Maya Universe AcademyNetherlands

Update Maya Keshavtar branch

It was April, 2018, when Maya’s Keshavtar branch, named after the local town, came into existence. The idea was to take over an already existing private school with corresponding paperwork, and implement the Maya way of working to support the families of that area through good education for the children.

It was April, 2018, when Maya’s Keshavtar branch, named after the local town, came into existence. The idea was to take over an already existing private school with corresponding paperwork, and implement the Maya way of working to support the families of that area through good education for the children. It was a new way of expanding the Maya mission. Rather than starting from scratch, we wanted to build on an already existing infrastructure, thereby sidestepping some of the hurdles that bogged us down in the past. We even had a great internal candidate in our team at the main school who was willing and able to lead this project, Krishna Choulagai.

It started off as a successful educational collaboration between teachers from the area, Maya staff, international volunteers and Maya alumni. The school ran up to grade 5, and after the first batch graduated, some of the Keshavtar graduates were admitted into the hostel at Maya’s main faculty to further their studies. Nevertheless, after four years of circle time, school trips, sports, arts and, of course, exams, we decided to merge the Keshavtar branch with Maya’s Pokhari Bhanyang branch, run by principal Siddarth Yonzan. This means that the old school in Keshavtar is currently not running, but that the nearby Maya faculty in Pokhari Bhanjyang is working with the Keshavtar community to keep providing high quality education in exchange for the parents' time instead of money.

The long-term management of Maya’s branches can be challenging as it requires dealing with long-distance decision-making, a revolving door of staff and volunteers, and, as per the Maya model, community engagement. After the school had been closed for over a year due to Covid, and principal Krishna-sir moved to Kathmandu; it was no longer viable to maintain a healthy balance of stakeholders and a prosperous Maya learning environment on-site in Keshavtar.

Considering that many Keshavtar alumni are still supported through sponsorships at the main school, and there is another branch nearby, the prospect of continuing the Maya mission in the Keshavtar community is ever-present. For now, however, we will focus our efforts in a more centralized manner by improving the facilities at both Maya’s main school and in Pokhari Bhanyang, so that we can keep providing the best education we can to as many students as possible.