education system of nepal essay

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Education System in Nepal: Structure, Challenges and Solutions

Article 12 Feb 2023 23589 0

Education is a critical aspect of human development and progress, and it is no different in the case of Nepal. With a rich history and cultural heritage, Nepal is a fascinating country with a diverse population. The education system in Nepal has undergone significant changes and developments over the years, and this article aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the current state of education in Nepal.

Overview of the Education System in Nepal:

The education system in Nepal is governed by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, and it is structured into primary, secondary, and higher education. The education system in Nepal is free and compulsory for children aged 5 to 16 years. The Nepalese government has made significant efforts to improve access to education, particularly in rural and remote areas, and the results have been encouraging.

Historical Background and Evolution of Education in Nepal:

The history of education in Nepal can be traced back to ancient times when the Gurukula system was prevalent. This traditional system of education was based on apprenticeship, where students would live with their teachers and learn various subjects, including religion, philosophy, and practical skills. As Nepal opened to the influence of other countries, including Britain, the education system underwent significant changes, and modern schools were introduced. As the country has maintained its sovereignty throughout history.

During the Rana dynasty (1846-1951), the education system in Nepal was confined to the ruling class, and the majority of the population was illiterate. It wasn't until the 1950s, after the fall of the Rana dynasty and the introduction of democratic governance, that the education system in Nepal began to expand. During this period, the Nepalese government made efforts to improve access to education and to provide education to all sections of the population. The education system in Nepal was further expanded in the 1960s when the government introduced a policy of compulsory education, making primary education free and compulsory for all children.

Over the next few decades, the education system in Nepal continued to evolve and expand. In the 1980s, the government introduced a policy of extending free education to the secondary level, and in the 1990s, the government established a number of universities, which helped to expand access to higher education in Nepal.

Structure of the Education System in Nepal:

Primary Education: Primary education in Nepal is mandatory for children aged 5 to 11 years, and it lasts for six years. The primary education curriculum covers subjects such as Nepali, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Secondary Education: Secondary education in Nepal lasts for five years and is divided into two stages, lower secondary and upper secondary. The lower secondary stage lasts for three years, while the upper secondary stage lasts for two years. The curriculum at the secondary level includes subjects such as Nepali, mathematics, science, and social studies, as well as elective subjects such as arts, music, and physical education.

Higher Education: Higher education in Nepal includes colleges and universities, and it is optional for students who have completed their secondary education. The higher education system in Nepal offers a wide range of programs, including bachelor's degrees in arts, science, and commerce, as well as master's and PhD programs.

Current State of Education in Nepal:

The current state of education in Nepal is a mixed picture, with both positive developments and ongoing challenges. On the one hand, there has been significant progress in increasing access to education and improving the quality of education in Nepal in recent years. On the other hand, there are still significant disparities in access to education and in the quality of education, particularly in rural areas and for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• Enrollment and Literacy Rates: The enrollment rate in primary education in Nepal has increased in recent years, reaching 85% in 2019, according to the World Bank. Additionally, the literacy rate in Nepal has increased from 65% in 2015 to 72% in 2019.
• Access to Education: The Nepalese government has made significant efforts to increase access to education, particularly in rural areas. Programs such as the Community Schools Program have successfully enrolled over 50,000 students from underprivileged backgrounds.
• Quality of Education: Despite progress in increasing access to education, the quality of education remains a concern. Many schools lack basic infrastructure and qualified teachers, and the quality of education received by students in rural areas is often lower than that received by urban students.
• Teacher Training and Availability: The Nepalese government has made efforts to improve teacher training and increase the availability of qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas. However, there is still a shortage of qualified teachers in many areas, and many teachers remain inadequately trained.
• Gender Disparities: Despite progress in increasing access to education for girls in Nepal, significant disparities remain. Girls are still less likely to attend school and to complete their education than boys, particularly in rural areas.

Challenges Faced by the Education System in Nepal:

Despite the progress made in recent years, the education system in Nepal still faces several challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of resources, particularly in rural and remote areas, where infrastructure and facilities are limited. Another challenge is the quality of education, which is often poor, and teacher training and development are also lacking. Furthermore, there are significant disparities in access to education between urban and rural areas, and between different socio-economic groups.

Some of the major challenges facing the education system in Nepal include:

• Low Enrollment and Attendance Rates: Despite the introduction of compulsory education, many children in Nepal, especially in rural areas, do not attend school. According to the latest data from the World Bank, the net enrollment rate in primary education in Nepal was only 85% in 2019. Additionally, many children who do enroll in school drop out before completing their education.
• Poor Quality of Education: The quality of education in Nepal remains a major concern. Many schools lack basic infrastructure, such as toilets and drinking water facilities, and the teacher-student ratio is often high, leading to overcrowded classrooms and inadequate attention for individual students. Additionally, many teachers in Nepal are poorly trained, and there is a shortage of qualified teachers in many rural areas.
• Lack of Resources: The Nepalese government faces significant challenges in providing sufficient resources for the education system. The government budget allocation for education remains low, and many schools lack adequate funding for basic supplies and infrastructure. This has a negative impact on the quality of education and student outcomes.
• Inequality: Despite the government's efforts to provide education to all sections of the population, significant disparities remain in access to education and in the quality of education. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those from low-income families and from rural areas, face significant barriers to accessing education, and the quality of education they receive is often lower than that of their urban peers.
• Political Instability: Political instability and frequent changes in government have had a negative impact on the education system in Nepal. This has led to a lack of consistency in policy and has hindered the government's ability to effectively implement reforms and initiatives aimed at improving the education system.

Government Initiatives and Policies to Improve the Education System:

The Nepalese government has taken various initiatives and implemented policies to improve the education system in Nepal. One of the most successful government-led initiatives is the Community Schools Program, which has enrolled over 50,000 students from underprivileged backgrounds. The program provides free education, as well as other resources such as textbooks, uniforms, and meals to students in rural areas where access to education is limited. The program has been instrumental in increasing enrollment and reducing dropout rates, and it serves as a model for other initiatives aimed at improving access to education in Nepal.

Another initiative that has been introduced in recent years is the implementation of digital classrooms in some schools in Nepal. This has not only improved the quality of education by providing students with access to digital resources and educational technology, but it has also helped to reduce the burden on teachers, who are now able to use digital tools to enhance their teaching methods.

Despite these efforts, the education system in Nepal still faces a number of challenges. One of the major challenges is the shortage of trained and qualified teachers. Many schools in rural areas lack trained teachers, which leads to low-quality education and high dropout rates. In addition, the lack of adequate infrastructure and facilities in many schools is another challenge, as this makes it difficult for students to receive a proper education.

Another challenge facing the education system in Nepal is the lack of funding and resources. The government has limited resources to invest in education, and this has resulted in a lack of investment in infrastructure, teacher training, and other resources necessary to provide quality education to students. As a result, many schools in Nepal are under-resourced and are unable to provide students with the education they need to succeed.

Despite these challenges, the future prospects for the education system in Nepal are positive. The Nepalese government has demonstrated a commitment to improving the education system, and it has taken a number of important steps towards achieving this goal. Additionally, international organizations and non-governmental organizations have been providing support and resources to help the Nepalese government achieve its goals.

Recommendations

Given the challenges faced by the education system in Nepal, it is clear that a comprehensive approach is needed to address these issues and improve the quality of education in Nepal. Improving the education system in Nepal requires a multi-faceted approach, encompassing investment in education, teacher training and support, promoting gender equality, improving the quality of education, and encouraging private sector involvement. With the right investments and policies, it is possible to build a strong and effective education system in Nepal that will provide all children with access to quality education.

Here are a few recommendations that could help to achieve this goal:

• Increase investment in education: The Nepalese government should increase investment in the education sector, to provide better infrastructure, teacher training and support, and educational materials for students. This will improve the quality of education and increase access to education for all children, especially those in rural areas.
• Address teacher shortages: The Nepalese government should take steps to address the shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas, by providing teacher training and support programs and increasing incentives for teachers to work in rural areas.
• Promote gender equality: The Nepalese government should take steps to promote gender equality in education, by providing girls with equal access to education and by addressing the social and cultural barriers that prevent girls from attending school and completing their education.
• Improve quality of education: The Nepalese government should work to improve the quality of education by implementing national curriculum standards, ensuring that all schools have adequate resources and infrastructure, and providing regular teacher training and support programs.
• Emphasize early childhood education: The Nepalese government should place a strong emphasis on early childhood education, to provide children with the foundation they need for future academic success and to help break the cycle of poverty.
• Encourage private sector involvement: The Nepalese government should encourage private sector involvement in the education sector, through public-private partnerships and other initiatives, to help provide additional resources and support for education in Nepal.

In conclusion, the education system in Nepal has come a long way since its inception, and it has made significant progress in recent years. However, it still faces a number of challenges, including a shortage of trained teachers, lack of adequate infrastructure and facilities, and lack of funding and resources. The Nepalese government and international organizations have demonstrated a commitment to improving the education system, and with the right resources and support, the future prospects for education in Nepal are bright.

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Education system in Nepal – Research Essay

Introduction

In my research essay, I explore the education system in Nepal. I am already aware that the education system in Nepal was based on home schooling and Gurukula, but since they become a democracy in 1951, they have made many improvements. It is my intention to find out what those improvements are.

Methodology

My main methodology will include reading written research on the subject from local libraries, University libraries, and trusted online resources. I will also research and read records and websites relating to trusted statistics. They have school and higher education, where a student has to apply for higher education as people have to in other countries.

A student gets a school-leaving certificate for completing school and getting their education. Grades 11 and 12 are considered higher secondary education, for which a student gets a certificate for completing by the HSEB, which is the Higher Secondary Education Board.

If you opt for higher education, then you may earn your bachelor degree, masters and PhD in a Nepal college. There is also vocational education that starts in lower school and allows a person to work towards a trade and get a “Technical School leaving Certificate”. Research

The first school in Nepal was made only for elite learners and was opened in 1853. More have come about since democracy broke out in Nepal, and again in 1971 when the country built its education department and started allowing and funding schools in Nepal.

In 1971, there was a literacy rate of 5%. There were also a total of 10,000 students spread across 300 schools. Now much of the population receives some sort of education and the number of schools, big and small, is 49,000. The adult literacy rate has jumped from just 5% to 60.3%.

Nepal has done a good job to come so far in such as short space of time, but there is still a long way to go. Poverty and social exclusion are two very big restraints on people and their ability to get a good (or usable) education. There are also more males getting an education than females. There are 46.3% of females getting an education, whereas there are 73% of males getting an education. These are very good figures and show that the government in Nepal has been working towards improving the education system in Nepal. Conclusion

The education system in Nepal is not as bad as it was, but there are still massive holes in their education system. They really need to up the pace if they want to get anywhere near to the quality levels of many other countries.

There are clearly more opportunities for students in Nepal these days than there was, and they have certainly created a good structure on which to build a good education system, but it needs a lot of work. Too many people are excluded from school because of poverty or social exclusion, and females are not getting as good of an education than male students are (especially since fewer females attend school).

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Nepal Education System – An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities

In the run for qualitative education and the resultant good job prospects, many students across the globe prefer pursuing higher education in foreign destinations. And Nepali foreign education aspirants are no exception here.

The scenario in Nepal is such that Nepalis with a foreign degree are preferred over a Nepali student with a national degree.

This throws light on the existing curriculum and teaching methodology in the country. An overview of the past few generations knowledge gaining shows that the younger has not learned anything new than the older generations.

The Nepali education system has failed to provide the same educational standards that the global industry demands.

The current knowledge trend in Nepal is such that students are pursuing degrees not for the sake of knowledge gaining but for the sake of earning an undergraduate certification.

This in turn is creating a generation of individuals lacking self-confidence. Their lack of satisfaction in the jobs they take up in line with their stream of education is resulting in a lot of educated unemployment in Nepal.

While this trend is on the rise, Nepali employers are finding it equally difficult to find qualitative candidates who own problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Nepal Vs International Education System

Looking at what foreign universities have to offer , courses in foreign countries are research based, training students to be problem solvers. Research propels knowledge gaining and problem solving. The credit for such courses and curriculum goes to experts who design them after a lot of research and insight into the future and the current job industry requirements.

With this research-based approach, students who study at a foreign university are motivated to look for two or more references, enabling them to come up with unique documentation, supported with substantial proof.

On the other hand, the curriculum in Nepal doesn’t promote research and most of the knowledge gaining is done through model papers, referring to old Q&As and other learning material. Nepali students who produce material based on research are given lower grades in Nepal, when compared to their valuation in international universities.

However, this scenario is slowly changing and there is a steady rise of Nepali education institutions affiliated with foreign universities. The demand for students studying in such universities is very high as they are in a position to compete nationally and internationally.

International degrees challenge the intellect of students by getting them to work on a particular project or work area and gain a hands-on experience well in advance.

Even if students fail to secure higher grades, they at least have the knowledge, confidence and skill to tackle and manage complex situations at the work front.

Factors Challenging Nepal’s Education System

The following factors pose a challenge to Nepal’s education system:

1) Political Instability and bureaucracy

Nepal has witnessed a series of political upheavals in the last three decades. This has impacted the education system and has held it back from working independently.

Government support and the freedom for the education system to make critical decisions pertaining to the sector can majorly uplift the education system in Nepal.

2) Lack of Practical learning approach

Although the curriculum of Nepal is not completely backward, it lacks a practical approach to learning, where students are motivated to research, create and learn from their own experience.

Additionally, the education system is not strict with plagiarism and encourages students to rely and study only from limited material. Students in Nepal should be made to conduct research, gain hand-on experience and be given the choice to make their own decisions.

3) Job-driven knowledge gaining

Many Nepali graduates are educating themselves only to get jobs. Instead, the education system in Nepal should encourage students to develop entrepreneurial skills and critical thinking skills and enable to become free thinkers.

Nepal’s education system should enable students to develop entrepreneurial skills and others to help them become more proactive in self-growth and national building in the larger picture.

4) Nepalis Permanently Settling Abroad

The situation in Nepal is such that the society is divided into well-to do students whose families are financially sound and they go to foreign countries only to study a particular course and come back to run family businesses. However, this is a smaller majority.

On the other hand, there are a number of students who go abroad to seek permanent residence and then take up jobs in those destinations to payback their loans.

Students should come back to Nepal to help support the development of the nation. Foreign destinations are highly developed due to the knowledge and skill individuals receive in their respective nations’ educational institutions. These skills in return are utilized in the development of their countries.

Conclusion It’s high time that Nepal considered a review of its curriculum and teaching methodologies. Only then will it be at par with the international education standards and provide a generation of capable, self-confident and knowledgeable individuals.

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Education in Nepal

The education within Nepal has just recently been rising and continues to develop. With the help of several international organizations, education system is being assisted. It is essential for the educational progress and development to decrease the scarcity rate as well as to promote community improvement. Because of the damages that the previous administration management imposed in their education system, Nepal’s government tries to undo and make a superior proposition for education to be better. Before the modern education started in the country, schooling had been restricted and only elite classes are privileged, while the rest of the people stayed mainly illiterate and untaught. Then, when the new era was introduced, education was offered only to sons of the upper classes. Girls infrequently received proper education.

At present, regardless of the establishment of an education structure in Nepal way back, government offered a community school in which students receive regular government grants. There is also the presence of a school managed by local people who are enthusiastic of having school on their vicinities. Though they do not receive any grants from the government regularly, people are helping one another to support and manage so that their schools will be identified as a real community schools.

Nepal’s education scheme is based on the outline of United States. The country served as a guide in forming Nepal’s education curriculum. Grades 1-5 are considered primary education. Their main objective of teaching is for children to read, write and do arithmetic. The secondary education, 6-8, stresses personality development and trains the students for higher learning. For 9-10, upper secondary, serves as the stepping stone for the higher secondary level. The classes 11 and 12 are both regarded as higher secondary. Education, science, humanities, and commerce are the main courses for higher secondary. The Ministry of Education is in charge for the management and the direction of school-rank education in the country. They recently formed the Department of Education, which begun its operations in 2000, with its significant function of giving fair access to education, creating excellencies, internal and external effectiveness improvement and making a growth-pleasant venture education.

The commitment for education broadens throughout the country. More improvement in all aspects of education as well as for the encouragement of a knowledgeable and well-performance nation is what people are hoping and looking forward to.

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Education System Profiles

Education in nepal.

Dragana Borenovic Dilas, Credential Examiner at WES, Jean Cui, Research Associate at WES, and Stefan Trines, Research Editor, WENR

This country profile describes current trends in education and student mobility in Nepal and provides an overview of the Nepali education system. It replaces an earlier version by Nick Clark, published in 2013.

Nepal is an increasingly important sending country for international students. In the United States, the number of Nepali students increased by more than 20 percent in 2016/17 , the highest growth rate among the top 25 sending countries by far. This makes Nepal one of the countries bucking the “Trump effect,” which led to an overall decline in new international student enrollments in 2016/17.

Limited educational and employment opportunities in Nepal are among the factors driving the outflow of Nepali students. Political instability—there have been nine different governments between 2008 and 2016 alone—and devastating earthquakes in 2015 have worsened social conditions in the country. However, the government seeks to improve the education system with reforms, such as the extension of compulsory basic education to eight years of schooling.

Introduction

Nepal is a small country of 29 million people situated on top of the world. Wedged between the mega-countries of China and India, Nepal is home to eight out of the ten highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest. The mountainous terrain of the land-locked country presents tremendous challenges for socioeconomic development and makes it difficult and costly to expand Nepal’s infrastructure. In 2015, Nepal remained one of the least developed countries in Asia and ranked 144th out of 188 countries in the UN Human Development Index. According to the Asian Development Bank, about 25 percent of the population existed on less than USD $1 per day in 2010/11.

Further impeding socioeconomic development is Nepal’s susceptibility to earthquakes. In 2015, the country was struck by two consecutive earthquakes, one of them the strongest quake in more than 80 years. This catastrophic event killed more than 8,600 people and destroyed or severely damaged large parts of the country’s infrastructure, including almost 500,000 houses and more than 9,300 schools . Hundreds of thousands of families were displaced , and more than 700,000 people were pushed into poverty as a result of the catastrophe. The impact on the education system was disastrous, and recovery is progressing slowly . One year after the quake, more than 70 percent of affected people in the hardest-hit areas still lived in temporary shelters . Many children had to be instructed in makeshift tents, resulting in a noticeable increase in dropout and grade repetition rates . As of January 2018, only 88,112 private homes and 2,891 schools had been rebuilt .

One reason for the slow progress in recovery is the high degree of political instability and fragmentation in Nepal. Nepali society is still largely agricultural and highly stratified, with upper caste Hindu elites dominating a multicultural society that includes 125 ethnic groups/castes speaking 123 languages (according to the latest 2011 census ). Only 44.6 percent of the population speaks Nepali, the national language of Nepal, as their first language.

Although Hindus constitute a majority of 81.3 percent of the population, there are deep caste divisions within the Hindu populace. The marginalization and deprivation of lower castes, most notably the Dalits (“untouchables”) and other groups like Buddhists and Muslims (10 and 4 percent of the population, respectively), has been a source of conflict for decades. Lower castes and other marginalized groups have less access to basic services and education, and fewer opportunities for social advancement . Similarly, Nepal is characterized by strong regional disparities and urban-rural divides between more developed regions like the Kathmandu Valley and less developed rural regions.

In recent years, Nepal has witnessed a violent 10-year insurgency of Maoist rebels (from 1996 to 2006) and the temporary re-establishment of absolute monarchy in a royal coup d’etat in 2001. A 2006 peace agreement paved the way for the eventual re-democratization of the political system, culminating in the first parliamentary elections in Nepal in 17 years in 2017 .

It remains to be seen, however, if parliamentary elections and the adoption of a federal and more inclusive constitution can help stem political instability and turmoil in Nepal. The political process remains characterized by political infighting and corruption . Both the adoption of the new constitution in 2015 and the run-up to parliamentary elections in 2017 were accompanied by violent protests. But while political dysfunction has slowed progress on many fronts thus far, most experts agree that federalism is the optimal form of government for an ethnically and religiously diverse and fractured country like Nepal. The evolution of the political system is also seen as instrumental in pushing education reforms .

It is also noteworthy that the Nepali economy is growing, political turmoil and natural catastrophes notwithstanding. While the 2015 earthquake hampered economic output and was followed by the weakest economic growth in 14 years in 2016, Nepal’s economy rebounded quickly. According to the Asian Development Bank , Nepal’s GDP grew by 6.9 percent in the 2017 fiscal year and is expected to grow by a further 4.7 percent in the current 2018 fiscal year. While large-scale poverty remains a major problem, poverty rates are declining, as reflected by the fact that the country’s middle class grew from 7 percent in 1995 to 22 percent in 2011 , per World Bank definitions.

International Student Mobility

International student mobility in Nepal is predominantly outbound. While there is little public data available on international student enrollments in Nepal, inbound mobility to Nepal is minor by international standards. The lack of top-quality universities, scholarships, and post-graduate work opportunities in Nepal’s lesser economy limits the attractiveness of the country as a destination for international students. While neighboring countries are often a source of student inflows, this is not the case in Nepal either—neither India nor China send high numbers of students. In 2011, the only year for which the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) provides data, there were 107 international degree students in Nepal. The Institute of International Education (IIE) reports that 370 U.S. students were studying in Nepal in 2016/17 ( Open Doors ).

Outbound Mobility

Outbound mobility, on the other hand, is booming: between 2000 and 2016, the number of Nepali students enrolled in degree programs abroad soared by 835 percent and stood at 44,255 students in 2017 (UIS). And while that number is smaller than the number of international students from major Asian sending countries like China, India or Vietnam, it should be noted that the outbound mobility ratio in Nepal—i.e., the number of international students among all students—is much higher in Nepal than in these big sending countries. Nepal’s outbound mobility ratio almost doubled over the past decade and is now more than twelve times as high as in neighboring India. In 2016, Nepal’s mobility ratio was 12.3 percent, compared to 0.9 percent, 1.9 percent and 3 percent in India, China and Vietnam, respectively (UIS).

The increasing mobility of Nepali students is not completely surprising. Nepal is very much a country on the move, and the recent surge in student mobility coincides with drastic increases in labor migration from Nepal over the past decade. As much as 28 percent of the Nepali workforce (4 million out of 14 million workers) are currently working overseas. Like these workers, many international students are leaving the country due to limited higher education options in Nepal, high unemployment among youths, and the prospect of better education and employment opportunities abroad .

It is likely that outbound student mobility from Nepal is going to increase further in the near term. The country’s population is becoming more affluent and is growing—the government expects the population to increase from 29 million to 33.6 million by 2031 . Demographically, Nepal is currently experiencing a “ youth bulge phase ”: World Bank data shows that the share of university-age youths among the Nepali population (ages 20 to 29) stood at about 36 percent in 2016 and analysts expect Nepal to be among the countries with the fastest growing population of 18 to 22-year-olds in the coming years .

This growth of the youth population will increase demand for education and burden the education system. As ICEF Monitor has noted , the situation in Nepal mirrors mobility patterns in other South Asian countries, in which rapidly growing demand for education outstrips supply. Mobility is expected to grow particularly at the graduate level—a sector that is underdeveloped in Nepal with less than one percent of university campuses offering Ph.D. programs, for instance. The British Council noted in a recent study that Nepal will be one of the top ten countries with the strongest growth rates in outbound mobility over the next decade along with countries like China, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria. The Council anticipates that the number of international Nepali students will increase by another 20,000 students by 2027.

Destination Countries

The most popular destination countries of Nepali students enrolled in degree programs abroad include Australia, India, the U.S., Japan, and the United Kingdom (UIS). Over the past years, the number of Nepali students in Australia has surged, making Nepal now the third largest sending country after China and India. As of November 2017, fully 5 percent of the 621,192 international students in Australia came from Nepal, according to data released by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. 1  Factors like a high number of top-quality universities, simplified visa regulations , and relatively low costs of study when compared to countries like the U.S. and the U.K. make it all but likely that Australia will continue to be a leading destination for Nepalese students in the future.

In the U.S., the number of students from Nepal has in the past two years rapidly increased as well. While enrollments from other Asian countries like South Korea or Japan declined in 2016/17, enrollments from Nepal increased by more than 20 percent—the highest growth rate among the top 25 sending countries (IIE, Open Doors ) . There have been some downward fluctuations over the past decade, but the number of Nepali students in the country is now almost twice as high as in 2005/06 and Nepal is currently the 13th leading country of origin with 11,607 students .

Nepali students prefer STEM majors by a disproportionally large margin, with math/computer science, physical/life sciences, and engineering being the most popular disciplines . This attraction towards STEM majors is likely owed to the fact that STEM education is still largely underdeveloped in Nepal and graduates in technical fields have better employment prospects when returning home. Most Nepalis in the U.S. are enrolled at the undergraduate level (54 percent), where the recent growth in enrollments has been strongest (34.4 percent were enrolled in graduate programs and the rest in other programs in 2016/17).

Looking forward, Nepal is certainly an attractive and upcoming recruitment market for U.S. universities, even though Nepali students are constrained by limited financial resources and would therefore greatly benefit from targeted scholarship programs. Many Nepali students in states like New York and California reportedly work long hours in odd jobs to finance their studies .

In Brief: The Education System of Nepal

The contemporary Nepali education system did not evolve before 1951 when the country began to transition from an absolute monarchy to a more representative political system, despite various political setbacks over the following decades. At the beginning of the 1950s, education in Nepal was still an exclusive privilege of wealthy elites—the literacy rate stood at only 5 percent , and there were only a few hundred schools with about 10,000 students (less than 1 percent of the population). The country did not have any universities at the time. Women were discriminated against and discouraged from attending school in Nepal’s conservative Hindu-dominated society.

Since then, access to education has expanded greatly. Reforms such as the 1971 National Education System Plan have created a much more modern and egalitarian education system with compulsory public basic education. There are now 35,222 elementary and secondary schools and 10 universities with more than 1,400 colleges and campuses throughout Nepal (2016). Expanding educational opportunities is a priority of the government: its current 2016 School Sector Development Plan seeks to graduate Nepal “from the status of least developed country by 2022 through strengthening … access and quality of education.”

Current Education Indicators – Some Facts and Figures

Much progress has been made. Most Nepali youths today have much better educational opportunities than their parents. Net enrollment rates in elementary education, for instance, increased from 66.3 percent in 1999 to 97 percent in 2016 ( World Bank ). Net enrollment rates in secondary education grew from 44.9 percent in 2007 to 60.4 percent in 2015 before dropping down again to 54.4 percent in 2016, presumably due to the 2015 earthquake. The most dramatic improvements, however, have been made in increasing female participation in education. Between 1973 and 2016, the gender parity index for school enrollments in elementary and secondary education jumped from 0.17 to 1.08, meaning that female entry rates in education improved from being marginal at best to females now enrolling at slightly higher rates than males ( World Bank ).

At the same time, the school system remains plagued by high dropout rates with girls still being more likely to leave school earlier than boys. While retention rates have increased strongly over the past decades, only 76.8 percent of pupils in cohorts that enroll in elementary education survived until the last grade of elementary education in 2015 ( UNESCO ). Most children who drop out of school come from impoverished households or live at great distances from school. Children from poor families are often forced to quit school because they have to help their families with farming work or have to walk long distances to attend classes . Also, the education of girls is still not seen as a priority in some rural households and child marriage is still a relatively common practice even in the cities. According to Human Rights Watch, 37 “percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18, and 10 percent are married by age 15 .”

Completion rates in Nepal’s school system generally decrease by level of education: according to the most recent UNESCO statistics , the completion rate in lower-secondary education stands at 69.7 percent (2016) and drops sharply to 24.5 percent at the upper-secondary level (2014). Lower casts and other underprivileged groups also remain underrepresented in the education system and affected by higher dropout rates. In the Terai region at the border with India, for example, only 23.1 percent of Dalits were literate in 2016, compared to 80 percent among the higher casts of Brahmans and Chhetris .

In the country as a whole, the adult literacy rate remains strikingly low and stood at only 60 percent in 2011, far below the global average of 84.6 percent (the youth literacy rate was much higher at 84.8 percent, but still below the global average of 89.6 percent in the same year). Merely 56 percent of the Nepali population over the age of 25 had attained more than lower secondary education in 2011. This is reflected in a very low tertiary gross enrollment ratio of 14.9 percent in 2015 —a number that is less than half the global average and 12 percentage points below the enrollment rate in neighboring India.

Administration of the Education System

Nepal’s system of governance is currently in transition. Since the adoption of the 2015 constitution, Nepal is delineated into seven different states, with political powers, including the administration of education, expected to shift increasingly to states and local governments. However, the implementation of the new federal system is a conflict-ridden and slow-moving process fraught with setbacks and delays. During the current transition period, not all local governments are fully functional yet , and much of Nepal’s education system continues to be administered under the previous system, in which the Ministry of Education oversaw five Regional Educational Directorates, under which there were various District Education Offices and Resource Centers implementing policies at the local level .

The Federal Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for developing overall education policies and directives for the country. While it is unclear how exactly the role of the MOE will evolve in the federal system, the responsibilities of the MOE continue to be far-reaching and include curriculum and textbook development, the training and recruitment of teachers, and conceptualizing and administering Nepal’s national school leaving examinations through its National Education Board . 2

Universities are overseen by the University Grants Commission (UGC)—a regulatory body under the auspices of the MOE. The UGC disburses government grants to universities, advises the government on the establishment of new universities, sets quality standards, and formulates policies intended to advance the quality of higher education .

Vocational education and training falls under the auspices of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT)—an autonomous body under the MOE. CTEVT oversees and quality-controls technical and vocational schools. It sets curricula, testing requirements, and skills standards in various occupations .

Elementary Education

Until 2016, elementary education in Nepal lasted for five years—from grade 1 to grade 5 (ages five to nine). However, a new education bill passed in 2016 extended the elementary education cycle and established a new system of compulsory basic education that is meant to be accessible to every child in Nepal free of charge at public schools. Compulsory basic education now lasts eight years (grades 1 to 8). In addition, children have the option to enroll in public ‘early childhood development centers’ or private kindergartens before entering elementary school at the age of five. Access to early childhood education, however, remains problematic in many parts of the country and participation rates are low .

The basic school curriculum is set in a national curriculum framework , which is currently under review. It includes standard subjects like language education (Nepali and mother tongues), English, mathematics, sciences, social sciences, physical education, and some elective subjects in higher grades. Promotion is based on term-end and year-end school examinations, while grade 8 concludes with a district-wide final examination. The academic year runs from April to March/April and is structured around the Nepali New Year in April. Nepal uses a calendar based on the Bikram Sambat system that is different from the Roman calendar (the year 2018 is the year 2074 in Nepal).

The language of instruction in public schools is predominantly Nepali, while private schools often use English. Nepal’s current “ school sector development plan ” seeks to strengthen educational outcomes among marginalized groups and stipulates that minority languages should be used as the primary means of instruction in grades 1 to 3 in areas where these languages are the lingua franca . This change is intended to make it easier for children who do not speak Nepali at home to comprehend the school curriculum. However, a lack of teachers and teaching materials in these languages means that the reforms are progressing only slowly.

Secondary Education

Prior to the recent reforms, the secondary school system was divided into two years of lower secondary education (grades 9 and 10) and two years of higher secondary education (grades 11 and 12), with both segments concluding with separate national examinations. Under the current system, both stages have been combined into a unified 4-year secondary education cycle. The old national School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examination held at the end of grade 10 will now be held at the regional level and has been renamed into “Secondary Education Examination” (SEE). Nationally, there will be only one final national school leaving exam at the end of grade 12. These changes have been in the making for quite some time, but were eventually signed into law in 2016 and are currently being implemented.

Admission into secondary education is based on passing the final district-level examination at the end of grade 8. Students can choose between two secondary tracks: general and vocational-technical. The general curriculum includes compulsory subjects like Nepali, English, science, mathematics, and social sciences, a vocationally oriented subject, and one elective subject (local language, foreign language, or another vocational subject). The vocational/technical stream, on the other hand, has a more applied focus in subject areas like agriculture, medicine, forestry or engineering. This stream, however, is still in a pilot phase and is presently only offered at a limited number of schools. According to the 2016 education legislation, students in the vocational track will now also be required to complete an additional one-year practical course after grade 12 to better prepare graduates for employment .

Assessment and promotion are based on examinations throughout the year and one final year-end exam. In order to progress to higher secondary education, students under the old system first had to pass the demanding national SLC exams at the end of grade ten, commonly referred to as the “iron gate” due to the very low pass rates in the exam (in 2015, less than 48 percent of candidates passed). While the system is currently in flux, it appears that the (possibly less demanding) region-level SEE exams at the end of grade ten will still be required for promotion to grade 11 going forward.

Secondary education concludes with an external national examination conducted under the auspices of the National Examinations Board (previously the Higher Secondary Education Board). The final credential awarded upon the passing of the examination is presently called the National Examination Board Examination Certificate (previously the Higher Secondary Education Board Examination Certificate) . Alternatively, students can, after grade ten, enroll in university-preparatory programs offered by universities that lead to a “ Proficiency Certificate, ” a credential that gives access to tertiary education (a similar type of credential may be called “ Intermediate Certificate ” at some institutions). Proficiency Certificate programs are two or three years in length, usually combine general education with specialization subjects, and may require passing an entrance examination for admission. These programs are being phased out, but are still offered at some institutions.

The grading scale used in the National Examination Board examination is currently slated to be changed to a letter grade system with nine grades (A+, A, B+, B, C+, C, D, E and N). As of 2017, however, the following percentage-based grading system was still in use.

Secondary education in Nepal predominantly takes place in so-called community schools, which are public schools that are either fully government-funded or at least government-subsidized. Enrollments in private schools, called “institutional schools,” are growing but still relatively small. There were 29,207 community schools and 6,015 private secondary schools in Nepal in 2016. According to the UIS , enrollments in private schools accounted for 17.2 percent of all enrollments at the lower-secondary level in 2017 (up from 13.6 percent in 2011). Tuition-funded private schools often provide better quality education. The pass rates of private school students in the SLC examinations, for instance, are much higher and stood at almost 90 percent in 2015 , compared to 34 percent at public schools.

Private education is out of reach for most Nepalis. But even study at public schools can be expensive for low-income households—a fact that negatively affects participation rates in education. Secondary education in Nepal is neither compulsory nor entirely free. The current constitution guarantees every citizen the right to “free education up to the secondary level from the state,” after the previous interim constitution already guaranteed this right to girls, ethnic minorities, and children from impoverished families. In reality, however, many parents are still required to pay school fees and cover expenses for other items, such as books, teaching materials, or uniforms. More than half of all expenditures on secondary education in Nepal were still borne by private households in 2015 .

In addition to community schools and institutional schools, there are a number of religious schools ( madarasas , ashrams, etc.) that teach the national school curriculum (in addition to religious studies). There are also a number of international schools in Nepal that teach foreign curricula. The British School in Kathmandu , for example, follows the British curriculum and prepares students to sit for British qualifications, such as the International Certificate of General Secondary Education.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

There are a variety of formal and informal TVET programs on offer in Nepal’s education system. TVET is critical for human capital development in Nepal, especially in light of the country’s looming “ youth unemployment time bomb .” Youth unemployment is rising quickly, and many Nepali youths enter the labor market without marketable skills (or out-migrate from Nepal). The government therefore actively promotes the expansion of the TVET sector. CTEVT, the regulatory authority for TVET, now directly operates 31 technical schools and polytechnics and has accredited hundreds of affiliated private TVET providers . Programs are offered in a multitude of fields, ranging from medical lab technology to agriculture, nursing, culinary arts, automotive technology, hotel management or computer technology. The most common types of programs available are:

Short-Term Certificate Programs

Trade schools, technical schools, and training centers offer short-term TVET programs that usually have no specific admission requirements and last from one week to 10 months, depending on the program. Graduates earn a certificate of completion, but may also opt to obtain a National Skill Test Certificate , which is awarded after passing a practical skills test administered by the National Skill Testing Board (under the auspices of CTEVT). The National Skill Test Certificate certifies occupational proficiency at four different levels.

Formal Secondary-Level Programs

Formal programs at the secondary level usually require at least completion of grade 10 (respectively the SLC) for admission, but may also entail additional entrance examinations. Programs are between 15 and 29 months in length, concluding with a final examination and leading to a Technical School Leaving Certificate (TSLC) awarded by CTEVT.

Diploma and Technician Certificate Programs

Diplomas and Technician Certificate programs are more advanced and usually require three years of full-time study to complete. They typically have a greater focus on theoretical classroom instruction and go beyond the TSLC in scope and intent. Admission is based on completion of grade ten (SLC) or the TSLC and often also requires the passing of an entrance examination. Most programs are taught at technical colleges and polytechnics, but some universities also offer diploma and certificate programs. Graduates with these types of qualifications may, under certain conditions, be admitted into bachelor’s programs at universities . A three-year Diploma in Engineering, for instance, provides a common pathway into tertiary engineering programs.

Tertiary Education

Higher education institutions (heis).

Higher education in Nepal did not evolve before the 20th century. The first higher education institution, Trichandra College, was established in 1918 but was reserved for privileged members of the ruling Rana family . The first university that was open to the wider public, Tribhuvan University, was not founded before 1959 and remained the only university in Nepal until 1986 . Today, Tribhuvan University is still the largest university in Nepal and enrolls about 79 percent of all Nepali students (2015/16).

The number of HEIs in Nepal has grown considerably since the early days. That is not to say that there are now a large number of universities proper in Nepal. One particular feature of the Nepalese education system is that there are relatively few universities, but a very large number of campuses and affiliated colleges under the umbrella of these universities. As of recently, there were only nine universities and four university-level medical academies (deemed universities). The universities were: Tribhuvan University, Nepal Sanskrit University (an institution focused on Sanskrit education established in 1986), Kathmandu University (founded in 1991), Purbanchal University (1994), Pokhara University (1997), Lumbini Buddha University (2005), Agriculture and Forestry University (2010), Mid Western University (2010), and Far Western University (2010).

In 2015, the MOE proposed to establish three new universities —the Open University of Nepal and two regional universities in the country’s South. The Open University started to operate in 2016, and the creation of Rajarshi Janak University was approved by parliament in 2017 , so that Nepal will soon have 11 universities (the fate of the third proposed university, Nepalgunj University, remains in doubt ). The new universities are expected to increase access to higher education in the provinces. The Open University is designed to reach student populations in remote regions via open and distance learning programs. It just announced that it will offer distance education programs up to the master’s level .

All universities in Nepal are public institutions, even though institutions like Kathmandu University, Purbanchal University, and Pokhara University have a high degree of autonomy akin to the freedom usually only afforded to private institutions . These three universities are also almost exclusively funded by tuition fees. Whereas almost 90 percent of revenues at Tribhuvan University, for instance, come from government funds, Kathmandu University, by contrast, draws 100 percent of its standard operating expenditures from student fees. The distinction between public and private institutions can, thus, be blurry in some cases.

And while all universities are technically public institutions, their campuses (i.e., colleges) are often privately owned. There are two types of campuses/colleges in Nepal:

• Constituent campuses/colleges (directly managed and financed by a university), and
• Affiliated campuses/colleges : institutions that offer programs that lead to a degree awarded by the affiliated university, but are funded and managed externally.

Affiliated campuses/colleges can be privately owned or publicly subsidized by local communities. Community campuses charge tuition fees, but also receive grants from the UGC. Private campuses, on the other hand, derive all of their funding from student fees. This means that private campuses have a higher degree of autonomy and greater flexibility , even though their academic offerings must still be tailored to the degree programs of their affiliated universities, which determine curricula and assess student performance through external examinations.

Many of the private colleges are also much better-funded and have better facilities and equipment. At the same time, the high tuition fees at private colleges make many of them elitist institutions inaccessible to large parts of the population. The for-profit nature of these colleges also makes them susceptible to academic commercialization and an emphasis on quantity over quality .

The number of campuses/colleges in Nepal has grown strongly in recent years—705 new campuses were established between 2005/06 and 2012/13 alone . As of 2015/16, there were 777 private, 532 community, and 98 constituent colleges throughout the country, with the overwhelming majority of them ( 82.5 percent ) being affiliated to Tribhuvan University. 35.6 percent of tertiary students were enrolled in private colleges, 30.7 in community colleges, and 33.7 percent in constituent colleges.

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Public HEIs in Nepal are established by act of parliament on the recommendation of the UGC and are subsequently overseen by the UGC. The main function of the UGC is the disbursement of government funds (grants) to public institutions. Grant recipients need to meet set quality criteria in order to receive government funding and are audited for compliance. Private campuses, on the other hand, are not overseen by the UGC, but by the affiliated universities. They have full management autonomy, including in matters like the recruitment of teaching staff and the setting of tuition fees.

Internationally, Nepal’s universities are usually not regarded to be of very high quality . While not necessarily a reliable proxy for quality, the standard world university rankings, for instance, do not include a single Nepali university.

In an attempt to increase quality in Nepal’s rapidly expanding higher education environment, the UGC in 2007 established a Quality Assurance and Accreditation Committee (QAAC) tasked with the accreditation of academic institutions and programs. Accreditation by the QAAC is granted for five-year periods. To qualify for assessment by the QAAC, HEIs must be affiliated with a university, must have offered programs for five years (or “produced at least 2 batches of graduates”), and 50 percent of its teaching staff, including the director and department heads, must be full-time professors . Accreditation by the QAAC is strictly voluntary, however, and remains insignificant in Nepal as of now. Only 19 HEIs held accreditation in 2018.

Student Population

The number of tertiary students in Nepal has increased by 407 percent between 2000 and 2013, from 94,041 students to 477,077 students in 2013 (UIS). Since then, however, the number of students has leveled off and fallen to 361,077 students in 2016. The overwhelming majority of these students ( 88.3 percent ) were enrolled in bachelor’s programs in 2016. The number of graduate enrollments remains small and accounted for only 11.3 percent at the master’s level and less than 0.5 percent in advanced graduate and doctoral programs. This is reflected in the types of academic programs on offer in Nepal. In 2010/11, fully 80 percent of HEIs offered only bachelor’s programs, while 19 percent also offered master’s programs and only the main university campuses (less than one percent of all campuses) had Ph.D. programs in place .

Most students (78.8 percent) were enrolled at programs offered through Tribhuvan University, followed by Pokhara University (7.2 percent), Purbanchal University (6.5 percent) and Kathmandu University ( 4.6 percent ). The most popular majors were management (42.2 percent), education (24.8 percent), and humanities and social studies ( 10.7 percent ). The comparatively low enrollment rates in professional disciplines like medicine or engineering have been attributed to the poor preparedness of high school graduates for technical fields, and the fact that these programs are costly to operate and therefore only offered by a small minority of institutions, which usually charge high tuition fees .

Another problem is a low overall graduation rate in tertiary education. Pass rates in Nepal vary strongly by institution and program, but are low on average. At Tribhuvan University, where the vast majority of Nepal’s students are enrolled, the pass rate in bachelor’s programs stood at only 26.6 percent in 2015/16. Marginalized groups and rural populations also continue to have less access to tertiary education than urban populations and members of upper castes. While gender parity has been achieved , the enrollment ratio in higher education among disadvantaged groups like Dalits was in 2010/11 still disproportionally low .

Education Spending

Government spending on education in Nepal has declined in recent years. Government expenditures on education as a percentage of GDP dropped from a high of 4.6 percent in 2009 to 3.7 percent in 2015 ( World Bank ). Education expenditures as a percentage of total government spending, likewise, decreased from 25.5 percent in 2008 to 17.1 percent in 2015 ( World Bank ). Government spending per tertiary student plunged by almost 82 percent between 2000 and 2015.

When taking into account private expenditures, overall expenditures on education in Nepal have slightly increased over the past years. Aggregating public and private expenditures, UNESCO found that total education spending as a percentage of GDP increased from 8.9 percent in 2008/09 to 9.3 percent in 2014/15. What these numbers demonstrate is that education expenditures in Nepal are increasingly borne by private sources. More than half of all education funding in 2014/15 ( 56.3 percent ) came from private households and, to a lesser extent, aid organizations.

Private expenses are primarily occurred in the school system, but increasingly in tertiary education as well. Kathmandu University, for instance, currently charges first-year undergraduate students fees totaling 211,400 Nepalese rupees (USD $2,036). But since disposable income in Nepal is scarce, and the government-funded Tribhuvan University enrolls the vast majority of students, low public spending levels as they stand today will likely not be sustainable , given that larger youth cohorts are expected to enter the education system over the coming years.

Admission into University

The minimum admission requirement for tertiary degree programs is generally the National Examination Board Examination Certificate (or a similar 10+2 qualification like the Higher Secondary Education Board Examination Certificate or a Proficiency Certificate). Beyond that, admission requirements vary by institution and program. Entrance examinations are common for engineering and medicine programs, but not used across the board in all disciplines. Tribhuvan University uses entrance exams in professional and technical fields and has sought to introduce entrance exams in other majors, but these efforts were met with protests by Nepal’s student unions. Other universities like Kathmandu University, on the other hand, use competitive entrance examinations in other disciplines.

Degree Structure

Bachelor’s degree.

Bachelor’s degree programs in standard academic disciplines can be three or four years in length with a trend towards extending more programs to four years. Three-year programs are primarily offered in liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences, whereas programs in technical fields, agriculture, or nursing are more often four years in length. Curricula are usually specialized in the field of study with very limited general education requirements. Common credentials awarded include the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science, but degree certificates may simply specify the name of the credential as “Bachelor’s degree.” Most programs are run on an annual system with year-end examinations, although Tribhuvan University has recently started to introduce a semester-based system on some campuses. Other institutions like Pokhara University have already fully switched to a semester-based system.

Graduate Education

Master’s degree programs require a bachelor’s degree for admission. They are usually two years in length and commonly studied in the same discipline as the bachelor’s degree. A thesis is often required, although not mandatory in all programs.

Another credential awarded at the graduate level is the Postgraduate Diploma, which is a one-year post-bachelor program, often offered in more applied majors, but also in other fields like women’s studies, for instance.

The Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) is an advanced graduate degree that requires a master’s degree for admission. Programs are usually three semesters in length and require preparation of a thesis. M.Phil. degrees prepare students for academic teaching careers and further doctoral studies and may be required for admission into some Ph.D. programs.

The Doctor of Philosophy is the highest academic degree in Nepal. Programs are three to five years in length and require a master’s degree or M.Phil. in a related discipline for admission. Ph.D. programs are usually research programs that entail a dissertation, but no additional coursework.

Professional Education

Professional entry-to-practice degrees in disciplines like medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or architecture are long single-tier bachelor’s degree programs of five- to six-year duration. Medical and dental programs are only offered at faculties and institutions that are approved by the Nepal Medical Council, of which there are 21 medical faculties and colleges and 5 dental faculties and colleges. Entry is generally based on the National School Board Examination Certificate (or equivalent qualification), but admissions are competitive and require passing of additional entrance examinations.

Medical programs lead to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). These programs are most commonly five and one-half years in length, including a pre-medical component and a one-year clinical internship. Dental programs are usually five to five and one-half years in length, including a clinical internship, and conclude with the award of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery. In order to practice, graduates must pass the licensing exams of the Nepal Medical Council . Graduate medical education in medical and dental specialties typically involves a further three years of training, concluding with the award of the Doctor of Medicine or Master of Dental Surgery.

Study programs in veterinary medicine are only offered at a small handful of institutions in Nepal. Programs are between five and six years in length and lead to the Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry.

The standard professional degree in law is the Bachelor of Laws, which is earned upon completion of a three-year graduate program, or a five-year program after high school. Licensure to practice law practice requires the passing of the bar exams of the Nepal Bar Council .

Teacher Education

Educational requirements for teachers in Nepal vary by level of education. While it is unknown how the current reforms in basic and secondary education will impact requirements for teachers, elementary school teachers could, as of recently, still teach with a 10-year Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SLC), as long as they also completed a practical teacher training program of at least ten months . Lower-secondary teachers could teach with a Proficiency Certificate in Education or a 10+2 upper-secondary qualification plus 10 months of practical training . Upper-secondary teachers, on the other hand, require a Bachelor of Education degree. These degrees can be earned either as direct-entry degrees after high school, shortened two-year programs for holders of a Proficiency Certificate in education, or as one-year “top-up” qualifications for holders of bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines .

Higher Education Grading Scales

There is no single nationwide grading scale in use in tertiary education in Nepal. Institutions use different grading scales, ranging from A to F letter-based scales to 0-100 percentage-based scales. Tribhuvan University is switching to letter grade systems in its graduate programs, but as of recently still used percentage-based scales at the undergraduate level. One of the more common grading scale variations is listed below.

WES Documentation Requirements

• National Examination Board Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Board Certificate (HSEB), or any other 10+2 certificate – sent directly to WES by the Board.
• Photocopy of Certificate/Diploma – submitted by the applicant
• Academic Transcript (Mark Sheets) – sent directly to WES by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training

Higher Education

• Photocopy of Degree Certificate – submitted by the applicant
• Academic Transcript (Mark Sheets) – sent directly by the institution attended
• For completed doctoral degrees – a written statement confirming the award of the degree sent directly by the institution

Click here for a PDF file of the academic documents referred to below.

• National Examination Board Examination Certificate
• Diploma in Engineering, CTEVT
• Bachelor of Arts, Tribhuvan University (3 years)
• Bachelor of Science, Tribhuvan University (4 years)
• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Kathmandu University
• Master’s degree, Tribhuvan University
• Doctor of Philosophy, Tribhuvan University

1. Students in all education sectors. Student mobility data from different sources such as UNESCO, the Institute of International Education, and the governments of various countries may be inconsistent, in some cases showing substantially different numbers of international students, whether inbound, or outbound, from or in particular countries. This is due to a number of factors, including: data capture methodology, data integrity, definitions of ‘international student,’ and/or types of mobility captured (credit, degree, etc.).

2. The National Examinations Board was created in 2016 as a unified examinations board responsible for graduation examinations at the secondary level. Previously, these examinations were administered separately by the Office of the Controller of Examinations and the Higher Secondary Education Board.

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Nepal Educational System Landscape: Recent Reforms and Ongoing Challenges.

Nepal education system navigates a dynamic terrain, balancing tradition with modern aspirations. Recent years have witnessed significant changes, presenting both opportunities and challenges for learners across the country.

Structure and Reform:

Nepal’s education system offers a minimum of 12 years of foundational education, spanning pre-primary to secondary levels. The landmark School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam remains a crucial gateway to higher education. However, recent reforms have introduced vocational and technical streams, diversifying pathways for student success. The curriculum itself is undergoing revisions, aiming to foster critical thinking, practical skills, and local relevance.

Winds of Progress:

The Nepalese government has made strides towards educational inclusivity. The Constitution guarantees free and compulsory basic education, and initiatives like community schools are expanding access in remote areas. Technology is also playing an increasingly central role, with digital platforms bridging geographical divides and offering innovative learning opportunities.

Persistent Obstacles:

Despite these commendable advancements, obstacles remain. Rural areas grapple with inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, and limited resources. Gender disparities persist, with girls facing higher dropout rates. Additionally, while the growth of private schools offers more options, it can exacerbate affordability issues.

The Road Ahead:

As Nepal education system navigates its evolving landscape, ensuring equitable access to quality education for all students remains paramount. Addressing structural inequalities, continuously improving learning environments, and harnessing the potential of technology will be crucial in scaling the remaining peaks.

Challenges Faced by the Nepal Education System :

1. access and enrollment:.

• Discuss challenges related to access to education, especially in rural areas.
• Highlight disparities in enrollment rates among different demographics.

2. Quality of Education:

• Explore issues related to the quality of education.
• Discuss efforts to improve teacher training and curriculum development.
• Some schools, especially in the countryside, don’t have enough teachers or materials. This can make it harder to learn.

3. Infrastructure and Resources:

• Address challenges related to inadequate infrastructure and resources.
• Discuss the impact on the learning environment and student outcomes.

4. Gender Disparities:

• Explore gender-related challenges in education.
• Discuss efforts to promote gender equality and empower female students.
• Some kids, especially girls or those from poor families, still have trouble getting to school.

5. Technological Integration:

• Evaluate the integration of technology in education.
• Discuss challenges and opportunities in adopting digital learning methods.

6. Language of Instruction:

• Discuss the role of language in education.
• Explore challenges related to language barriers and their impact on learning outcomes.

Ongoing Efforts and Solutions:

1. government initiatives:.

• Highlight specific government programs aimed at addressing educational challenges.
• Discuss their impact and potential for improvement.

2. Community Involvement:

• Explore the role of communities and NGOs in supporting education.
• Highlight successful community-driven initiatives.

Learn more about how organizations like UNICEF are working to address these inequities:  https://www.unicef.org/nepal/education

Check out this cool video about a community school in Nepal:  https://www.thedigitalbiography.com/top-seven-community-schools-in-nepal/

Nepal education system is at a crucial juncture, with significant progress alongside persistent challenges. By investing in teacher training, embracing technology, and fostering local ownership, Nepal can move closer to ensuring equitable access to quality education for all its citizens.

Written by Gunjan

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Education System in Nepal

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Education in Nepal from the primary school to the university level has been modeled from the very inception on the Indian system, which is in turn the legacy of the old British Raj. Hence, until the recent past, Nepal followed the traditional three-tier sixteen-year education system, allocating ten years to school education, four years to college level studies - two years each for intermediate and bachelor program, and two to the Masters program at the university.

During the 1950s and in the subsequent decades, Nepali students started facing comparative disadvantage in their academic and professional career advancement not to mention in the regional or international fields even in their home country. Therefore, in order to make the nepali education system more competitive and compatible, policy and structural changes were made and gradually implemented, although for the lack of funds and resources only at a snail's speed during the last three five year plan periods. As a result, the present education system although still in the transition phase, stands as follows:

(i) Pre-School Education The pre-school learning, be it kindergarten, Montessori or any other form of pre-school education, does not yet form an integral part of the formal school education system. Nevertheless, the need for such facility is being increasingly felt by the society. And, a number of pre-school establishments have come into existence in response to the demand particularly among the affluent, the educated and the working parents in the urban areas. These facilities range from simple day-care centers operated by semi skilled tutors and ayahs to sophisticated but informal playgroups run by trained teachers and nurses, and from formal pro-primary schools managed as junior wings of large school set-ups to advanced westernized kindergarten and Montessori pre-school establishments. Very different in their fees and infrastructure, they profess equally diverse professional objectives and educational goals, and practice divergent approaches to early education. His Majesty's Government of Nepal has recently formulated some guidelines for pre-primary curricula.

(ii) School Education (a) Primary Level (b) Middle School/Lower Secondary Level (S.L.C.) (c) High School/ Secondary Level (d) 10+2/ Higher Secondary Level

Formal school education in Nepal officially spans a period of 12 years, at the successful completion of which a student graduates with a certificate of Higher Secondary Education (10+2). However, since the majority of the schools in the country have not been upgraded for the lack of funds and resources to the 10+2 level, the old high school system with School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination at the end of 10 year still persists. Most of them are public schools funded by the government. However, they have not been able to reach and maintain the expected educational quality standards, nor have they been able to address the needs of the society. If the lack of adequate funds and resources is partly to be blamed, the lack of accountability and too much of politicization in the educational administration from the bottom to the top most hierarchy have had a crippling effect or the educational system. The S.L.C. examination results of the public schools, which have been getting bad to worse over the years, bear witness to this fact. Not surprisingly at all, in spite of tin provision of free education up to primary level and free distribution of books to girl-children and children of socially discriminated ethnic groups up to lower secondary level, parents prefer to send their children to comparatively more expensive private schools right from the beginning.

The private schools in general have better facilities, are better managed and have been showing a much better performance in the S.L.C. examinations. However, the quality standards of the private schools, too, are not consistent and vary considerably from school to school. There are, on the one hand 'A’ class private school establishments managed and run by charity organizations, companies, trusts or? visionary individuals, and on the other, the so called private English boarding schools operated by business minded people in semi-furnished residential houses or even factory-like tin-shades, which are in fact nothing more than teaching-shops. They do, nevertheless, seem to be catering to the taste and the need of the different sections of the society. In addition, the capital also has a British and an American School, which, although initially started for the children of the foreign diplomats, have opened their doors to Nepali children, too.

In the recent years, some public schools have upgraded themselves to the 10+2 level will governmental support, and in the urban and semi-urban areas a number of private 10+2 institution; have sprung up without any lower school base. This sorry state of transition to 10+2 level has forced the universities to continue their intermediate or proficiency certificate level program! for the time being, at least until 2005 according to the latest revised phase-out schedule. Hence,| present, the 10+2 level school education in Nepal is being administered parallely and independent by the university as its intermediate program and as a higher secondary school education program by the Higher Education Board of the Ministry of Education, HMG/Nepal. Meanwhile, the S.L.C Examination continues to remain as the iron-gate to be crossed for an entry into either of the above programs.

The SLC Examination System. The SLC thus being the gate way to higher education commands full attention of all concerned-students and their parents, teachers and their institutions. The students are virtually groomed for the S.L.C. from s VIII onwards. They are taught the actual S.L.C. courses in class IX and X and are required to pass the qualifying examination, popularly called Sent-up Test, at the end of class X to be eligible to appear in the C. examination. The S.L.C. requires the students to take three-hour written examination of 100 marks in each subject for the entire syllabus covered in two years of class IX and X.

The evaluation scheme follows the traditional marking system with division ratings as follows: 35%and above to below45% - Pass with 3nd division. 45% and above to below 60% - Pass with 2nd division. 60% and above to below 80% - Pass with 1st division. 80% and above - Pass with distinction.

The S.L.C., however, as the policy makers claim, is now a matter of only a few years because after the full, nation-wide implementation of the 10+2 system, the present S.L.C. examination will be replaced by a or regional level class X examination. The Higher Secondary Education Board only will t national level 10+2 annual examinations to certify students of having completed their secondary school education or what is popularly called school education in the west.

(iii) Higher Education (a) Bachelor's/Undergraduate Level (b) Master's Level/Graduate/Degree Level (c) Post Graduate, M. Phil. Level (d) Ph.D. Doctoral Level

Higher education in Nepal, like elsewhere in the world, is the sole responsibility of and administered by universities and institutions of higher learning. At present, the country has six universities; five of these - two public (state), two again public (community) and one private - offer western model academic program and technical education while the remaining one, again a public university, is dedicated to the study of Sanskrit and related subjects. There are two more universities in the offing-an international Buddhist university at Lumbini and another a general university with concentration on BuddhisH at Banepa. But since they have not yet received the character, they can be classified only as proposed universities.

Entry into the public institutions of higher learning, except to the technical programs such as medicine, engineering, forestry and agriculture, remained and still remains to a considerable extent almost unrestricted. This has created a tremendous pressure on institutions, draining their physical and human resources and leading, in turn, to a progressive deterioration in the quality of education they impart. As a result, during the last decade of the last century, the government has granted affiliation to a number of private i.e, proprietary colleges and many of them are now fully operational. They offer their programs with the same curricula, but being smaller in size and restrictive in enrolment, they are better equipped and better facilitated. However, such colleges are comparatively very expensive and are almost beyond the reach of the common people. Similar is the case with the only private university of the country as its programs, too, are accessible only to the family well-off.

source: Nepal Educational Directory

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Nepal’s Higher Education System and Policy

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• Hridaya Ratna Bajracharya 3  

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Development of modern higher education system in Nepal has crossed a century since it was started with the establishment of Tri- Chandra College in 1918 AD. Tribhuvan University the first university in the country was established in 1959, eight years after the historic political change in the country in 1951 that overthrew oligarchy and established parliamentary system. Rapid increase in the number of universities and colleges followed another major political change in 1990 that restored multiparty parliamentary system. University Grants Commission came into existence in 1993. Currently there are 15 autonomous degree awarding higher education institutions – 11 universities and 4 medical academies established by the government each with an independent act approved by the parliament. About 371,000 students are enrolled in 1408 university campuses (colleges). Most of the campuses in the country (1309) are independently established by private parties (777) or public communities (532) that run academic programs of the universities through affiliation; universities’ own constituent campuses are 99 only. An estimated number of over 65,000 students go abroad annually for higher education. Realizing the issues and challenges of improving equity and inclusiveness in access, efficiency, quality, and relevance of higher education, efforts were initiated through Higher Education Project (1997–2002), the Second Higher Education Project (2007–2014), and currently Higher Education Reform Project (2015–2020). Achieving academic culture, sustainability, and effectively responsive management are persistent challenges of higher education development in the country. Employability of graduates and accordingly professional studies that focus on skill competence and the world of work are now considered important aspects of higher education.

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Bajracharya, H.R. (2020). Nepal’s Higher Education System and Policy. In: Sarangapani, P., Pappu, R. (eds) Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_63-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_63-1

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• v.7(9); 2021 Sep

Education system of Nepal: impacts and future perspectives of COVID-19 pandemic

Khadka bahadur pal.

a Department of Chemistry, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Buddha Bahadur Basnet

b Faculty of Sciences, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal

Ramesh Raj Pant

c Central Department of Environmental Science, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Kiran Bishwakarma

d Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

e University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Kopila Kafle

Namraj dhami.

f Pokhara University, Pokhara 30, Gandaki 33700, Nepal

Motee Lal Sharma

g Central Department of Chemistry, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Lal B. Thapa

h Central Department of Botany, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Binod Bhattarai

i University Grants Commission, Sanothimi, Bhaktapur, Nepal

Youb Raj Bhatta

Associated data.

All data are available described in the article.

The academic sectors are badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic globally. The studies regarding the implications of COVID-19 in education in Nepal were minimal, thus, this paper aims to highlight the impacts of the pandemic on the education sector of Nepal. It is revealed that the Nepalese academia has been facing problems due to lack of adequate and appropriate sustainable infrastructure for the online system, including skilled human resources. In addition, limited internet facilities in remote and rural areas were the other challenging tasks for virtual academic activities. Therefore, the concerned stakeholders should provide necessary services and appropriate strategies for virtual means of the education system to compensate the repercussion caused by the pandemic. This study could be helpful to identify the critical needs emerged due to the pandemic at present and in future and also contribute to adopt appropriate policy for the revival of educational institutions.

COVID-19; Pandemic; Virtual education; Online education, Nepal.

1. Introduction

The year 2020 was started with the terror of the COVID-19 and witnessed the indelible imprints of the pandemic on the global community ( WHO, 2020 ). The global health emergency due to COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 th January 2020. Subsequently, it was declared a pandemic after more than 118,000 infected population by COVID-19 from 114 countries with 4,291 deaths up to 11 th March 2020. Globally, up to 6 th August 2021, there have been over 200 million confirmed cases, including the deaths over 42 million ( WHO, 2021 ).

WHO recommended the countries across the world to take precautionary measures to break the transmission chain of the coronavirus ( Barkur and Vibha Kamath, 2020 ). Among the different prevention strategies, the lockdown was considered as one of the best approaches for interrupting transmission, which was widely adopted by the global community ( Flaxman et al., 2020 ). Therefore, many of the countries in the world imposed lockdown throughout the national and regional levels. In the same line, the Government of Nepal (GoN) also announced the first lockdown on 24 th March 2020 and continued for about six months ( Basnet et al., 2021a , 2021b ). Besides the lockdown, effective tracking, tracing, quarantine, social distancing, and hygienic behaviours of some countries such as China controlled the disease spread successfully ( Basnet et al., 2021c ). However, the lockdown has not been sufficient in many countries ( Zhu et al., 2020 ).

The lockdown imposed noxious impacts affecting the psycho-sociological and livelihoods of people. On one side, the new cases of the virus around the globe are increasing and on the other side, the commencement of lockdown has affected a more significant number of sectors, including academia ( Dawadi et al., 2020 ). Importantly, the academia victimized severely from the lockdowns owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most academic institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities remained closed during the lockdown period. Still, the academic activities have not been resumed fully as usual with face-to-face instructions.

The pandemic challenges in the education systems have been the greatest ever faced by the world community ( Azzi-Huck and Shmis, 2020 ). According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the closures of academic institutions have impacted more than 1.5 billion students and youth across the globe directly/indirectly ( UNESCO, 2020 ). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, creating the need for new actions from society, including universities and academia ( Alvarez-Risco et al., 2021 ). Cease of the physical presence of students and teachers in the classroom for teaching and learning have switched the academic institutions to online teaching and virtual education. The educational institutions faced an economic crisis due to less number enrollment of students, delay in fee collection, and the management of alternate methods for teaching and learning. The institutions tried to adopt the alternate methods for teaching and learning such as online or virtual methods which are not likely to provide the quality of education as delivered in the classroom ( Panthee et al., 2020 ; Viner et al., 2020 ). Such challenges of the COVID-19 to the education sector especially in the developing countries like Nepal are the severer than the developed countries as the former countries have limited facilities of online systems (e.g., internet, devices, and skilled human resources) ( Poudel and Subedi, 2020 ). In the case of Nepal, the academic institutions remained closed for a long time during the lockdown, and some of them started to manage alternate ways of teaching with the prolongation of lockdown. The government institutions were affected mainly in two ways: firstly, they were turned into quarantine stations, and secondly, there were limited facilities including internet access, computer devices, and a skilled workforce. After the lockdown, the government of Nepal has given authority to the local governments to decide on resuming the academic institutions as usual, and many of the institutions are partially or fully reopened, but the health experts have warned that this decision has increased the risk of the virus transmission ( Poudel and Subedi, 2020 ).

The number of darks sides of the COVID-19 pandemic has given opportunities to the researchers to explore new avenues of cure and treatments and other several facts related to the disease. Many of the researchers have engaged in analyzing the consequences of this pandemic, focusing on different sectors such as environment, agriculture, business, tourism, economy, and education, etc ( Pant et al., 2021 ; Azzi-Huck and Shmis, 2020 ; Barkur and Vibha Kamath, 2020 ; Flaxman et al., 2020 ; IAU, 2020 ). Such analysis, findings, and recommendations have contributed to the nations making policies and strategies to combat future pandemics. However, it has been felt that the studies regarding the implications of COVID-19 in the education sector are minimal. In the context of Nepal, the publications related to the facts are almost naught. Thus, this paper aims to highlight the impacts of COVID-19 on the education sector of Nepal.

This study is based on both primary and secondary data. The electronic databases through Google Scholar, Science Direct, and published reports of national and international organizations were the secondary sources of information on COVID-19. A manual search was conducted to search related articles to gather relevant literature ( Kapasia et al., 2020 ). A survey was also conducted by preparing a short questionnaire (open-ended) to collect primary data. The questionnaire was formatted to collect information on the impacts of COVID-19 in academic institutions. Altogether 35 academic institution heads [10 government schools, 10 private boarding schools, 5 Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) institutions, 5 university constituent campuses, and 5 university-affiliated campuses] were requested to respond to the questionnaire. Authorities of the Federal GoN, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, provincial and local governments, and universities were consulted as the key informants. The questionnaire was validated with the help of a review by two experts from medical sciences and two experts from the education sector in Nepal. In addition, before the review, the questionnaire was subjected to purposive sampling of 10 respondents from the Kathmandu valley for the pilot test.

3. Education system in Nepal

In Nepal, the school-level education comprises the primary level (1–8) and secondary level (9–12). There are a total of 35,055 schools in Nepal, of which 27,728 are public schools (community schools), 6,206 private schools, and 1,121 religious schools (Muslim religious schools, Gumbas/Vihar , and Hindu A shrams schools) ( DoE 2018 , Figure 1 ). Thus, there are 7,214,525 students enrolled in school level (grade 1–12) in the year 2018/19. Out of the total enrolment, 77% of students are at the primary level and 23% at the secondary level. Meanwhile, 4,124,478; 1,368,620; and 62,281 students were enrolled in public, private, and religious schools at the primary level, respectively. Similarly, 1,152,674; 294,732; and 610 students were enrolled in public, private, and religious schools at the secondary level, respectively ( DoE 2018 ).

Students enrollment in public, private and religious schools in Nepal ( DoE 2018 ).

The education imparted after the secondary level is considered higher education (tertiary education) in Nepal. According to a report of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal, there are 11 universities and six autonomous medical academies that offer higher education in Nepal ( UGC, 2020 , Table 1 ). Higher education is offered at the universities, of which the Tribhuvan University (TU) is the oldest and largest one. The universities in Nepal currently provide courses on sciences and technology; education; management; social sciences and humanities; law; engineering; forestry; medicine; agriculture and animal sciences; Ayurved; Sanskrit, etc. These academic programs run based on annual and semester systems at bachelor, master, MPhil, and PhD levels. Depending upon the nature of the courses, the time duration allocated to accomplish the programs varies with universities. For example, the bachelors, masters, MPhil, and PhD courses require 3–4, 2, 1.5, and 3 years, respectively, in most of the academic institutions in Nepal. The academic, research, and administrative activities are governed by the rules and regulations of the concerned institutions.

Table 1

Status of students and Universities in Nepal (2017) ( UGC, 2020 ).

Under the umbrella of Higher education in Nepal, 1,425 campuses and 423,996 students enrolled in different academic programs ( UGC, 2020 ). According to the office of planning directorate (TU), it has 1,124 campuses (62 constituents and 1,062 affiliated campuses). Open and distance learning programs have been adopted by the National Open University (NOU). The NOU programs are designed for e-based learning for interested students. The relevance and need for such open and distance learning programs markedly increased under the context of pandemic situations. Regarding the enrollment percentage, the TU has the highest i.e., 79.04 % while Pokhara University, Purbanchal University, and Kathmandu University have the enrollment 6.94 %, 6.16 %, and 4.23% students, respectively ( UGC, 2020 ). Among the enrolled students, 78.6% and 21.4% were enrolled in general and technical programs, respectively. The students in management; education; and humanities and social sciences were 46.78%, 17.88%, and 13.20%, respectively. There are 7.11% of students in science and technology, and only 6.08% and 6.55% of students are in medicine and engineering, respectively ( Figure 2 ).

Current scenario of students distributions in different faculties at higher education level ( UGC, 2020 ).

The provincial-level distribution of students in tertiary education revealed that >50% of students are concentrated in the Bagmati Province only while the least number of students (3.31%) are studying in the Karnali Province. The dominancy order of number of students is Bagmati Province > Lumbini Province > Province no. 1 > Gandaki Province > Province no. 2 > Sudurpaschim Province > Province no. 1 > Karnali Province ( Figure 3 ). The share of student enrollment in the community campuses is 30.29%, whereas constituent campuses and private campuses have received 32.41% and 37.30%, respectively ( UGC, 2020 ). The data shows that private campuses have relatively higher number of students enrolled in Nepal.

Provincial status of students at higher education level ( UGC, 2020 ).

Regarding the academic institutions' student evaluation and monitoring system, schools and universities have different provisions in Nepal. There is an annual examination system with midterm and internal evaluations for the basic level students under the direct supervision of respective schools and local governments. Furthermore, students are evaluated by annual examinations for the school level, including internal and midterm evaluations by the respective schools and the local government. However, the final examination of grade XII is provisioned to be examined by the National Education Board (NEB). In tertiary education, both the internal evaluations and final examinations are held at the end of each semester or year. Tribhuvan University has reintroduced the semester systems from 2012 onwards, and students are evaluated internally (40%) by the respective campuses/departments and externally (60%) by the concerned office of the dean under the Office of the Controller of the Examinations ( TU, 2012 ). The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) has adopted semester systems from the beginning of all programs ( DoE, 2018 ). Notably, most of the school and tertiary level examinations are held in a conventional system with physical presence and there was no application of virtual means of teaching and learning.

4. Appraisal of COVID-19 impacts in Nepalese education system

Regarding the recent gloom and doom scenario created by the COVID-19 pandemic in academia, many countries have tried to adopt various virtual media for learning and teaching activities. The COVID-19 lockdown was implemented at the end of the academic session (March, 2020), which directly hindered both school and university academic calendars in Nepal. The nationwide lockdown immediately impacted the pre-scheduled examinations of the grade 10 to 12. In addition, the scheduled semester examinations of many universities had been postponed. As the lockdown prolonged, almost all the academic activities, including examinations halted. It has directly affected the teaching-learning activities of nearly 8,796,624 students belonging to pre-primary (11%), primary (28%), secondary (39%), and tertiary (5%) levels nationwide, as estimated by UNESCO ( Dawadi et al., 2020 ). The questionnaire survey and key informant interviews in this study have highlighted the several aspects of impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on academia in Nepal.

The impacts of COVID-19 on academia has directly affected the students, teachers, and parents. The challenges and impacts of the pandemic highlighted by the respondents were cancellation of board exams, irregularity in learning and skills development, assessments, restriction to study abroad, disrupted the enrollment cycle, inequality in access to education, anxiety to start schools and universities, etc. In higher education, laboratory-based research and field works are greatly hindered. In addition, there may also be decreased funding to continue or undertake new research and innovative activities in the universities in Nepal ( Michael and Murphy, 2020 ).

The lockdown has reduced the enrollment of students and increased the risk of dropout rate. In addition, it has created the obligation for the academic institutions to switch on the virtual media to maintain the pre-announced academic calendars. A transition phase of the traditionaleducational system to the digital system appeared and the Nepalese academia started partially or fully digital system with prolongation of the lockdown. The academic institutions became engagged on transformations in policy formulation, infrastructure development, searching appropriate online methods of teaching, and conducting assessments. As there was a lack of proper planning and educational guidelines previously for online teaching and learning, most of the universities and schools could not run any online models of pedagogical approaches in the initial phase ( MWU, 2020 ).

A handful number of colleges and schools launched online classes in urban areas. The majority of the respondents highlighted that comparing to the physical classes, the online methods are relatively less effective due to more absenteeism and irregularities of the students. It has been estimated that only 9% of the total students from Nepal are getting online classes, and >90% of the students from rural and urban areas are still out of such virtual courses. Currently, 12% of schools and 56% of households have internet facilities, while 51% of students are using media such as radio and TV ( Dawadi et al., 2020 ). It shows that the remaining 44% of students are unlikely to regularly access online or other media, which could be one of the serious concerns for the policymakers of the academic sectors ( Marahatta et al., 2020 ).

Meanwhile, the greatly impacted sector by the COVID-19 pandemic is the research activities in higher education, according to the respondents. The research activities such as field researches had been postponed, and the laboratory research activities remained suspended by the universities. According to the informants, the numbers of chemical reagents and enzymes prepared for upcoming experiments basically in the laboratory based research were worthless due to the closer of the laboratories for an extended period. Master and PhD level dissertations were delayed, and the time-bound research grants and scholarships were cancelled. In such a situation, academia and the policymakers were in dilemmas to design a clear roadmap about the commencement of academic activities. Limited internet facilities, computer devices, and lack of skilled human resources hindered running virtual classes and other activities. It was a challenging to connect the studnets from the rural and remote areas of Nepal in the online classes. The virtual courses are even more challenging for those learners who are differently able students which is consistent around the globe ( Manzoor, 2020 ; Chalise and Dhungana, 2020 ). Notably, the closures of academic institutions have resulted in multi-faceted implications such as disrupting completion of the syllabus on time, the regular cycle of academic intakes, semester end examinations required for graduation.

Despite the pandemic situation, there were some positive impacts on academia at the same time. It had allowed reshaping the of pedagogical strategies and adapt to innovative e-learning techniques. Schools and universities decided to introduce a digital education system. Several platforms, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Social Media including Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, were given priority by the academia to run the academic activities online. For instance, with the help of Microsoft Teams, TU initiated its virtual academic activities with 500,000 users (teachers and students) ( TU, 2020 ). In the history of Nepalese academia, this was one of the most outstanding achievements for the paradigm shift of the conventional pedagogical approaches. The learners and education provider institutions used media such as television, radio networks, YouTube, and other social media. Interestingly, the literacy and expertise on computers, apps, and virtual platforms have improved at the grass-root level. The universities conducted training for teachers and students for the online system of joining in academic activities.

The schools and higher education institutions expanded ICT infrastructures to support ICT associated teaching/learning. Most of the institutions have also prepared their guideline for facilitating online classes and assessment systems under the direction of the GoN and the University Grants Commission (UGC). Academic institutions have also initiated collaborations with local to national media such as Radios, FMs, and TVs. The virtual media have significant positive impacts on providing educational content and lives call with teachers in support of students ( Hiltz and Wellman, 1997 ). As the cases of COVID-19 are still increasing globally, the public policies significantly, the academic policies should be revised and strictly follow with the epidemiological alerts ( Yáñez et al., 2020 ). Precisely, the COVID-19 situation compelled all the academic institutions and stakeholders for redesigning and reconsidering their teaching-learning and research approaches.

5. Future perspectives and conclusion

The schools and HEIs in Nepal have limited digital services, including electronic libraries, relevant online scientific publications, and other resources. The major challenge for the institutions was conducting assessments and exams online. In the context of Nepal, many children from low-income families and disadvantaged groups do not afford even the necessities of learning, such as textbooks, notebooks, and other required stationaries. Modern digital devices, including smartphones, iPad, iPods, laptops, computers, the internet, etc., are far from their expectations ( UNESCO and IESALC, 2020 ). On the other side, the people in the remote and rural areas are deprived of online access due to limited internet facilities. In this context, providing equal opportunity for virtual learning to all groups of people and all parts of the country has become challenging. Therefore, the federal, provincial, and local governments are urged to switch their strategies and programs towards modern virtual education systems. For this purpose, different programs for enhancing the capacities of human resources, students, institution authorities, management, and parents are recommended. It is essential to understand the behaviour of learners about online and face-to-face academic activities to ensure the best academic outcomes ( Alvarez-Risco et al., 2020b ).

Due to the lack of adequate and appropriate sustainable infrastructure in Nepalese academia for the online system, developing such infrastructure is indispensable. The infrastructures for virtual education (internet facilities and digital devices) should be affordable to institutions of remote and rural areas. Especially the poor and disadvantaged groups should be prioritized, clustered, and trained in low/no cost by the government. The international and national organizations anduniversity graduates could be mobilized as volunteers to teach in rural areas. The school education boards and universities should prioritize to revise their curricula including internship or community services for their students to share the knowledge and expertise to the needy people in rural and remote areas in Nepal. The institutions should consider adjustments in terms of accessibility, infrastructure, and equipment from a long term perspective.

Additionally, within traditional pedagogical approaches, the blended modes of education system could be implemented to improve the quality of education at an affordable cost with limited trained human resources. The activities such as homework assignments, open-book exams, home take exams, quizzes, or small projects can be considered as the options of conventional paper-based examinations. Moreover, some modes of communication such as chat channels and discussion groups in social media could also benefit to the learners. There is limited preparedness to cope with such pandemic in Nepal, thus, there must be cooperation and coordination among the different sectors to combat the impacts of COVID-19. There could be a multifactorial fight during the pandemic to increase health literacy, develop better detection tools, and enable action by local, provincial and federal governments ( Alvarez-Risco et al., 2020c ). Continuous awareness and sensitization about the risks of COVID-19 also play a vital role to reduce the havoc created by the pandemic ( Quispe-Cañari et al., 2021 ).

Overall, this study comprises the education system in Nepal and COVID-19 imprints in the school and university education in Nepal. Also, we have tried to highlight the pros and cons of the pandemic on academia during the lockdown and suggested the possible way forwards. In this context, the concerned stakeholders should provide necessary services and develop appropriate strategies for virtual means of the education system to compensate for the repercussion caused by COVID-19 lockdown. Sustainable solutions are essential to manage the crisis and build a resilient education system in the long run. Thus, the insights from this study could be helpful to cope with the problem due to the pandemic and contribute to adopting an appropriate policy for the revival of educational institutions. Also, the present work contributes to the necessary way forward to tackle the crisis in academia in Nepal in the future.

Declarations

Author contribution statement.

All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article.

Funding statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency.

Data availability statement

Declaration of interests statement.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Not applicable.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), Department of Education (DoE), GoN and University Grants Commission (UGC), Nepal for supporting data in this research.

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Education System in Nepal

Beginning from 20th Century Nepal and arriving at 21st Century New Nepal, Education in Nepal has taken a considerable leap on its own. It was a time then, only high-class dignitaries was granted to acquire education. Today all Nepalese has easy access to education be it a student playing video game sitting in his room at urban area like Kathmandu or a student with hoe and spade working on the field in some rural corner of the country. Coming from autocratic regime to federal system, the development and accessibility of education moved along with the stepwise development of nation. It is only because of the priority in education the stakeholders has continuously given along. This development of education in Nepal should be credited to private sectors, public sectors and several international organization.

It is seen that today education in Nepal is highly commercialized. Some state that academic sector should not be commercialized, however, to some extend commercialization brings competition which naturally rises the quality in education. Private institutions do take slightly higher fees that seems to be justified by the quality they deliver. Private sector focus more on the state-of-art facilitated classrooms, scientific equipment, research infrastructure, resourceful library and learning materials, seminars, workshops which adds up to the investment of colleges making the education fairly high compared to public sector colleges.

On the other hand, community and government institutions have been doing great on their own despite the fact that they face lack of funding and improper utilization of budget. "Education for All" policy implemented by the government has made easy access towards education for students regardless of all background, cast, creed, and gender especially in rural areas of Nepal.

Creating an educational environment is not only the responsibility of colleges but Government and its policies is more accountable for it. Nepal is no doubt suitable for making an educational hub, but the policy makers should not limit it to their voice. They must cooperate with the educational sector investors towards its development. The efforts of private institutions should be evaluated and positively attributed. Policy makers must make timely decision, take timely action that secure the investment of the investors. We see that delay in policy formation is obstructing and discouraging the investors in education. Institutions that regulate policies are also not properly functioning in lot of areas, this brings more challenges to private sectors who are working towards betterment of education in Nepal.

Thus now the Government and Policy makers should respect the hardwork of private institutions and ease them with timely policy formation and address their problems. At the same time, government should decentralize educational infrastructures balancing the quality of education in every nook and corner of the nation.

In this edition, we interviewed dignified personalities on what are the new reforms government aims in the educational sector through its policy. Moreover, in the talk with VC of Purbanchal University, we came to know his dissatisfaction with the government for being biased in budget allocation to universities. In Addition to that he states how the untimely policy formation adversely affect the normal functioning of PU affecting the student's career.

Srijan Shah

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