A SCHOOL POND EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR CREATING AWARENESS ON AQUACULTURE IN NEPAL

Malnutrition among children is a global health concern, especially prevalent in Asia and Africa. Proper nutrition in school age children is essential for maintaining growth, cognitive development and lifelong health. Our objective was to create awareness on the nutritional value of fish as a supplement to regular diets by establishing fish ponds in schools and educating adolescent students on aquaculture. One pond each was established in four schools in the Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts of Nepal. A total of 121 students, including 57 males and 64 females, were trained in this program. Carps and tilapia were provided for each school from nearby government fish hatcheries, and were stocked in each pond at normal densities. The materials necessary to maintain ponds, including feed and fertilizer, were provided to each school. Pre- and post-training tests were conducted for participating students. Results showed the knowledge of students on fish culture and nutritive value of fish was significantly increased (p<0.05). The number of students scoring <40% decreased while number of students scoring 61-80% and >80% increased after training (p<0.05). Another interesting observation was the increase in consumption of fish (13.1±7.1times per year) and its frequent inclusion in the diet after training as compared to before training (7.7±3.3, p<0.05). The reason for this increased consumption was better awareness about nutritive value of fish. Surprisingly, members in 14.5% of participating students families constructed ponds after getting training. Thus, development of school ponds increased awareness on the value of nutrition and fish consumption in rural households by teaching school children and participating teachers about aquaculture.

In the second phase of program two additional fish ponds were constructed, one each in two public schools of Chitwan and Nawalparasi districts. Forty students of grade 8, 9 and 10 and three teachers were selected from each school to provide regular training on different aspects of fish culture along with role of fish in human nutrition. In addition to the new ponds, phase two also included providing water quality testing materials and nets to participating schools from both phases. In addition to student training, informal education activities were also carried out for women groups, which included forming two women's fish farming groups in the school community for each district. A linkage was developed so that the women's fish farming groups could ultimately work with the teachers and students to ensure the long term sustainability of the school ponds.