Primary education in Nepal has seen major developments in recent decades.Given that there were so few when the country opened its doors to the world in 1950, the very fact that there are schools in the countryside is a marvel. Today, the schoolhouse stands out as proof of the existence of the state, given the terrain, the spread-out population and the shrinking of government services during the long years of conflict. For a country that started with just over 310 primary schools half a century ago, that there are about 30,000 serving the populace today is something to take satisfaction from. The literacy rate for those between 15 and 24 years is now as high as 85 percent in males and 73 percent in females, and the primary-education enrolment rate is at 92 percent. Most Nepali children, including the marginalised Dalits, Muslims and girl children, today find themselves in a school rather than out of it. Needy students increasingly get scholarships, whether in token amounts from the government or as generous support from individuals or international organisations. Foreign assistance has been vital for the advances achieved, for it is the 'projects', supporting teacher training to curriculum development and providing guideposts for inclusive education that have improved access for the marginalised.
No one would deny that the achievements have been praiseworthy, but there is no evading the fact that today Nepal's education system at the primary level remains one of the weakest in the world. The situation requires introspection on the part of the Nepali authorities as well as the international agencies which have been sponsors and supporters of the Ministry of Education over the years. Who drives the country's school system, and who sets its standards? Why is it always in a state of flux with no institutional memory, moving from one donor-funded mega-project to the next? Why are bureaucrats averse to understanding and acting on the big picture regarding education? Why are there more consultants and analysts than implementers of good educational practice? Why is there not a single model school that the government runs among the 30,000? The answers undoubtedly lie in the low priority given to education administration by the civil society, the intelligentsia, the media and therefore the politicians.
Free and flawed
When the isolationist Rana regime fell in 1950, the first sector to attract support from the international aid community was education, as a means to undo neglect by the fallen oligarchy. The policy makers of the new Nepal were assisted by international experts in setting standards, and the government's very first five-year plan (1956-1961) articulated the worthy but ambitious goal of free and universal education by the year 1985. But even though the numerical expansion of schools and growth of the teaching profession may be seen as the success of the initial half of the half-century journey of Nepali public education, no policy has been able to inject quality into the pedagogy, teaching material or teacher training.
Through the slogan "universal and free", the government is being asked to provide for the whole country on the basis of very limited resources per capita. The schools exist, but without adequate classrooms and with abysmal teaching aids. There is a lack of qualified teachers, and, in some cases there are more than 80-100 children in a classroom. The Ministry of Education barely manages to provide the teacher salaries, and a small miscellaneous expenditure. Drinking water and toilet facilities are at a premium, and textbooks in many districts arrive well after the academic sessions begin. The parents, even when they understand the need to improve educational quality, are kept at arms length from the school's affairs.