Basic Education in Nepal is comprised of five years of primary education, three years of lower secondary education, two years of upper secondary and two years of higher secondary education. In 2010, gross enrolment ratios (GER)in primary and secondary education stand at approximately 107% and 68% (World Bank n.d.(c)) respectively which is a significant improvement, but has yet to reach the gender targets as contained in international commitments on education (EFA Goals and MDGs). Enrolment of disadvantaged groups in both primary and secondary education is still very low, and the gender gap in participation is also wide. High repetition and dropout rates as well as low completion rates are some of the main challenges of participation in basic education in Nepal. Other challenges include the large class sizes in primary education but small schools with few students at secondary schools, lack of qualified teachers and physical resources and poor quality and relevance of curricula (UNESCO 2008).
Since the 1980s, huge investments have been made in basic education with the aim to increase enrolment. Quantitative growth in primary enrolment has reached an impressive level with GER for 2010 recorded at approximately 107%. However, there are high incidences of grade repetition and dropping out of schools, especially in early grades. The disadvantaged population groups such as girls, the poor and lower castes are still lagging behind. For example, participation in primary education by children from the disadvantaged minorities and Dalits are very low. Social, economic and educational constraints rather than lack of physical access to school are the reasons of low access to primary education in Nepal. Secondary education is characterized by low enrolment with 2010 GER of 68%, low transition rates, unavailability of secondary schools in certain areas and small secondary schools with low enrolments (UNESCO 2008).
The Government of Nepal acknowledges the need to tackle the low quality of basic education in the country. Both primary and secondary education sub-sectors are characterized by low quality of education mainly due to shortage of qualified teachers and lack of instructional materials especially in rural areas. At the secondary education level, there are issues of poor quality and relevance of school curricula (UNESCO n.d., 2008).
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is at the highest level, responsible for developing policies and overseeing the Department of Education, whose role is to facilitate the implementation of policies through five Regional Education Directorates (RED) and 75 District Education Offices (UNESCO 2008).
Schools in Nepal generally follow the principle of school-based management that assigns school management functions to the respective School Management Committee (SMC) including accountability to stakeholders including local bodies such as the Village Development Committee (VDC), municipality and District Development Committee (DDC). These bodies are entrusted with a lump sum budget with guidelines on utilization of its major share on social sectors including education, health, drinking water and sanitation. Planning activities are based on information derived from the annual school census under the biannual "Flash reporting system" conducted at the beginning and the end of the school year (UNESCO 2008).
National priorities and strategies in basic education in Nepal are premised in the context of key government policy documents and they include among others the following:
- Ensuring set targets for universal access and completion of basic education are achieved and sustained, especially considering that over 11% of primary school children, from marginalized and disadvantaged groups, are still out of school. This can be realized by making basic education free and compulsory in order to bring all children into school and achieve universal completion of quality basic education;
- Improving the quality of the teaching and learning process by enhancing teachers' competencies and performance through both in-service training and pre-service training; and
- Promoting the internal efficiency of education at primary and secondary levels for better transition in to secondary and higher levels. This will be done through strengthening the capacity and effectiveness of primary and secondary schools, especially in rural and remote areas (UNESCO 2008).
