The Acronis Cyber Foundation recently finished construction of a computer classroom at the Bagdola Primary School, in the Nepalese village of Rajipur Chaulmala. This marks the final step in a multi-phase project, empowering children in an historically underserved community with the educational opportunities — including computer literacy and STEM classes — that they’ll need to thrive in the modern world.
In March 2013, the Nepalese government endorsed their Information & Communication Technology in Education Master Plan 2013–2017, aimed in part at ensuring widespread access to IT education. Unfortunately, their goal has not yet been achieved. Nepal currently has nearly 34,000 public and community schools, but only 2,000–3,000 feature computer facilities.
Acronis Cyber Foundation first opened a new school in Rajipur Chaulmala (also known as Bagdola) in October 2020. The village’s previous educational buildings were constructed from brick and mud, and faced severe risk of collapse in this earthquake-prone region. The new school — a modern structure built with cement and steel — has multiple classrooms and sanitary facilities, and provides a greatly improved learning environment for children from preschool through fifth grade.
Through the Schools Initiative, the Acronis Cyber Foundation seeks out communities around the world where children are suffering from a lack of educational infrastructure and poor learning environments. Often partnering with other IT leaders and non-governmental organizations, we fund and oversee development of new schools that are uniquely suited to meet the needs of the local community. Computer classrooms — which can help students develop their STEM and IT skills, and fuel further self-education — are an integral part of this effort.
In order to succeed in the modern world, one must understand how to use the Internet — benefitting from its advantages and avoiding its pitfalls,” says Bagdola school principal Jay Bahadur Dhami. “It is important for our school to bring digital education opportunities to future generations, including basic computer skills which provide children with the means to continue learning independently throughout their lives.
Development of the school was a joint effort between the Acronis Cyber Foundation and its project partners, buildOn and Good Neighbors. ZEBRA SYSTEMS s.r.o additionally co-sponsored the development of the computer classroom.
The use of technology inside the classroom is key for students to gain necessary 21st-century technical skills,” says Zdenek Binek, CEO at Zebra Systems. “We are delighted to support the Acronis Cyber Foundation with a new computer classroom in Nepal. This new educational infrastructure will help the community thrive by improving the lives of individuals and families — now and in the future.
With effective cybersecurity and data protection remaining a critical need, Acronis has provided the school with premium licenses for its flagship personal cyber protection solution, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office. The company will also be donating additional educational resources on topics including computer literacy, safety, and privacy.
Acronis Cyber Foundation has completed construction on 12 schools, with three more in-progress and three planned for the near future. The Foundation continues to seek partners for collaboration on future projects. Interested parties are encouraged to contact foundation@acronis.org for more information.
