Nepal School Sector Reform: Remarkable Progress
A report by the Nepal Ministry of Education, released by World Bank, says there has been quite remarkable progress in primary education over the past two decades.
“The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) at the primary level has nearly reached 92 percent in 2008, an increase from 67 percent in 1995. Gender Parity has been achieved at the primary and lower secondary3 level with a GPI of 0.98 and 0.96. These two indicators alone suggest that the progress has been quite remarkable through this sustained effort over the past two decades.”
The following are the opening paragraphs of the 7-page report:
I. Country and Sector Background
1. Nepal is a land-linked country, located between China and India, and is characterized by significant geographical and social diversity. Its 27 million people come from more than 100 caste/ethnicity groups and speak more than 90 languages and dialects. In an approximate rectangle of 800 kilometers by 250 kilometers, there are three distinct eco-zones- the mountains, the hills and the tarai plains - running north to south and five east-to-west development regions. Nepal is a relatively poor country with nearly one-third of the population living below the poverty line (NLSS II, 2003/04). Nepal's annual per capita income is about US$ 470 (FY2008/9), making it among the poorest countries in the region, despite a broad trend showing the poverty rate declining by one percentage point per annum even during the conflict period.
2. The country has witnessed significant political transformation in the recent past, and is beginning to emerge from a protracted period of instability and internal strife1. Having emerged from a long period of internal conflict, it has recently transitioned from being a constitutional monarchy to a republic state and elected a Constituent Assembly (CA) that is primarily tasked to drafting a new Constitution. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) emerged as the single largest party, but without a clear majority, following the 2008 CA elections and formed the coalition to head the Government. However, the Maoistled government stepped down from office in May 2009 and a new coalition Government has been formed, led by the United Marxist Leninist (UML) party and supported by the Nepali Congress and other parties. The current political environment and the peace process remain volatile.
3. The political transformation is closely interlinked with a desire for social change, with inclusion being very high up on the political agenda. Nepal has a highly stratified social set-up, and historically many communities and ethnic groups in Nepal have been marginalized and excluded from the development process. Spatially, development has been largely Kathmandu-centric. The emphasis on decentralization and the development of a federal structure as part of the new constitution is a reflection of this desire for greater inclusion. Another manifestation of this social change is the very strong demand for education in post-conflict Nepal. There is strong political support for education, cutting across party lines. The Government of Nepal's (GON) prioritization of education is a response to the increased demand for education services. The budgets for the past two years, articulates the priorities of new Nepal, with a key feature of the budget being the emphasis on the development of the country's human resources as a cornerstone of the country's development strategy. This can be viewed as a continuation of the commitments made by the successive Nepali governments towards facilitating improved access to, and quality of education in the country.
4. The School Sector Reform Program (SSRP) is the final program in a 15 year Education for All
National Program of Action (EFA-NPA). The Government has focused keenly on the education sector since the early 1990’s through a series of national programs, such as, the Basic Primary Education Projects (BPEP I, 1992-1998 and BPEP II, 1999-2004), and more recently, Community School Support Program (CSSP, 2003-2008), Secondary Education Support Program (SESP, 2003-2009), and Education For All Program (EFA, 2004-2009). The success of these past programs is illustrated in Table 1. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) at the primary level has nearly reached 92 percent in 2008, an increase from 67 percent in 1995. Gender Parity has been achieved at the primary and lower secondary3 level with a GPI of 0.98 and 0.96. These two indicators alone suggest that the progress has been quite remarkable through this sustained effort over the past two decades.
To read the full report (in PDF), click here.
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Posted by Editor on August 26, 2009 10:12 AM