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Nepali students win two bronze medals and three honorable mentions in International Physics Olympiad 2017

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Kathmandu, July 25, 2017: Nepali students’ team has been successful to win two bronze medals and three honorable mentions in International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) 2017, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Prabhakar Kafle (GoldenGate International College, Kathmandu), Bibek Panthi (Tilottama College, Butwal), Sanam Limbu (St. Xavier’s College), Kritan Bastola (Amar Singh College, Pokhara), and Shibham Pandey (St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu) had been selected to participate in IPhO 2017 held from 16-24 July. Kafle and Panthi won the bronze while the rest three received honorable mentions.

The competition had tested students’ creativity and understanding about various topics of Physics.

As many as 424 High School Students from 88 countries had participated the competition held from 16-24 July.

Professor Dr. Pradeep Kurmar Bhattarai and Prof. Dr. Jeevan Regmi had led the Nepali delegations for the event.

“The competition was really tough as we had to compete against best physics enthusiasts from across the globe. Still, we managed to bag bronze medals and honorable mentions in the Olympiad,” expressed Sanam Limbu, a Student of St. Xavier’s College, Maitighar who participated the competition.

With this achievement, it has been proved that Nepal is not lagging behind in the field of Science in international level.

‘Lack of proper labs and enough equipment lagging us behind’

Enthused by the achievement of the students, Bhattarai said that they are further encouraged and even more optimistic about the future of Physics in Nepal. “But, our students didn’t get opportunities on par with students from other countries,” he said, pointing out the lack of proper labs and equipment to carry out practicals.

“Unfortunately, and unwillingly, I have to say that Nepal doesn’t perform very well in experimental exam because we don’t have enough equipments and labs for conducting experiments and training on par with other countries,” shared Prof. Bhattarai.

“Basically, it’s unfortunate that Nepali colleges don’t conduct practical classes inside laboratories in +2 level. The trend of +2 colleges easily giving 23-24 marks to almost every student irrespective of their lab skills is hindering the progress of students in practical science. This trend has basically killed the essence of conducting practicals,” Bhattarai expressed dissatisfaction.

He also mentioned the lack of government support. The candidates themselves had to bear the registration and travel expenses.

Through a competitive round, a total of 20 students were selected from various colleges after their HSEB Exam, and given trainings. Five students were then selected from a competition to represent Nepal in the International Physics Olympiad held from 16-24 July.