Deurali Secondary School, located in Bardibas, Mahottari, has become the first digital school in Madhesh Province. The school has emphasized the use of technology in education for several years, making everything from the classrooms to the management system digital. At the school entrance, there is a system for teachers' e-attendance. In the classrooms, the traditional blackboard has been replaced with a digital smart board. This has made teaching and learning easier and more effective. The mandatory provision for both students and teachers to submit leave applications online has made administrative work transparent. The Management Committee claims that with facilities like an e-library, online payment system, digital notes, and digital homework, the school infrastructure has become over 90 percent digital.
Under the leadership of Principal Kumar Ghimire and Raju Dong, the Chairman of the School Management Committee, the initiative was implemented. Despite the large number of students in the school, the expected improvement in quality was not being seen, which led them to seek a solution through the digital medium. Initially, teachers and students were provided with digital literacy training. The school expanded smart boards, digital homework, e-attendance, an online accounting system, and management software in every classroom, meeting the criteria mentioned in the Digital School Program-Management Guideline, 2076, to declare itself a 'Digital School'.
Currently, the school has approximately one thousand five hundred students enrolled. Among them, only 20 percent were new admissions in the most recent academic session. Students come here from Jaleshwar, Ramgopalpur, Dhanusha, and Sarlahi. They stated that they chose this school because of the digital laboratory, the repository of subject materials, the facility to view homework online, and the ease of learning facilitated by the smart board.
Principal Kumar Ghimire says, "The material written on the smart board remains safe for up to 15 days, making it easier for students to take notes. Furthermore, teachers' daily homework is also secured in the system. This has also made things easier for disciplined students".
The administration of Deurali Secondary School is working to provide a long-term solution to the challenges seen through the digital medium. Rewati Parajuli, the head of the Municipal Education Branch, suggested that other schools should also adopt this system, as modern educational technology is essential. Raju Dong, Chairman of the Management Committee, stated that the declaration of the school as digital has brought additional pressure and commitment to complete the remaining 10 percent of the work.
