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DOCKING NEPAL’S ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
EDUCATION EDUCATION This review period witnessed some remarkable development in the education sector of the country. After nearly 10 months of closing down, schools and colleges across Nepal have finally resumed physical classes. The National Examination Board (NEB) also published the much-awaited results of 2077’s Grade 12 examinations. Likewise, the Supreme Court paved the way for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) to implement a new curriculum for Grades 11 and 12 after months of indecision. Moreover, the National Education Commission report, that the government had been withholding from the public for two years was made public without government approval. Around USD 7 billion remitted abroad as educational expenses: As the
global pandemic compelled countries to close their borders, number of students leaving abroad for education sharply declined. However, the money remitted for education expenses shot up to almost USD 7 billion. As per the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the number of students applying for No Objection Letters (NOC) decreased by 35% in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to the previous year. The data from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that NPR 6.80 billion (USD 57.76 million) was remitted for students studying abroad as educational expenses, food, and accommodation expenses in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Students who went abroad for higher education usually work to pay their tuition fees and living expenses, however due to the pandemic and loss of jobs it was found that Nepali parents had been remitting money from the home country to support their children.36
Supreme Court allowed new curriculum for grades 11 and 12: The
Supreme Court issued a fresh directive, to implement a new curriculum for grades 11 and 12 of the National School Curriculum Framework 2076. Private school operators were hesitant to implement the new curriculum developed by the Curriculum Development Committee (CDC) citing problems despite repeated directives from the MoEST. As per the new curriculum, +2 students would have to study six subjects in each grade with 3 compulsory subjects and 3 elective subjects out of 80. Private school operators had filed a writ against the implementation of the new curriculum, after which the Supreme Court had halted its implementation until further decision.37 The dispute between the private schools and the government created a lot of confusion as some institutions had started teaching the new curriculum while others held on to the old curriculum. After months of indecisiveness, the Supreme Court finally passed the verdict in support of the new curriculum on 13 January, 2021.38 However, there were concerns whether mathematics would be a mandatory subject or not. The Supreme Court left the decision to the
MoEST itself, which finally made the decision to incorporate mathematics as a compulsory subject that students could choose instead of Social Studies & Life Skills.39 Grade 12 Results Published: The
National Examination Board (NEB) published the results for the Grade 12 examinations on 1 February, 2021. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the nationwide lockdown, the examination which was originally scheduled from 20 April, 2020 was conducted from 24 November to 1 December 2020. A total of 310,316 students appeared for the regular examinations from 4,105 higher secondary schools that were turned into exam centers all over Nepal.40
Government of Nepal gave approval for reopening of Schools across the country: After 10 months of
online operation, the Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) finally took the decision to allow schools across Nepal to resume physical presence in classrooms and schools. The schools will have to adopt appropriate health and safety measures, and the District Covid-19
