents' interest in community schools, Syangbo added.

He said, “Educational quality can only improve when students, teachers and parents in community schools work together. That’s why we developed and used this app.”

Initially, the municipality trained over 40 teachers as facilitators to start parental education. In the fiscal year 2024/25, it invested over Rs. 200 million in improving the quality of community schools, focusing on physical infrastructure, ICT labs and parental education.

The municipality has also mobilised mothers’ groups alongside parental education to enhance the quality of community schools.

It has introduced guidelines specifying details about parental ID cards, education, monitoring, evaluation, rewards and penalties.

Govinda Paudel, principal of Saraswati Secondary School in Rong-6, said that the implementation of parental education has increased students’ regular attendance and parents are paying more attention to their children’s health and nutrition.