Nepal’s education sector has made notable progress in recent years, thanks to sustained investments, expanded infrastructure, and key reforms supported by national and international initiatives.
According to the National Planning Commission (NPC), the gross enrollment rate in pre-primary education has reached 84.7 percent, while 66.9 percent of children enrolled in Grade 1 have early childhood development experience.
At the primary level (Grades 1–5), the net enrollment rate now stands at 96.9 percent. For the basic level (Grades 1–8) and secondary level (Grades 9–12), the rates are 92.7 percent and 46.4 percent, respectively.
The retention rate — a measure of students continuing through school — has reached 89.6 percent at Grade 5 and 77.9 percent at Grade 8. A total of 7,214,525 students are currently enrolled at the basic and secondary levels, with an additional 974 children attending early childhood development programs, the NPC reported.
Gender parity in education has also improved, with the gender parity index reaching 0.98 at the basic level and 1.01 at the secondary level, indicating near-equal participation between boys and girls.
School dropout rates have declined sharply to 3.8 percent at the basic level (Grades 1–5), 4.4 percent for Grades 6–8, and 3.7 percent at the secondary level (Grades 9–10).
At present, Nepal has 35,055 schools in operation across the country, comprising both public and private institutions. The private sector, largely fueled by parental investment, now provides services to approximately 23 percent of students in Nepal’s school education system.
In terms of literacy, the NPC stated that while the literacy rate among individuals aged 15 years and above was 58 percent according to the 2011 census (2068 BS), the literacy rate for the 15–24 age group had reached 88.6 percent by the fiscal year 2017/18 (2074/75). So far, 51 districts have been declared literate, according to the commission’s recently published methodology book on key economic indicators.
This progress has been further reinforced by programs like the World Bank-supported School Sector Development Program (SSDP), implemented from 2017 to 2022. The SSDP focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Nepal’s school system, particularly addressing disparities in education quality, retention, and equitable access.
During the SSDP period, the survival rate to Grade 12 increased from 11.5 percent in 2016 to 33.1 percent in 2022, exceeding the initial target. Notably, the survival rate for girls (33.9 percent) slightly surpassed that for boys.
Similarly, the number of out-of-school children declined by 6.76 percent nationwide, surpassing the targeted reduction. The net enrollment rate for basic education in the 15 most disadvantaged districts also rose from 85.1 percent to 92.2 percent, with enrollment rates for girls improving from 83.6 percent to 90.9 percent.
For secondary education in these districts, the net enrollment rate increased from 29.1 percent to 44.1 percent, showing substantial progress.
Over 8.2 million students, including 4.07 million girls, benefited from interventions aimed at enhancing learning outcomes under the SSDP. Additionally, more than 99 percent of the funds disbursed to schools followed proper eligibility and utilization guidelines, according to audit observations.
Despite these impressive gains, challenges remain in improving learning outcomes, equitable access, and system strengthening, the World Bank noted. These challenges include inconsistent education quality at basic and secondary levels, with learning outcomes varying by geography, school, and individual/household characteristics; a considerable number of out-of-school children in basic education and low transition to and retention in secondary schools, particularly for disadvantaged children; and systemic constraints within the school sector, according to the World Bank. – With inputs from RSS
