At times when everything seems impossible, the British Council stands as a strong pillar of support to Nepalese people.
Think of a situation where a student wants to apply for a scholarship, has received a positive response from the University, but is unable to apply for it, because the University requires an IELTS score. Binay Chalise, a visually challenged student thought he could not sit for the IELTS exam because of his special needs. However, for him, the British Council’s strong customer support proved to be a life saver.
He had contacted a University for getting enrolment and sponsorship. He got a positive response but one of the requirements for applying for the scholarship, as always is the case, was to submit an IELTS score. At this point in time he could feel his dream of further studies at an international University fading away because of the low possibility of him taking an IELTS test.
However, while searching the IELTS website, he found that there are provisions for special need candidates. It was then that he decided to visit British Council Nepal. Kabir Khadgi (ESM) and The British Council Nepal Examinations team, under Ewan Davies’ (CEM) leadership, arranged a special IELTS paper (in bigger fonts) for him and he took the exam with great ease. He is now very thankful to The British Council for providing such an encouraging and friendly environment, especially Sudha Manandhar (ESO) for guiding him through the entire process. He added that the service provided by The British Council Examinations team was beyond his expectations. He is now looking forward to applying for the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship and to studying for a Masters Degree in Public Health.
A similar case is that of Prasun Gongal, one of the GCE candidates who is also visually challenged. With coordinated support from The British Council Examinations team he was able to take his ‘A’ Level test. Kabir Khadgi (ESM) made all the pre-test arrangements for his exam starting from finding out his particular requirements, coordinating with Cambridge International Examination (CIE) Board and bringing in modified materials to meet his request, and also arranging a special venue to deliver the test. Kiran Basnet (ESO), the supervisor for the test, made sure that Prasun was comfortable with the test. His father, Rajesh Gongal thanked The British Council Examinations team, especially Kabir Khadgi and Kiran Basnet, for making these tailor-made arrangements and for helping his son to secure a bright future.
The British Council Nepal regularly makes these kinds of arrangements for candidates with specialist needs and requirements. In this way we do our bit to help make a part of peoples’ lives easier and to help open doors for them. We wish Binay Chalise and Prasun Gongal good luck in the future.
