Education of Nepal

Education in Nepal has only recently been developing, putting plans into action that will result in ongoing improvements. Several international organizations are involved in assisting Nepal with its education system and in educating children in rural areas of the country. Educational development in Nepal is seen as vital to cut-down the poverty rate as well as to promote community development. With this in mind Nepal's government continues to undo the damage the previous governmental regime inflicted on Nepal's education system.

For many years, during the rule of Nepal by the Rana family, education was suppressed. The Rana regime feared a public that was educated. Prior to World War Two however English middle and high schools were established in several villages along with an all-girl's high school in Kathmandu. As Gurkha soldiers returned to the villages with their new-found skills of reading and writing, education became more important to local people. Soon high-caste families would send their children to university who in turn began the anti-Rana sentiment ending the oppressive regime in 1951. Despite the establishment of an education system in Nepal, poorer families could not afford to send their children to school and also needed their children to work on the farms. Primary education was offered for free by the government as of 1975. Sadly, however, caste separation has denied many access to an education. Another factor holding some back from an education is that facilities are only in urban areas and it is expensive to send children to live in the towns. Illiteracy in Nepal sits at about 58%, 72% of which are women. Nonetheless, these statistics reflect a great advancement for Nepal.

Nepal's education system has been largely based on that of the United States and has received much assistance in forming a curriculum from various NGO's. Primary education runs from grade 1 through 5. Secondary education consists of lower secondary (grade 6 to 8), upper secondary (grade 9 to 10) and higher secondary (grade 11 to 12). Students will receive a School Leaving Certificate after completing grade 10. The streams for higher secondary education are education, science, commerce and humanities after which they receive a Higher Secondary Certificate. Students have the option of attending Basic Technical Schools after grade 5 to be awarded a Training Level Certificate.

Nepal's education system can look forward to continued improvements in the future under the guidance of the Government of Nepal's Ministry of Education - all aimed at promoting an educated and productive nation.

GIRLS EDUCATION IN NEPAL

Girls Education Nepal programme was established in May 2005 by Nonna Giri (Lamponen) and Amanda McKay. GEN provides scholarships to Nepali girls from underprivileged families to attend school near their homes.

Our mission is simple – to enable girls to have a better future through education. We actively seek to find girls whose situation is particularly vulnerable. Hence, sponsorship is aimed at the most desperate cases – girls who otherwise would have little or no chance of going to school, mainly due to poverty, but also because of other kind of hardship. All girls are welcomed regardless of age, religion, location, previous education or background. We guarantee the scholarship until SLCs (School Leaving Certificate, normally taken at the age of 18) but will try to also encourage and financially support further education, be it vocational or higher education.

Our selection criteria is very simple. To qualify for our sponsorship a child needs to fulfil three conditions:

• To be a female
• To be from verified underprivileged background
• Currently not attending school

The GEN sponsorship covers all education-related expenses, and in some cases provides a small, daily lunch allowance. All fees are paid directly to the schools and the girls remain living with their families. Although there is no requirement for academic excellence we expect the girls to study as hard as they can, and attend school regularly.

Our sponsorship is for one year at a time, and will be automatically renewed provided that the girl attends school regularly and shows enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

In extreme circumstances (e.g. death or illness in the family, loss of home, etc.) we will continue to support a girl whose attendance has not been regular due to outside pressure, provided that she still is keen to continue her education.

GEN is a small charity, operating without middlemen or heavy admin costs. We have three part-time staff in Kathmandu (a co-ordinator, an assistant and an accountant) and one part-time co-ordinator in East Nepal. These people receive a salary from GEN. Nonna and Amanda donate their time and effort for free, which means that 100% of your donation goes towards running the programme and educating the GEN girls. We personally know all the girls in the programme and follow their progress closely.

NEPAL: AN CHALLENGE IN EDUCATION

Nepal faces large challenges in better educating its citizens:

Building capacity and local oversight of schools

Schools that have already devolved to community management have achieved improvements in overall educational attainment of students, increased accountability, and increased enrollment of students from disadvantaged groups such as dalits (lowest Hindu caste) and janajatis (indigenous groups). Community-managed schools also see involvement by a wider array of stakeholders, including parent-teacher associations, civil society, representatives of the local governments, and women’s groups.

- As of February 2008, 16 percent of public primary schools were community-managed compared to less than 1 percent in 2002. Similarly, public lower secondary schools and secondary schools are also being transferred to community management.

Increasing learning in public schools

This would also improve efficiency through higher completion rates and lower repetition rates.
- Only 38 percent of public school students passed the School Leaving Certificate Examinations in 2003, compared to 85 percent privately-schooled children.
- Just 24 percent of public school students who complete Grade 10 do so without having to repeat at least one grade.

Providing education opportunities to the poor

- Only 51 percent of children from the lowest income-quintile attend primary education, compared to 87 percent from the richest income-quintile.

The World Bank supports the Nepal Government in the education sector with the following projects:

Strengthening Community Management of Schools:

The Community School Support Project has helped to significantly improve primary school access for children from disadvantaged communities. The project supports the reform initiative of the Nepal Government by testing whether community management of schools contributes to higher participation rates and increased quality, efficiency, and accountability of schools. Community-managed schools are run by elected committees that are accountable to parents. Based upon a survey of 30 schools between 2004 and 2006, the results are:

- The share of out-of-school children of primary age decreased from 41 percent to 15 percent
- The share of out-of-school girls of primary age decreased from 42 percent to 15 percent
- The share of out-of-school dalit children decreased from 50 percent to 18 percent
- The share of out-of-school janajati children decreased from 44 percent to 15 percent

Increasing Access to Schools:

The objective of the Education for All Project is to improve primary school access, especially for girls and children from disadvantaged groups. The project supports construction of classrooms, scholarships to girls and disadvantaged groups to cover household costs of education, teacher training and certification, and expansion of adult literacy programs to poor and disadvantaged adults.

Improving Higher Education:

Through the Second Higher Education Project, the Bank assists the Government with improving the quality and relevance of higher education and research, and increasing access to higher education for academically qualified underprivileged students. Besides working to strengthen system capacity, the project provides reform grants and student financial assistance towards this end.

Education in nepal

Nepal’s success in meeting its educational challenges carries great significance for poverty reduction and the competitiveness of its work force in the global economy.

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