NEFPORT ISSUE 45 – JULY 2021
EDUCATION EDUCATION The education sector of Nepal did not experience significant development during the review period. Educational institutions that had slowly started operating physical classes, after over 10 months of closure, were forced to shut down physical classes once again after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the nation. All pre-scheduled examination including the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) and the Grade 12 examination have been postponed until further notice. Nepal bhasa made mandatory in schools inside KMC: All private and
public schools inside the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) would now have to teach Nepal Bhasa as a compulsory subject from Grades I to VIII. The KMC officials made the decision to make the subject mandatory utilizing the authority granted by the Local Government Operation Act 2017, which allows local governments to incorporate one subject reflecting the local culture, tradition, history, language, or any technical education. The new subject in the curriculum is aimed at preserving Newa cultural values by helping young Newa students learn their language, art, and culture, while helping non-Newa students understand the rich Newa culture and heritage. Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has started hiring Nepal Bhasa teachers for public schools and has asked private schools to start training teachers for the subject.67
Three local levels of Solukhumbu district announced fully literate:
Necha Salyan rural municipality, Solududhkunda municipality, and Thulung Dudhkoshi rural municipality of Solukhumbu District were announced fully literate according to officials at
the municipalities. In Thulung Dudhkoshi rural municipality, 98.5% of the residents were announced to be literate. According to Asim Rai, chairperson of the Thulung Dudhkoshi rural municipality, the local body had run a literacy campaign targeting 916 people between the ages of 16 and 60, out of which 902 people were announced literate even though the rural municipality has a population of over 22,000 residents.68 Free broadband internet connected in 4,179 schools: As of mid-April
2021, 4,179 secondary schools across Nepal had been provided with free broadband internet. Under the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF), Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) initiated 18 projects aiming to provide high speed broadband internet across rural areas of Nepal. A total of 5,225 schools in 702 local levels are to receive free internet under the program. Almost 80% of these schools have been connected to broadband internet, with only 1,046 schools in 88 local levels remaining.69
Government shuts schools amidst second wave of COVID-19: The
Government of Nepal, on the recommendation of the COVID-19
Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) decided to shut down physical classes for all educational institutions in the country on April 26, 2021, until further notice due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.70 The Ministry of Health and Population had earlier recommended the closure of schools in urban areas after COVID-19 cases in schoolchildren and their families started rising. As of early April 2021, 14% of the total infections reported was seen in children.71 Likewise, the CCMC also recommended universities to postpose all pre-scheduled examinations as well. SEE and grade 12 examinations suspended: The National
Examinations Board (NEB) on 10 May 2021 made the decision to postpone the SEE and the Grade 12 examination until further notice; SEE was scheduled to start on May 27, 2021, while the Grade 12 exam was scheduled to start on June 9, 2021. With the COVID-19 pandemic crisis getting out of hand, conducting the previously scheduled exams physically was out of the question. The decision to postpone the exams have brought relief to students and parents against possible infection risks.72
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