education in Nepal

From its inception, education in Nepal was modeled on the Indian system, which had evolved from the old British Raj. Nepal's education system was historically based on home-schooling and gurukulas,{{Cite book|title=EDUCATION IN NEPAL|publisher=THE BUREAU OF PUBLICATIONS, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION|year=1956|location=Nepal}} was similar to the former Indian system in which pupils would learn either in their own homes or with priests or Gurus. Before Nepal was declared a democratic country, the general public had no access to formal education. Nepal's first formal school, Durbar High School, was established in 1854 and intended for only the elite. The birth of Nepalese democracy in 1951 opened its classrooms to a more diverse population.

In 1971, Nepal's national government nationalized schooling, although it reversed this in 1980. It subsequently legalized for-profit schools.{{Cite web |last=Ghimire |first=Binod |date=2018-09-28 |title=Privatisation in education: private schools dominate national education |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/09/28/defying-rules-private-schools-dominate-national-education |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208183851/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/09/28/defying-rules-private-schools-dominate-national-education |archive-date=2024-12-08 |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=The Kathmandu Post |language=English}}

During the 1990s and early 21st century, the influence of private schools in Nepal grew significantly.{{Cite journal |last=Thapa |first=Amrit |date=2015-01-02 |title=Public and private school performance in Nepal: an analysis using the SLC examination |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09645292.2012.738809 |journal=Education Economics |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=47–62 |doi=10.1080/09645292.2012.738809 |issn=0964-5292|url-access=subscription }}{{Rp|page=49}} In 2011, the Nepalese government passed a law imposing a 5% tax on private schools. However, the Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal, an organization representing private schools, successfully protested the law, leading to its repeal. The organisation also successfully protested a 2012 ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal ordering a three-year moratorium on tuition increases. Nepal's national government has attempted to introduce tuition-free and compulsory education on multiple occasions during the early 21st century.{{Cite web |last=Ghimire |first=Binod |date=2024-08-22 |title=Ministry unveils blueprint to ensure free education |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2024/08/22/ministry-unveils-blueprint-to-ensure-free-education |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126161530/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2024/08/22/ministry-unveils-blueprint-to-ensure-free-education |archive-date=2025-01-26 |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=The Kathmandu Post |language=English}}

As of 2010, there were approximately 49,000 schools in Nepal,{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} and, as of 2025, 301,000 teachers. In 2001, Nepal's literacy rate was 48.6% (62.7% for males and 32.9% for females),{{Cite web |date=2007-06-13 |title=CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Literacy |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#np |access-date=2023-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003138/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#np |archive-date=June 13, 2007 }} which increased in 2021 to 71.2% (81% for males and 63.3% for females). As of 2018, slightly more than 18% of schools in Nepal are privately owned.

File:Nepalese school.jpg]]

Primary education in Nepal consists of grades one through eight, while secondary levels are grades nine to twelve. Pre-primary education is available in some areas, and students usually begin grade one at age five. A Basic Level Examination (BLE) is given in grade eight while a national Secondary Education Exam (SEE), previously known as a School Leaving Certificate (SLC), is conducted at the end of grade 10. The School Leaver's Certificate is given at the completion of the Grade 12 examination. The National Examinations Boardsupervises all BLE, SEE and 12th grade exams.

Depending upon the educational stream and degree subject, a bachelor's degree typically requires two years of study. Some universities offer M.Phil. and post-graduate diplomas.

Vocational education begins after basic level education, and students can follow a two-year curriculum leading to a Technical School Leaving Certificate.{{cite web | url=http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_npl_en.pdf | title=World TVET Database Nepal – Vocational Education in Nepal | publisher=UNESCO-UNEVOC / Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training Nepal| access-date=March 18, 2018 | date=January 2014}} In addition to the formal track, one-year programs focusing on skill development are also available.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI){{Cite web |title=Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries |url=https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/ |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=humanrightsmeasurement.org}} finds that Nepal is fulfilling only 83.5% of what it should for the right to education based on its level of income.{{Cite web |title=Nepal – HRMI Rights Tracker |url=https://rightstracker.org/country/NPL?tab=report-esr |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=rightstracker.org |language=en}} Taking Nepal's income level into consideration, the nation is achieving 95.4% of what should be possible for primary education but only 71.5% for secondary education.

===Effect of crisis===

Although the Jhapa District had a 99.33% literary rate in 2014,{{site web| url= https://moe.gov.np/category/reports.html|{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} many children in remote villages do not have access to education past the primary level.{{cite web|url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-12-20/children-in-chitwan-deprived-of-education-past-primary-level.html|title=Kathmandu Post- Children in Chitwan deprived of education past primary level}} Students often leave primary schools after they learn to read and write, but without any additional education. The April 2015 earthquake destroyed schools and severely impacted the nation's ability to keep its remaining schools open.

{{More citations needed section|date=October 2023}}File:Nepali-School-Uniform.JPG]]

The Ministry of Education, led by the Minister of Education, is responsible for managing educational activities in Nepal. The ministry, as a part of the government, is headed by the Secretary of Education and consists of a central national office responsible for policy development, planning, monitoring, and evaluation as well as other offices at the regional and district levels.

The National Center for Educational Development{{cite web |title=National Center for Educational Development |url=http://nced.gov.np/np/main}} is Nepal's teacher-training body. It has 34 educational training centers to provide pedagogical support for teachers.

Nepal has two primary types of schools: community, which are public and receive government grants, and institutional, private, self-funded schools that are also non-profit trusts or companies.

{{See also|List of universities and colleges in Nepal}}

Nepal's first college was Tri-Chandra College, founded in 1918, and until 1985, Tribhuvan University was the country's only university.

Medical education in Nepal is regulated by the Medical Council of Nepal. To be eligible for admission to MBBS courses in Nepalese medical colleges, students must pass the higher secondary examination in science.

Medical education in Nepal is highly controversial as many qualified students are turned away in lieu of competitive marks. Corruption is rampant with schools accepting students based on connections to established figures or illicit donations, and the "hidden" tuition, as it's referred, is the additional cost of bribing officials in the education and healthy ministry with some students paying triple the tuition fees for enrollment.{{Cite web|title=Manufacturing fake doctors|url=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nepal-medical-education-system-infested-by-corrupt-investors-with-political-protection,2585|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315072506/http://archive.nepalitimes.com:80/article/nation/Nepal-medical-education-system-infested-by-corrupt-investors-with-political-protection,2585 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 }}{{Cite web|title=Educational Mafia Of Our Society|url=https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2018/04/07/educational-mafia-our-society/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407054029/https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2018/04/07/educational-mafia-our-society/ |archive-date=April 7, 2018 }}{{Cite web|title=Dr KC: A one-man army against medical mafia in Nepal|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/dr-kc-a-one-man-army-against-medical-mafia-in-nepal/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807102457/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/dr-kc-a-one-man-army-against-medical-mafia-in-nepal/ |archive-date=August 7, 2020 }}{{Cite journal|title=Non-Violent Action to Reform Medical Education in Nepal -The Fasts-unto-death of Dr Govinda KC|journal=Social Medicine: Themes and Debates 2020}}

Dr. Govinda K.C. is a staunch supporter of medical education reform in Nepal and has long advocated to break the education "mafia" present in the system.

Engineering colleges also exist throughout Nepal, with most admitting local students through an entrance exam and foreign students after an interview.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Nepal's oldest engineering school is Tribhuvan University's Institute of Engineering, while Nepal's first private engineering college to offer bachelor's- and master's-level courses is the Engineering College in Changunarayan.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Nepal ranks 11th in countries of origin for international students in the United States. According to "Open Doors 2009", an annual report on international academic mobility published by the Institute of International Education, the number of Nepali students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education increased by 29.6 percent from 8,936 in the 2007–08 academic year to 11,581 in 2008–09. In the 2006–07 academic year, Nepal ranked 13th among countries of origin of international students.

The United States is the preferred destination for Nepalese students wishing to study abroad because of the quality and prestige associated with an American degree as well as access to comprehensive, accurate information about study in the U.S. through EducationUSA offices in Nepal and increased efforts by American colleges and universities to attract Nepalese students. However, "a culture of disrespect" by U.S. Embassy staff has been reported.

According to the Australian Department of Education, there are currently more than 53,170 Nepalese students studying in Australia in 2023, placing Nepal as its third-largest source of international students, following China and India.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

File:Nepalese Children.JPGs]] Public schools in Nepal suffer from poor infrastructure, low-quality teachers, political inference in teacher appointments, and weak management and regulation.{{Rp|page=49}} Public school students in Nepal have historically under performed compared to their private school peers on the country's School Leaving Certificate, a major secondary school exam.{{Rp|page=60}} Nepal's efforts to reform public education have failed on numerous occasions.{{Rp|page=49}} In 2025, public school teachers went on a nationwide strike in response to a proposed education reform bill in parliament.{{cite news |title=Nepal: Teachers strike over education reform shuts down schools |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66886528 |work=BBC News |agency=BBC |date=22 September 2023}}

Private schools in Nepal face little regulation{{Rp|page=49}} and have historically ignored government laws and court rulings unfavorable to them. They also hold considerable influence in national politics,{{Rp|page=49}} as elected lawmakers are often involved in owning or running them.

• List of schools in Nepal
• List of universities and colleges in Nepal
• Gender inequality in Nepal
• Human rights in Nepal

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.doe.gov.np/ Nepal Ministry of Education]

{{Nepal topics}}

{{Education in Asia}}

{{World topic|Education in|noredlinks=yes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepal education}}