Report on the U.S. Higher Education Guidance Counselor Training Session held in Pokhara
Overview
The U.S. Higher Education Guidance Counselor Training Session scheduled for Pokhara took place on May 31 and June 1, 2024 at Hotel Jal Mahal, Pokhara. The session started from 09:30am to 04:30pm and breakfast, lunch and hi-tea were provided to the participants by the organizer. Along with the trainers from SEBS, the representative from USEF, Priyani Shah was physically present at the 1st day of session and provided her insights to the participants.
Participants
There were 23 participants (20 male, 3 female) on first day of session i.e. May 31, 2024, and 20 participants (17 male, 3 female) on 2nd day of session i.e. June 1, 2024. After reaching out to 81 high schools in Pokhara through emails, phone calls, messages through WhatsApp and Viber, ads on Kantipur (national newspaper) and Facebook, there were registrations from 20 different schools (37 participants) and participation from 14 different schools (23 participants). Through a community on WhatsApp, the participants and facilitators are maintaining contact with each other.
Evaluation
Through the pre-test and post-test of 10 marks, which the participants gave before the training and after the completion of the training, this training program’s impact is evaluated. There has been a 53% increase in the mean score from 3.2 on the pre-test to 4.9 on the post-test.
Feedback
The participants filled out a feedback form at the end of the training session for the facilitators and organization of the session to reflect upon. Many participants were very satisfied with the program and found it to be highly relevant to their needs. Many participants found the program too short to cover all the topics with details and precision. They commended the organization and logistics of the program. The trainers were also rated in different categories: trainer Srijana Chettri received a mean rating of 4.58 out of 5 and trainer Abbal Dhakal received a mean rating of 4.73 out of 5.
Photos of the Program
