School Sector Development Plan

2016 - 2023

Government of Nepal
Ministry of Education
October 2016
 School Sector Development Plan

2016–2023

(BS 2073—2080)

Government of Nepal

Ministry of Education

October 2016

MoE (2016). School Sector Development Plan, Nepal, 2016–2023.

Kathmandu: Ministry of Education, Government of Nepal.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The School Sector Development Plan

The Government of Nepal has developed the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) for the July
2016 to July 2023 period to continue its efforts to ensure equitable access to quality education for
all. A programme has been developed for the first five years (2016-2021) of this seven-year plan. The
SSDP was developed through a participatory process led by the Ministry of Education, and is in line
with the country's vision of graduating from the status of a Least Developed Country by 2022.
Furthermore, the SSDP is considered an important vessel to enable Nepal to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals and to reach the goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2030. The main
drivers of the plan’s content are the achievements, lessons learned and unfinished agenda of the
Education For All programme (EFA) (2004-2009) and the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP) (2009–
2016) under the Education For All National Plan of Action (2001–2015).

The SSDP’s vision to ‘Contribute to the development of self-sustainable, competitive, innovative and
value-oriented citizens for the socioeconomic transformation of the nation,’ and its mission ‘to
produce the needed human resources to elevate Nepal’s status from a Least Developed Country by
2022 and to reach the status of a middle-income country by 2030’ have been reflected in the Plan’s
goal:
To contribute to socioeconomic development and reduce disparities in the country
through the continuous and inclusive development of its human resources capacity by
facilitating all citizens with opportunities to become functionally literate, numerate,
and to develop the basic life skills and knowledge required to enjoy a productive life,
taking into account the diversity of context and needs and with regards to the
forthcoming federalization of the country.

The SSDP’s theory of change is based on strengthening the school education sector in its core
dimensions, through a number of key result areas within and across these dimensions, in order for
the SSDP to achieve its goal, these dimensions are:
Equity: To ensure that the education system is inclusive and equitable in terms of access,
participation and learning outcomes, with a special focus on reducing disparities among and
between groups having the lowest levels of access, participation and learning outcomes.
Quality: To increase students’ learning through enhancing the relevance and quality of the
learning environment, the curriculum, teaching and learning materials (including textbooks),
teaching methods, assessment and examinations.
Efficiency: To strengthen and reorient governance and management systems in the education
sector to make them robust and accountable to local governments while assuring agreed overall
minimum standards in teaching and learning processes and the learning environment.
Governance and management: To accommodate the political and administrative restructuring of
the education sector in line with the identified needs and the federal context and to ensure
sustainable financing and strong financial management by introducing a cost-sharing modality
between central, provincial, and local governments.

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 Resilience: To mainstream comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction in the
education sector by strengthening school-level disaster management and resilience amongst
schools, students and communities and to ensure that schools are protected from conflict.
The Constitution of Nepal (2015) entails reorientation of the governance and management of the
educational system and its delivery mechanisms, especially to meet the new guarantees of free and
compulsory basic education and free secondary education. The increased powers of local bodies
under the new constitution call for realigning the roles of school management committees (SMCs).
The June 2016 amended Education Act enables structural and functional reforms.

Taking the SSRP as a point of departure, the SSDP has improving the quality of education as its
central focus while safeguarding the achievements made under SSRP on improving access to
education. While the plan aims to further improve access, it puts more emphasis on equitable access
to overcome the disparities suffered by children from disadvantaged groups, children with
disabilities and children from remote areas.

The SSDP is also designed to address two major contemporary challenges. It supports ‘building back
better’ after the earthquakes of April and May 2015 and improving disaster risk reduction in the
aftermaths of the damage to the school infrastructure and the lessons learned on school safety. It
also sets the scene for the reforms demanded by the move to a federal system of government,
although the detailed shape of these reforms will only become evident in the first years of the SSDP.
These reforms will be a priority focus of the government and it is thus recognised that a smooth
transition to federalisation in the management of educational services is crucial.

SSDP’s main components

The SSDP encompasses Nepal’s school education sector, including non-formal education, with basic
education covering one year of early childhood education and development and pre-primary
education (ECED/PPE) to grade 8 and secondary education grades 9 to 12.

The objectives with regard to basic education are to develop the physical, socio-emotional,
cognitive, spiritual, and moral potential for all 4-12-year-old children, through ensuring school
readiness and universal access to quality basic education for all 4–12-year-old children and readiness
for secondary education by students gaining the required learning competencies, and to promote
life skills and value-based education and impart early orientation on the national economy and
harmony in socio-cultural diversity. To ensure school readiness, one year of ECED/PPE is
incorporated as part of the basic education cycle under the SSDP. Measures will be taken under the
SSDP to increase the enrolment of children from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
Furthermore, minimum quality standards will be assured by bringing ECED/PPE services in to
schools. Increasing the educational attainment of children with disabilities entails institutionalizing
support systems that include early screening and interventions through closer coordination between
the health and education ministries and a move from special and segregated education services. The
rationale of including NFE under basic education is that NFE programmes such as flexible education
schemes help bring children that are out-of-school back into formal education and provides
alternative basic education for older children and adults who are unlikely or unable to enter or re-
enter formal education. While overcoming access disparities is important, improving the quality of
basic education remains the SSDP’s priority. For this, the SSDP focuses on improving access to safe
environments that enable learning, improving access to and the quality of non-formal education and

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strengthening peer support mechanisms for children. This focus encompasses the establishment of
quality learning environments. Children need access to education in safe schools with resilient
infrastructure and child-friendly environments free from bullying and harassment. An adequate and
enabling learning environment will mean that basic education schools comply with minimum
enabling conditions, build the logistical and teacher capacity to promote teaching in mother tongue
languages and use mother tongues as a medium of instruction, and have quality relevant curricula in
place that are regularly adjusted to suit the differing abilities of students on the basis of reliable
assessments.

The objectives for secondary education are to make students ready for the world of work by
developing skilled human resources, focus on access to education without compromising quality,
provide options and accredited learning pathways for students between technical and general
secondary education, strengthen institutional links and facilitate the transition to higher education,
prepare students to uphold and fulfil their civic duties and ensure the acquisition of foundation skills
through technical and vocational education at secondary level that will enable adolescents to
acquire skill sets. For this, the SSDP aims to put more focus on ensuring access to and the quality and
relevance of secondary education. This will include enforcing the fulfilment of MECs in secondary
schools and targeted allocations to reduce disparities between schools to meet them. Furthermore,
the SSDP aims to strengthen pathways and bridges that enable students to shift between more
academic to applied focused education. It also prioritizes maths and science, which include providing
an adequate supply of subject specialist teachers. This calls for reform of the curriculum and
textbooks to better align with levels and streams. Another key requirement is the appointment of
head teachers with management skills. Furthermore, the SSDP aims to strengthen technical and
vocational education in secondary schools by introducing measures that develop qualified and
technical human resources capable of earning decent incomes. This will be achieved through
consolidation of the technical-vocational curricula in the secondary level (classes 9 to 12) and
introduce a broad National Vocational Qualifications Framework to accredit institutions that deliver
vocational education. MoE will also invest in creating opportunities for students from low
socioeconomic backgrounds, while developing teachers who are qualified in technical subjects. SSDP
recognises that a strategic partnership with the private sector is needed to successfully develop and
sustain technical and vocational education.

The objective with regard to literacy and lifelong learning is to enhance functional literacy and
cultivate reading and learning habits among youths and adults. Literacy and lifelong learning have a
large role to play in education reform in Nepal in the light of the large number of low skilled
workers, and the poor fit between tertiary education and labour market needs. Current literacy
initiatives comprise programmes for basic, post-literacy and income generating activities, with a
focus on women. Community learning centres (CLCs) help deliver literacy and lifelong learning
programmes.

Besides these sub sectors, the SSDP focuses on a number of cross-cutting themes, as presented
below:

Teacher professional development and management; ensuring quality and needs-based

teacher professional development and performance-based teacher management are some
of the main elements in SSDP’s theory of change. With an investment of around 70% of the
total SSDP budget, teacher salaries are considered as the prime resource to establish quality

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education. Strong ownership of SSDP’s programme by teacher professional organizations is
crucial, even more so with respect to the need to transform the teacher management and
professional development structure to accommodate the upcoming decentralization of the
education system under the federal system.

Governance and Management; the implementation of federalism in the country is expected

to revise the responsibilities of federal (or national), provincial and local levels in terms of
education planning, management and budgeting. Implementing the resulting reforms and
restructuring institutional arrangements will consume the education sector in the initial
SSDP period. The SSDP will introduce performance-based management and resourcing at
the school level. A scaling system to rank community schools on the basis of several
indicators related to education achievement, school governance and facilities available will
be developed and implemented.

Institutional Capacity Development; as the implementation of the federal structure is

expected to be initiated in the first one to three years of the SSDP period, with
institutionalization in the medium term (3–5 years), the first years of SSDP implementation
need to be used to prepare the system for this transformation, both in terms of the
management and funding structures as well as in building human and institutional
capacities. The SSDP envisions enhanced capacities, particularly of VDCs, municipalities,
PTAs and SMCs, including related to their responsibilities for monitoring the performance of
schools.

Monitoring and Evaluation; achievement against the SSDP results is the main means of
monitoring the implementation of SSDP. The framework contains the indicators for
measuring progress in each sub-sector and cross-cutting area. MoE and its development
partners will review the sector’s performance at joint annual reviews and a joint mid-term
evaluation, which will be conducted by an external evaluator approximately half-way
through SSDP implementation.

Examination and Assessment; the SSDP will build on the achievements of SSRP with an
emphasis on making both formative and summative assessments more skills and learner
focused rather than content focused. More time will be spent helping teachers understand
the use of formative and summative exams to target their teaching and to thereby improve
learning outcomes. For this purpose, there needs to be a greater cohesion of curriculum,
textbooks and assessment and a move from the assessment of learning to assessment for
learning.

ICT in Education; a long-term goal of education in Nepal is to provide citizens with the
knowledge and skills they need to work for the development of the country and to integrate
Nepal into the global community. To achieve this goal, the Government of Nepal is working
to ensure access to quality basic education for all and to develop work and job market
relevant education. With the expanding role of information and communication technology
(ICT) in all areas of life, MoE considers the use of and knowledge of ICT essential.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery; the focus of DRR under the SSDP programme is the
safe reconstruction, repair and retro-maintenance of schools in earthquake-affected areas
and the safe construction and retrofitting of schools in non-affected areas. The concept of

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 safe schools covers all three pillars of the comprehensive school safety framework of (i) safe
infrastructure, (ii) strengthened disaster risk management and (iii) strengthened resilience in
communities and among stakeholders. In order to ensure access for all children to a safe
enabling learning environment, comprehensive disaster risk reduction and school safety
programmes are envisioned in all schools. These programmes will also improve disaster
management and resilience in communities.

Health and Nutrition; the SSDP takes a holistic approach in terms of children’s well-being as
an imperative for learning outcomes. As such the Plan aims to increase health and nutrition
services in schools, including the provision of deworming, micronutrient supplementation
and malaria treatment as well as vision and hearing screening. Furthermore, for all schools
to have functional water and sanitation facilities that are environmentally sound and user-
friendly for children, boys and girls and differently-abled students and teachers. To
strengthen participation and learning outcomes, minimizing the drop-out rate of adolescent
girls by fulfilling their privacy and menstrual hygiene management related needs. Finally, the
SSDP aims to promote healthy behaviours through skills-based health education including
HIV/AIDS prevention, hygiene and nutrition. The knowledge, attitudes, values and skills
developed will enable children to stay healthy and safe long after they leave school.

SSDP programme - The SSDP programme will be implemented at a time when Nepal is going
through major state restructuring as it moves towards federal and provincial levels of government as
per the new constitution and school restructuring following the recent passage and enactment of
the amended Education Act. Although preparations to facilitate this restructuring process have been
initiated, it is assumed that the major organizational restructuring of MoE and the central level
agencies that come under it will only occur after three years of the beginning of the SSDP
programme. The SSDP programme governance and implementation arrangements will be
undertaken through the two-pronged strategy of (i) the development of a roadmap for restructuring
and realigning MoE in relation to the transition to the federal system; and (ii) strengthening existing
implementation arrangements through improved programme management, technical oversight and
coordination.

SSDP expenditure

The SSDP expenditure (excluding a part of construction activities) is estimated to be $10.66 billion
for the entire seven-year SSDP (2016–23), $6.5 billion for the five-year SSDP programme (2016-21)
and $3.3 billion for the first three years of the SSDP (2016–18). This estimate includes both ongoing
expenditure and additional programme budget requirements to implement SSDP. Capital costs
account for 9.1% in the first three and five years and decline slightly thereafter. The cost of the DRR
programme that is being implemented under the NRA framework is not included in this cost. The
required amount (including DRR) is higher than the available resource envelope for all three cycles.
However, the cost of SSDP excluding a part of the DRR programme (about 70% of total DRR costs)
falls within the resource envelope under a plausible scenario. All DRR expenditure contributes to
achieving SSDP results; but that this allocation falls outside the MoE resource envelope. SSDP
programme will support expenditure from 2016 to 2021. Most SSDP programme expenditure will go
for basic education (ECED/PPE to grade 8) followed by secondary education (grades 9 to 12).
However, in comparison to the SSRP period, the share of secondary education is estimated to
increase under the SSDP (25.4%) considering the new secondary education programmes.

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x
 CONTENTS

Message from Minister................................................................................................................ ii

Message from State Minister ...................................................................................................... iii

Foreword by Secretary ............................................................................................................... iv

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... v

Contents .................................................................................................................................... xi

Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................................... xiv

PART 1: School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) ......................................................................... 1

1 Background and Context...................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 Country Context .................................................................................................................... 4

1.3 The School Sector Reform Plan (2009-2016) ........................................................................ 8

1.4 Key Issues and Challenges................................................................................................... 10

1.5 Financing SSDP .................................................................................................................... 15

1.6 Opportunities ...................................................................................................................... 15

2 Vision................................................................................................................................ 17

2.1 SSDP Vision.......................................................................................................................... 17

2.2 SSDP Mission, Goal, Purpose and Objectives ..................................................................... 17

2.3 Policy Framework................................................................................................................ 18

2.4 SSDP Key Performance Indicators....................................................................................... 19

3 SSDP Theory of Change ...................................................................................................... 21

3.1 Decentralized Governance and Federalism ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.2 Quality and Effective Pedagogy for Improved Learning Outcomes .................................... 24

3.3 Curriculum Framework and Learning Materials ................................................................. 25

3.4 Assessment and Examinations ............................................................................................ 26

3.5 Teacher Management and Professional Development ...................................................... 27

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 3.6 Languages of Education ...................................................................................................... 29

3.7 Equity and Inclusion ............................................................................................................ 31

3.8 Enabling Environment ......................................................................................................... 32

3.9 Infrastructure Development and School Safety.................................................................. 34

3.10 Capacity Development ........................................................................................................ 35

4 Basic Education ................................................................................................................. 37

4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 37

4.2 Objectives and Strategies ................................................................................................... 39

4.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions ...................................................................... 44

5 Secondary Education ......................................................................................................... 47

5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 47

5.2 Objective and Strategies ..................................................................................................... 47

5.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions ...................................................................... 50

6 Literacy and Lifelong Learning ............................................................................................ 53

6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 53

6.2 Objective and Strategies ..................................................................................................... 53

6.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions ...................................................................... 54

7 Cross-Cutting Themes ........................................................................................................ 55

7.1 Teacher Management and Professional Development ...................................................... 55

7.2 School Governance and Management................................................................................ 58

7.3 Institutional Capacity Development ................................................................................... 60

7.4 Disaster Risk Reduction and School Safety ......................................................................... 62

7.5 Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment ............................................................................ 64

7.6 Examination and Accreditation........................................................................................... 67

7.7 Application of ICT in education ........................................................................................... 68

7.8 Health and Nutrition in Schools .......................................................................................... 70

PART 2: SSDP’s Programme ....................................................................................................... 73

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8 Programme Description ..................................................................................................... 74

8.1 Basic Education (Including ECED/PPE and NFE) .................................................................. 74

8.2 Secondary Education Including Technical and Vocational Subjects ................................... 79

8.3 Literacy and Lifelong Learning ............................................................................................ 84

8.4 Teacher Professional Development and Management ...................................................... 86

8.5 Disaster Risk Reduction and School Safety ......................................................................... 90

9 Programme Governance, Management and Implementation .............................................. 94

9.1 Governance Arrangements ................................................................................................. 94

9.2 SSDP programme Implementation Arrangements ............................................................. 94

9.3 Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting .............................................................................. 100

9.4 Financial Management Arrangements.............................................................................. 103

10 Financing .........................................................................................................................106

10.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 106

10.2 Objectives, Policy Directions and Strategies ..................................................................... 106

10.3 Education Expenditure ...................................................................................................... 107

11 Capacity and Institutional Development ...........................................................................113

11.1 Programme description .................................................................................................... 113

11.2 Technical assistance coordination, management and needs for the SSDP ...................... 116

References ...............................................................................................................................118

Annexes ...................................................................................................................................122

Annex 1: School Education Sector Institutions in Nepal .........................................................123

Annex 2: SSDP Programme and Results Framework...............................................................125

Annex 3: SSDP Theory of Change Model ................................................................................144

Annex 4: Languages of Education Strategic Framework .........................................................145

Annex 5: Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Sector in Nepal ....................................150

Annex 6: Post Disaster Recovery Framework Education Sector Action Plan ............................162

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 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADB Asian Development Bank

ASIP Annual Strategic Implementation Plan
AWPB Annual Work Plan and Budget
BS Bikram Sambat (Nepali Calendar — official Nepali date system)
CAS Continuous Assessment System
CB-EGRA Classroom-Based EGRA
CBO Community Based Organisation
CDC Curriculum Development Centre
CGAS Computerized Government Accounting System
CID Capacity and Institutional Development
CLA Central Level Agency
CLC Community Learning Centre
CSE Comprehensive Sex Education
CTEVT Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training
CwDs Children with Disabilities
DDC District Development Committee
DEO District Education Office
DEP District Education Plan
DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian Aid)
DFID Department for International Development
DIU District Implementation Unit
DLI Disbursement Linked Indicator
DoE Department of Education
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
ECD Early Childhood Development
ECED/PPE Early Childhood Education and Development/Pre-Primary Education
EFA Education For All
EGR Early Grade Reading
EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment
ELDS Early Learning and Development Standards
EMIS Educational Management Information System
ERO Education Review Office
ESIP Equity Strategy Implementation Plan
ETC Education Training Centre
FCS Foreign Coordination Section
FMR Financial Monitoring Report
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GER Gross Enrolment Rate
GIR Gross Intake Rate
GIS Geographical Information System
GoN Government of Nepal
GPE Global Partnership for Education
GPI Gender Parity Index

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HSE Higher Secondary Education
HSEB Higher Secondary Education Board
IACDP Institutional Assessment and Capacity Development Plan
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IEMIS Integrated EMIS
JFA Joint Financing Arrangement
JFP Joint Financing Partners
JICA Japan International Cooperation Assistance
KPI Key Performance Indicator
LDC Least Developed Country
LRC Lead Resource Centres
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MEC Minimum Enabling Condition
MEC Municipality Education Committee
MGML Multi Grade-Multi Level
MLE Multi-Lingual Education
MoE Ministry of Education
MoF Ministry of Finance
MTB Mother Tongue Based
MToT Master Training of Trainers
NASA National Assessment for Student Achievements
NCED National Centre for Education Development
NCF National Curriculum Framework
NDHS Nepal Demographic and Health Survey
NEB National Examination Board
NEGRP National Early Grade Reading Programme
NER Net Enrolment Rate
NFE Non-Formal Education
NIR Net Intake Rate
NLSS Nepal Living Standards Survey
NPC National Planning Commission
NPR Nepalese Rupees
NQF National Qualification Framework
NRA National Reconstruction Authority
NVQF National Vocational Qualifications Framework
O&M Organisation and Management
OAG Office of the Auditor-General
OCE Office of Controller of Examinations
PCF Per Child Funding
PDNA Post-Disaster Needs Assessment
PDRF Post-Disaster Recovery Framework
PIU Programme Implementation Unit
PMEC Prioritized Minimum Enabling Conditions
PPC Pre-Primary Class
PPE Pre-Primary Education

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PTA Parent Teacher Association
RC Resource Centre
RED Regional Education Directorate
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SIP School Improvement Plan
SMC School Management Committee
SSDP School Sector Development Plan
SSRP School Sector Reform Programme
STR Student-Teacher Ratio
SWAp Sector Wide Approach
TA Technical Assistance
TPD Teacher Professional Development
TSC Teacher Service Commission
TSU Technical Support Unit
TVE Technical and Vocational Education
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations International Children's in Emergency Fund
USAID United States Agency for International Development
VDC Village Development Committee
VEC Village Education Committee
VEP Village Education Plan
WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
WFP World Food Programme

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1
 1 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

1.1 Background
Nepal is undergoing a political, social and educational transformation. With the completion of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education For All period and defined new approaches
to development under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nepal sees significant reform
and restructuring ahead, with the introduction of the federal system under the 2015 promulgated
constitution (GoN 2015). A robust school education system, which safeguards the achievements
made over the past years and ensures minimum quality and accessibility while allowing adaptation
to the diverse context and needs within the country, is crucial for progress towards the SDGs and
for building a democratic federal republic under the new constitution.

The previous education sector plan, the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP) (MoE 2009a) was
implemented from 2009 to mid-July 2016. Under this plan there was a five-year School Sector
Reform Programme (2009–2014) (MoE 2009b), which was followed by a two-year extension (2014–
2016) (MoE 2014a).

The Government of Nepal has developed the follow-on School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) for
the seven-year period of mid-July 2016 to mid-July 2023 (BS 2073–2080) in line with Nepal’s vision
to graduate from the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC) by the year 2022 and to reach the
status of the middle-income country's level by 2030 (NPC 2014; NPC 2015a and NPC 2016). A
programme has been developed covering the first five years of the plan (2016–2021), which is
articulated in Part 2 of this document.

The SSDP continues the government’s efforts to ensure access to quality education for all through
the Education for All (EFA, 2004-2007) programme, the Secondary Education Support Programme
(SESP, 2003-2008), the Community School Support Project (CSSP, 2003-2008), the Teacher
Education Project (TEP, 2002-2007) and most recently, the SSRP (2009-2016).

The SSDP aligns with Nepal’s international commitment towards the SDGs (NPC 2015a), which
were adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, and with the Post-Disaster Needs
Assessment (PDNA, NPC 2015b and 2015c) and the Post-Disaster Recovery Framework (PDRF, (NRA
2016).

Building upon the lessons learned and the gains made in the sector under the above programmes,
the SSDP is designed to enable the school education sector to complete unfinished agenda items
and achieve the SDG 4 target of “Ensuring equitable and inclusive quality education and promoting
lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

The SSDP also aligns with Nepal’s commitment at the Incheon Declaration of the World Education
Forum and its Universal Declaration on Education by 2030 agenda (UNESCO 2015):
“to transform lives through education, recognizing the important role of education as
a main driver of development and in achieving the other proposed SDGs *….through+
a renewed education agenda that is holistic, ambitious and aspirational, leaving no
one behind.”

The development of the SSDP is fully aligned with the SDG 4 and will come under the broader
framework of the Nepal National Plan of Action that encompasses the entire education sector to

2
2030 and follows on from the Nepal National Plan of Action for EFA implementation (2000-2015)
(UNESCO 2003).

Many lessons were learned and challenges faced while implementing the EFA programme and
SSRP, as well as the NNPA. The SSDP therefore reflects the legacies of EFA and SSRP alongside new
initiatives to address the emerging needs of the country and the people’s aspirations.

Building on the lessons learned from earlier programmes, the SSDP has been developed through an
inclusive and participatory approach based on an analysis of the education sector. Starting in June
2015, joint thematic working groups (TWGs) were formed, background papers developed, and
knowledge gaps filled by carrying out thematic studies (MoE 2016). Consultations were undertaken
with all levels of stakeholders to confirm and validate strategic priorities. These processes led to
the development of the SSDP Approach Paper, which outlined the broad policy directions and
provided the basis for the SSDP document.

The SSRP and previous programmes had stressed improving overall access to education, as well as
quality and learning outcomes. As such, the SSDP will take the quality agenda forward through an
increased focus on the quality of education and equitable access, participation and learning
outcomes.

The Constitution of Nepal (2015) demands a thorough reorientation of the education system
through structural and functional reforms including the policy and regulatory frameworks. The
constitution guarantees the fundamental right to education and lays down the directive principles
of the federal state, provinces1 and local bodies on education and the right to education.

The Eighth Amendment of the 1971 Education Act (GoN 2016) ensures compatibility between and
among educational institutions and paves the way for reforms in line with the new constitutional
mandate.

The earthquakes of April and May 2015 seriously disrupted the provision of education during the
development of this new national education plan. Over 35,000 classrooms were either mostly or
totally damaged, leaving more than one million children without access to safe permanent places
to learn (NEC 2015). This reversed much recent progress in the education sector in the 14 most
affected districts and increased the risk of children not being able to eventually return to safe
learning spaces through temporary and transitional learning spaces, thereby adding to the existing
number of out-of-school children. The SSDP therefore prioritises reconstruction and recovery
works as identified in the government’s PDNA (NPC 2015b and 2015c) and PDRF (NRA 2016) in line
with the Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) that was adopted at the Third UN World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (United Nations 2015).

In short, the SSDP addresses the educational reform and developmental needs of the country in
the current context. Education sector reform is necessitated by the forthcoming changeover to a
federal system of governance. This will require changes to rules and regulatory frameworks. On the
other hand, development works are needed to improve the quality of education, efficiency and
service delivery and to ensure equitable access and participation by reaching out to children and
youth from communities and groups with limited access to the education system. This requires

1
The provinces are the second tier of governance under the new constitution to where many powers will be devolved.

3
revisiting development programmes and building the capacity of delivery units and agencies. Thus,
in broad terms, the SSDP focuses on the reform and development of the education sector in line
with the new constitutional mandate.

1.2 Country Context

Nepal’s topography, climate, religion, and population are very diverse. The country consists of
three topographic regions: the Terai plains in the south, the middle hills (Midhills), and the
Himalayan mountains in the north. The country has tropical, sub-tropical, temperate, sub-arctic,
and arctic climatic zones. In the early 1990s, Nepal was the only constitutionally declared Hindu
state in the world. The 2007 Interim Constitution declared Nepal as a secular state. That said, the
country has a majority of people who are Hindus (80.6 percent) followed by Buddhists (10.7
percent). Other religious minorities include Muslims, Kirats, Christians and Jains. The most densely
populated parts of the country are the southern Terai districts, the Kathmandu Valley and Kaski
district.

Nepal’s formal education system is relatively new, as, until the 1950s, access to school education
was confined to a limited number of schools that served elite and wealthy populations. The
planned expansion of school education began with the establishment of the Nepal National
Education Commission in 1956, and subsequently, the promulgation of the education system plan
in 1971 (MoE 1971). Thus, Nepal’s public education system is just over 50 years old. Within this
short period there has been a phenomenal growth in the number of schools and enrolment rates.
This expansion took place in the context of the highly diverse needs in terms of socio-demography
and culture and during a period of political reform and restructuring.

Socio-demographic context
Nepal’s 2011 census recorded a population of 26.5 million (CBS 2012). The population has much
social, cultural and ethnic diversity. The census recorded 125 ethnic groups and 123 languages of
which more than a dozen were in active use by more than 100,000 people. The 2011 census
reported that 80.6% of the population were Hindus and 10.7% Buddhists with the remainder being
mostly Muslims, Kirats, Christians and Jains.

The demographic dividend- There has been a sharp decline in the average growth rate of Nepal’s
total population in the 2001-2011 period compared to the 1991–2001 period (CBS 2014). In the
previous decade, the average growth rate was 2.25 percent, compared to only 1.35 percent in
2001–2011. If the present population growth rate persists, it will take 51 years to double the
population of 2011. The decline in growth rate was attributed to both a decline in fertility and the
emigration of many young people. The CBS also noted that mortality has also been declining.
Compared to the 2001 mortality rate of 10.3 per thousand, the 2011 rate is estimated at 7.3.
Additionally, life expectancy at birth has increased from 49.6 years in 1981 to 66.6 years in 2011.
Finally, the median age of the population and ageing index show that the population is getting
older, and the dependency of older individuals (50 years and over) is increasing. Current trends
show that Nepal, like other South Asian countries, is enjoying a demographic surplus. Appendix C
visualizes Nepal’s shifting demographic make-up and future projections.

Nepal’s education sector caters for a very diverse group of stakeholders in terms of culture, context
and needs. The main implication of this diversity for the education sector is the many different first

4
languages of students. Recent studies suggest that a substantial proportion of students that enrol
in grade 1 have a first language other than Nepali and consequently have lower proficiency in
Nepali (RTI 2014). These cultural differences are also visible in the operation of a number of
traditional schools within the school education sector. The purpose of providing traditional
education through traditional schools is to blend people's cultural needs and social values with
core school curricula subjects in an integrated way. Also, related to cultural diversity are the
different levels of educational attainment among different ethnic groups (Janajatis) and castes, and
the gender-based disparities in access to and participation in education within these groups. The
country’s large geographical diversity explains the great variation in the number of children living in
school catchment areas ranging from only a few in the high mountains to hundreds in the Terai
plains (DoE 2014).

In terms of the composition of the school going population, about 22% of 4-year-old children are
out of pre-school/primary school in Nepal, with no significant difference between girls and boys.
Nepal has 6.13 million children (boys 51.1%, girls 48.9%) of age 5 to 12 enrolled in the basic level
(grade 1-8), and 1.39 million children (boys 49.2%, girls 50.8%) aged 13 to 16 enrolled in secondary
level (grade 9-12) (DoE 2016).

Political context
In 1990, the country transformed to a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy. A
decade-long conflict between insurgents and the government broke out in 1996 and culminated in
a peace accord and the 2007 promulgation of the Interim Constitution (GoN 2007a). The monarchy
was abolished soon after and the Interim Constitution declared Nepal to be a federal democratic
republic. Nepal’s new federal constitution was promulgated on 20 September 2015 and reaffirms
education as a fundamental right (GoN 2015):
“Every citizen shall have the right to free and compulsory basic education, and free
education up to the secondary level.”

Economic context
Nepal is one of the least developed countries. Its per capita income is US$ 762. Agriculture employs
70 percent of the population but only accounts for 34 percent of GDP. Remittance have been
identified as the country’s largest source of income and represent a critical measure in mitigation
of poverty, promoting investment, and increased investment in education at a household level. The
remittances of the labour force were estimated to account for 21 percent of GDP in 2012.
However, Nepalese working overseas are mainly engaged in low skill and low wage occupations
(ADB 2013). At home, university graduates are the most affected by unemployment followed by
secondary school, then primary school completers (World Bank 2013).

The damage caused by the 2015 May/April earthquakes is reckoned to have reduced the growth of
the economy from the expected 6 percent to only 3 percent growth in 2014/15, which was further
reduced to 0.77 percent in 2015/16, with the 5-month severe fuel and commodity shortages
caused by constraints on import of goods at Nepal’s Southern border (Paudel 2015). The share of
recurrent government expenditure has increased by more than 10 percent on average for the last
five years (MoF 2015).

In the last seven years (FY 2009/10-2015/16), the government’s educational expenditure has
consistently stayed at around 15 percent of the national budget, despite a decline to around 12

5
percent in the last two years of this period. The educational budget has been increasing in absolute
terms, despite that its share of government expenditure has decreased from 21.4 percent in
2010/11 to an estimated 12 percent in 2015/16 as a result of a significant overall increase of the
national budget, partly due to the need to respond the post disaster emerged needs for
reconstruction and recovery.

A country in transition
New federal structure — The new constitution defines the Federal State of Nepal as an
“independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive, democratic, socialism-oriented federal
democratic republican state.” (GoN 2015: 1). Decentralization was adopted as a government policy
under the Third Five Year Plan (1965–1970) (NPC 1965). The aim was to engage people in planning
and development-related decision-making under local government bodies. The government
established village development committees (VDCs), municipalities and district development
committees (DDCs)2 as the local administrative units for decentralised governance. These local
bodies have been involved in local planning and development works since the beginning of the
1960s.

After the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, and especially since 1999, the local bodies
have been responsible for local governance under the Local Self Governance Act (1999), the Local
Self Governance Regulation (1999) and the Local Body (Financial Administration) Regulations
(2007) (HMGN 1999a, HMGN 1999b, GoN 2007b).

From MDGs to SDGs — Another major transition is the global move from the MDG agenda (2000–
2015) to contextualizing and adopting the SDG agenda (2015–2030). Nepal made very good
progress across most MDGs. The annual rate of poverty decline increased from 1.5 percent
between 1996 and 2004 to 2.5 percent between 2004 and 2011 (NPC 2013: 10). The percentage of
the population living below the poverty line is estimated as 21.6% (NPC 2016). Furthermore, the
proportion of people living in absolute poverty (i.e. whose income was less than a dollar a day —
MDG 1) halved, with the rate dropping from 33.5% in 1990 to 19.7% in 2010 and 16.4% in 2013.
The drop of more than one percent per year meant that the 17% target for 2015 was achieved
ahead of schedule (NPC 2013).

The decline in poverty continued even during the ten-year armed conflict. However, disparities
remain, with poverty rates in rural areas, where over 80 percent of the population live, being
higher than in urban areas and among certain population groups.

Nepal has also achieved substantial gains on its MDG 1 target of reducing hunger. The 2015 target
for the prevalence of underweight children (29%) was just met (28.8%) while the target for the
proportion of the population with below minimum dietary consumption (25%) was far exceeded
with a decrease to 15.7%.

While the prevalence of stunting among children under five has steadily fallen since 1990, it
remains stubbornly high, affecting 41 per cent of all children under five years of age, with the
Western Mountains being the most affected (prevalence as high as 60%). This is also associated
with limited to no improvement in ‘wasting’ over recent years, which currently stands at 11 per

2
Initially labelled district panchayats

6
cent with the Central Terai facing the highest wasting burden at 15% (MoHP et al. 2012). Though
maternal and young child micronutrient status has improved, anaemia especially remains a serious
public health problem for both women and children, with young children (6–23 months) being the
most affected (69%) (MoHP et al. 2012).

The demographic dividend - The demographic projection for 2025 shows that in 10 years Nepal’s
fertility rates will continue to decrease, leading to fewer new entrants in the population that are
not part of the labour force (Lee and Mason 2006). At the same time, the labour force will increase
more rapidly than the population dependent on it within this period. This phenomenon is known as
a demographic dividend and identified as a ‘window of opportunity’ that occurs once in a country’s
transition.

The education sector

Education is a priority sector of the government as reflected in the large share of the budget
allocated to it and the rising level of public investment in education over the past decade. The
sector has received the largest share of the government’s budget in recent years. Furthermore,
public investment in education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) increased from
less than 2.9 percent in 1999 to over 4.7 percent in 2010 (CBS 2012). Considering that Nepal’s GDP
only grew at around 4.4 percent per year during this period, the increasing share of education of
GDP represents a significant increase in investment in absolute terms. More than 80 percent of the
government’s annual education budget goes to school education (grades 1-12). In addition to this
budget, grants at DDC and VDC level are allocated for supporting education, as well as significant
support byparents and households .

Good progress has been made on the provision of and access to basic education over the past two
decades. Education for All (EFA) Goal 2 was to ensure that all children, particularly girls and
children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to disadvantaged ethnic groups, have access
to and complete free and compulsory good quality primary education. The net intake rate in grade
1 rose to 92.7 percent of eligible girls and 93.3 percent of eligible boys in 2015. Net basic level
enrolment rates have also steadily improved (to 88.7 percent in 2015), although they fell short of
the SSRP target of 98 percent.

Despite the decade-long conflict and other political challenges, Nepal has made remarkable
progress expanding learning opportunities for children and adults. But the quality of education is
generally low, as are secondary school completion rates. Insufficiently prepared teachers, the lack
of adequate and appropriate materials, and insufficient support at home are factors that prevent
many children from developing foundational skills for life that will allow them to learn throughout
their academic careers and beyond.

Nepal has achieved substantial, albeit uneven, progress towards its goal of ensuring universal
primary education, with it meeting the MDG 2 indicator on enrolment in primary education, but
not meeting the indicators on primary education survival and literacy despite making reasonable
progress on these indicators. However, some of this progress is likely to have been reversed by the
damage wrought by the 2015 earthquakes and the economic blockade, which had a negative
impact on the enrolment, retention and completion rates within education and are expected to
have longer-term effects that could further reduce achievements and disrupt the positive trends in

7
other education outcomes. If this is the case, it may be difficult to meet the targets it committed to
under MDG 2 and to graduate from being a least developed country by 2022 (UNESCO 2015).

The structure of the education sector

Nepal’s education system comprises school education and higher education. Up to the beginning of
the SSRP, school education was divided into early childhood education and development/pre-
primary education (ECED/PPE), primary education and secondary education. However, under the
SSRP a new overall structure was introduced with basic education covering grades 1 to 8 and
secondary education grades 9 to 12, amounting to 12 years of formal school education. Currently,
basic education includes one year of ECED/PPE and class 1 to 8 and secondary education includes
grade 9 to 12. The intermediate level, which was equivalent to higher secondary level, was also
being offered under university education.

Higher education consists of three to four year-long bachelor's degrees and two year masters’
degrees. Some universities also offer postgraduate diploma and Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
courses. The Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) is the highest degree offered.

Technical and vocational education (TVE) subjects are offered in secondary schools to orient
students on technical and vocational skills. The SSDP aims to strengthen students the teaching and
learning of technical and vocational subjects in secondary schools from grade 9. The School Sector
Reform Plan (2009-2016)

Plan objectives
The SSRP (2009–2016) was implemented by the Ministry of Education (MoE) through a sector wide
approach (SWAp), with financial contributions from the Government of Nepal (GoN) and
development partners, including support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The
SSRP was the latest and final programme in the 15 year EFA National Plan of Action, 2001-2015.
MoE was responsible for implementing recurrent and development programmes in the school
education sector under the SSRP in accordance with the agreed strategic framework, a joint
financing arrangement (JFA), annual strategic implementation plans (ASIPs), and annual work plans
and budgets (AWPBs).

The SSRP programme focused on the three pillars of access, inclusion, and quality, structured
across its three components, which were as follows:
1. Basic education (grades 1-8), ECED/PPE, literacy and lifelong learning — The primary
objective was to prepare pre-school aged children through ECED/PPE for basic education,
ensure equitable access to and quality of basic education for all 5 to 12 year olds, and
deliver basic numeracy and literacy to youths and adults, especially women and people
from marginalized groups.
2. Secondary education (grades 9-12) and technical and vocation training pilot programmes
— The aim here was to improve access to, the equity of, and the quality and relevance of
secondary education for 13 to 16 year olds. This component focused on improving the
relevance of secondary education grade 9 and 10, by introducing and exposing children to
vocational and technical education programmes that facilitate the school-to-work
transition.

8
 3. Institutional capacity strengthening (including teacher management) for the planning,
delivery and monitoring of educational services and products — This component aimed to
improve the capacity of SSRP implementation agencies and partners to enhance the
delivery and monitoring of educational services and products.

Main achievements of the SSRP

Under SSRP, an independent mid-term review (Cumming et al. 2012) and final review (Poyck et al.
2015) were carried out, in addition to the joint annual reviews of progress in the education sector.

Overall awareness of the importance of education increased during the SSRP period (2009-2016),
which in turn increased overall expectations of the public education system. One of the most
important innovations was the realignment of basic education to cover grades one year of
ECED/PPE to grade 8. This was done to promote and facilitate the more balanced distribution of
resources across all school grades.

With regard to access and equity, the SSRP helped address disparities linked to caste, ethnicity,
religion and geography, while also helping avert potential conflicts and political divisions. Though
access has increased across the board, disparities remain, especially for certain geographical areas,
children with disabilities (CwDs) and children from certain caste and ethnic groups.

With regard to establishing an enabling learning environment, learning outcomes and student-
teacher ratios have improved considerably, though here again, large disparities persist.
Furthermore, a set of minimum enabling conditions (MECs) were introduced to provide school
communities with a benchmark for their operational planning, although they were later prioritized
to five priority minimum enabling conditions (PMECs). This initiative has increased need-based
support to schools to reduce disparities in learning environments, although resource constraints
and the 2015 earthquakes have left a considerable number of schools unable to meet all five
PMECs. The timely receipt of textbooks by students is a key PMEC. To reduce delays in textbook
distribution, the production process has been decentralized and opened up to private companies,
which has somewhat reduced delays.

The SSRP introduced decentralized planning and arrangements to strengthen planning and
implementation within the school education sector at all levels. The requirement for school
improvement plans (SIPs) sees local stakeholders preparing plans for their schools and brings local
education stakeholders together for planning and monitoring purposes. The SSRP period also saw
the strengthening of the role of school management committees (SMCs) and parent-teacher
associations (PTAs), and the creation of the Education Policy Committee (EPC) and the Education
Review Office (ERO). The institutional capacity for monitoring and needs-based planning was
improved by strengthening the Education Management Information System (EMIS), introducing the
National Assessment for Student Achievements (NASA), and establishing the ERO.

Public financial management was a priority area. Measures were taken to mitigate fiduciary risks,
including the implementation of the Financial Management Improvement Action Plan,
strengthening the fund flow tracking mechanism, developing a teacher development plan,
establishing a database of student and school facilities and rolling out the payment of teacher
salaries directly into their bank accounts. These measures have helped reduce ineligible
expenditure.

9
Other promising initiatives begun under the SSRP include the National Early Grade Reading
Programme (NEGRP) and other programmes aimed at improving learning outcomes. An important
study on the medium of instruction and languages of education (AASSO 2015) provided the basis
for a strategic framework on the languages of education (NIRT 2016). Furthermore, competency-
based curricula, which focus on the attainment of skills (rather than memorising facts), have been
developed and soft skills programmes piloted, although the didactical material produced by
different projects is yet to be integrated into the school curricula.

1.3 Key Issues and Challenges

Despite the many gains made under the SSRP, the programme’s objectives were not fully met in
some areas, most notably on quality, learning outcomes and efficiency. Whilst significant strides
have been made in ensuring access many marginalized groups still lack access to quality education.

Large achievements have been made in securing access to education, and it is now necessary to
focus more on the quality and efficiency of education provision. It is necessary to address the
challenges related to the quality of education and the achievement of learning competencies
without leaving those behind who have been unable to access education. The SSDP therefore
needs to balance the limited available resources between safeguarding and completing the agenda
of the SSRP and the EFA while promoting higher quality education. This, however, became more
challenging after the 2015 earthquakes and the economic constraints associated with the
constitution-related agitations in the Terai. Furthermore, the institutional capacity within the
education sector will be partly consumed by the roll out of the federal structure and the
decentralization of education planning and management.

The following are the major challenges that face Nepal’s education system. The challenges that are
directly related to implementing the SSDP’s strategic focus areas are covered in Chapter 3.

Quality of ECED/PPE and basic education

The strengthening of quality across the system and regarding education outcomes were flagged as
key issues by Cumming et al. (2012) and Poyck et al. (2016). The progress on access and other
education sector indicators was commendable but was yet to be translated into quality outcomes.
The challenges related to the quality of education have resulted in many children not learning as
they progress through the system. Thus school dropout and repetition rates are still quite high,
especially in the early grades and grade 8 (although the repetition rate in these grades is declining).
The basic and secondary education survival rate and grade 10 exam scores are low with large
disparities in achievement between public and institutional (private) schools. About 86.8% of
children who enrol in grade 1 reach grade 5 and only 74.6% survive to grade 8 (UNICEF 2016).

In terms of learning readiness, access to ECED/PPE has increased significantly in recent years, and is
strongly correlated with reduced dropout and repetition in early grades. Many students’ learning is
compromised by very low levels of early grade reading and maths proficiency, thus preventing
them from progressing across other subjects due to inadequate literacy and numeracy. This shows
that improved learning opportunities need to be at the centre of SSDP reforms. For this, the quality
of inputs needs to be assured in terms of teachers, teaching-learning resources and the enabling
education environment. This also includes the implementation of the Early Learning Development
Standards (ELDS), which is a national standard of measuring the physical, cognitive, cultural,

10
linguistic, social and emotional status of children aged 48-60 months (DoE 2004b and ARNEC 2015).
Furthermore, teaching needs to become more child-centred with inputs matching the learning
needs and styles of children. There is also a need to balance demands for teaching in children’s
mother tongues, the national language and English.

Teachers at all levels, especially core subject teachers, need to strengthen their subject knowledge.
Teaching tends to be too textbook-focused, lecture-oriented, and needs to be strengthened to
foster creative thinking and enable core skills. The professional development of teachers will result
in a more child-centred approach to teaching, particular in the lower grades. This approach will be
supported by the introduction of grade-wise, rather than subject-wise teaching.

Adolescents aged 10-19 years constitute about 25% of Nepal’s population (CBS 2012). Research
shows that good quality sex education, particularly education that integrates gender and human
rights in a meaningful way, can lead to a decrease in unintended pregnancies and sexually
transmitted infections and that it does not encourage young people to initiate sexual activity
earlier.

With regard to quality, not only in ECED/PPE and basic education but also in secondary education,
teacher professional development and management is a key agenda that is yet to be achieved. The
main issue here is that initiatives launched under the SSRP to strengthen teachers’ professional
development have yet to result in improved teaching and learning in the classroom and teachers
currently do not spend the required time-on-task. Furthermore, the harmonization of the different
types of teachers and their distribution across regions and types of school is another priority that
needs addressing. Linked to this, the management and distribution of teachers is yet to be
rationalised and the requirements for appointment continue to be defined by certification and
training rather than also by demonstrating competencies.

The strategy to reduce disparities in enabling learning environments by establishing MECs and the
five priority MECs (PMECs) in all schools has fallen short as only a few schools are providing all five
PMECs. Also, these PMECs do not include the necessary condition of classrooms being constructed
to DRR standards. The great majority of school buildings do not meet minimum safety standards.
However, following the recent earthquakes, the policy to ‘build back better’ means that schools are
being (re)constructed in line with guidelines and specifications to provide safe learning
environments. Due to the 2015 earthquakes, the achievement of the existing MECs in the 14 most
affected districts have largely been lost, and thus a new baseline is being established with new
targets. Resource limitations are a major challenge to establish or ensure minimum standards in
schools.

Whereas the SSRP successfully strengthened the use of the EMIS and established the NASA and the
Education Review Office, school-level monitoring and evaluation still faces challenges. Many
schools lack the required capacity and conceptual clarity to implement the Continuous Assessment
System (CAS) as envisioned. Classroom-level formative assessments are being used by very few
teachers to systematically guide, improve and adapt their teaching. The implementation of
classroom-based assessments by teachers has not brought about the envisioned improved quality
outputs. And, many students do not receive the minimum prescribed number of teaching-learning
days.

11
Supervision capacity at school level remains limited in terms of the capacity of SMCs. The current
system of school supervisors and resource persons is insufficient to meet evaluation needs and for
supporting pedagogical processes within schools.

Quality of secondary education

As teaching and learning in classrooms is largely driven by the nature of the board exams in grades
10, 11 and 12 and the higher secondary education certificate exams, teachers and students tend to
focus mainly on memorisation and knowledge recall. Critical thinking, analysis, and creativity are
insufficiently emphasized. Other issues related to the examination system are the need for further
standardisation of board exams, while recognizing the contemporary move in education discourse
away from the standardized testing of children. One reason for the high rates of failure in grade 10
and 12 examinations has been the examination-focused approach and students being required to
pass all subjects at the same time. Provisions were made under SSRP for introducing single subject
certification.

With regard to the enabling learning environment, the secondary schools MECs have yet to be
finalised. Furthermore, supplementary, age-appropriate, self-reading material for helping children
develop the reading habits and interests are mostly not available. Many teachers, especially those
who teach science, maths and English in community schools, need to strengthen their subject
knowledge. Many community school teachers do not have the requisite capabilities for teaching
English as a subject, and very few schools, including even those with English as the medium of
instruction, have teachers who can effectively teach in English. Many schools have an inadequate
number of subject teachers with the government only funding two subject teachers for grades 11
and 12 per school. Also, the secondary level textbooks have quality issues and the timely receipt of
textbooks by students is still a major concern.

The upcoming federalization of the education system will establish a large degree of autonomy for
provinces and local governments in terms of allocating resources and planning and implementing
education programmes. As such, it will be a challenge to ensure that minimum quality standards
are guaranteed for children in terms of learning environments and teaching-learning processes
while allowing the flexibility for the different provinces to manage the education sector according
to local needs and the diversity of their constituencies.

Equity and access

Nepal’s large language and cultural diversity means that the country’s children have diverse
learning needs. Meeting these needs poses a challenge not only in terms of access but also for the
appropriateness of content and the languages of education. The access of children from the most
disadvantaged and marginalised communities, groups and remote geographical areas has not
improved in line with the national increase in access to education, therefore increasing the
disparity between these groups and the rest of the school-aged population.

The mountain areas have the highest proportion (24.3%) of 4-year-olds not in pre-school or
primary school. In terms of absolute numbers, the Terai has the most out-of-school children due to
its higher density of primary-aged children. According to the 2011 census, Nepal had approximately
0.77 million children not attending school, of whom 0.57 million were of 5-9-years age and 0.19
million of 9-12-years age. About 46.5% (0.36 million) of Nepal’s out-of-school population in Nepal
are in the Central Development Region (UNICEF 2016).

12
While there has been progress against the overall education outcome indicators in terms of
enrolment, retention and completion, certain groups have not been able to adequately gain, and in
some cases disparities have increased (DoE 2014). As such, equitable access will remain a priority
under the SSDP alongside strengthening the quality of education:
While the net enrolment rate (NER) at the basic level increased significantly during the SSRP
period, there continues to be a large number of out-of-school children. As many of these
children face multi-dimensional barriers, it is important to have evidence-based and targeted
programmes tailored to meet their specific learning needs. A priority is the implementation of
the Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Education Sector (DoE 2014), including
incorporating its Equity Index within the EMIS, to allow for such targeting, monitoring and
follow-up.
The disproportionate provision of ECED/PPE opportunities in urban areas increases disparities
in access and retention in basic education for children from disadvantaged groups. Also, the
rapid expansion of the one year ECED/PPE programme has gone ahead with insufficient
attention to ensuring quality. A priority here is to improve the quality of these programmes and
carry out limited targeted expansion for more equitable access.
Children with disabilities suffer from by far the largest challenges in terms of access,
participation and learning outcomes in the education sector. But there is only limited data on
education outcomes for this group to inform targeted interventions. It is very important to
strengthen diagnostic and referral mechanisms and the collection and analysis of more
disaggregated data on this area within EMIS.
Another major challenge is to ensure access to quality education in safe learning environments
for children affected by natural disasters and who live in disaster-prone areas.

Low enrolment is a concern at the secondary education level, especially at grades 11 and 12. Many
students drop out of the school system as they progress to higher levels of education. Nepal Living
Standards Survey (NLSS) data shows a strong correlation between households’ economic status
and participation in schooling at secondary and higher secondary (grade 11 and 12) levels (CBS
2011). These data also show that a major reason for children dropping out of school is having to
help with household and family farm work. Furthermore, it is often difficult for poorer students to
pursue further studies as secondary schools charge monthly fees in grades 11 and 12.

Nepal’s early marriage rates are one of the highest in the region, with 18% of women aged 20-49
years-old having married before the age of 15 and 48.5% of women aged 20-49 years old having
married before the age of 18 (CBS 2014). In Nepal, married girls are 11 times more likely to be out
of school compared to their unmarried peers and early marriage is cited as the second most
common reason for school drop-out for girls aged 15-17 and the most common reason for school
drop-out for women in the age range 20-24 years (Sekine and Hodgkin 2016). In 2016 the
Government of Nepal launched a national strategy to end early marriage by 2030 and concerted
efforts will be needed across line ministries, including the Ministry of Education, to realize the
vision articulated in this document.

The upcoming restructuring of the system of government is likely to have implications for access to
resources within the new provinces. The Mid-Western hills and mountains (the Karnali Zone) and
the Central Terai are ‘pockets of marginalized communities’ in terms of educational outcomes (DoE
2014) The challenge is to establish a strong evidence- and needs- based resource allocation formula

13
that allows for targeting education interventions that reduce disparate access, participation and
learning outcomes.

Efficiency
The envisioned reforms in the institutional structure of the education system are yet to be
accomplished. School management, and especially SMCs, are yet to institutionalize their role in
needs-based planning and the quality assurance of education in schools. The results-based
monitoring and evaluation of progress to inform children’s education, rather than to rate their
performance (assessment for education instead of assessment of education), is yet to become
institutionalized and embedded in planning processes. Finally, it is important to note that dropout
rates are particularly high in grades 1 (4.6%) and 8 (5.2%) (DoE 2016).

There has been continuous improvement in the sector’s internal efficiency during the SSRP period.
The key performance indicator on internal efficiency increased from 65% in 2008 to 76% in 2016
for the basic level of education. Despite this, educational ‘wastage’ is evident, especially in the
early grades (which does not, however, affect the efficiency rating as much as wastage in the
higher grades), as well as in the transition from grade 5 to 6 and from grade 8 to 9.

Regarding the expected private and socioeconomic rates of return on education (the sector’s
external efficiency), this continues to be low as opportunities for translating educational
achievements into employment opportunities remain limited and one of the largest employment
opportunities is unskilled labour abroad (EIU 2014).

Governance and accountability

The main governance and accountability challenges are as follows:
Weak public financial management leads to the common late release of funds throughout the
education system, and to ineligible expenditure, reporting delays, and lapses in financial
record-keeping by schools. While most schools carry out social and financial audits, this has yet
to result in the envisioned strengthening of their public financial management.
Although the EMIS is a robust data management system, the quality, accessibility and use of its
data need strengthening to prevent the inclusion of inflated enrolment numbers. The shift to
the use of the school-based Integrated EMIS (IEMIS) addresses the need for individual student
level data and informs equity-based education indexes and targeted allocations and allows for
tracking the distribution of scholarships and incentive schemes.
The availability of textbooks remains an issue in terms of their timely printing and distribution.
Issues related to the position of head teachers needs to be addressed as their role in teacher
performance evaluations and their authority to hold teachers accountable is limited.
The effective implementation of SIPs is a challenge while the mechanism for allocating district
budgets to schools is not adequately aligned with the production of these plans.
Existing rules and regulations need reviewing to align school governance and management
(including the functions of SMCs) with the new constitutional mandate, especially relating to
management and monitoring.

School governance and management also faces the following two contemporary challenges:

14
 Federal restructuring is expected to make large demands on the system’s human and
institutional capacity, as well as assigning additional roles and responsibilities to execute the
further decentralization of educational management and planning. At the same time, the
existing institutional capacity is in need of strengthening to ensure performance-based
management and adequate skills and competencies. Establishing the federal transformation,
while at the same time ensuring sufficient institutional capacity, is a major challenge.
The 2015 earthquakes brought new challenges, as large reconstruction and recovery needs and
non-infrastructural needs have emerged (such as the need for teachers to teach several grades
in one classroom in an environment that is still affected by infrastructure damage). The
implementation of the SSDP will have to balance the addressing of these needs with addressing
the pre-existing needs.

Overall, in terms of building the capacity of teachers and school managers, there is a need to
progress:
“from a narrow training focus to a comprehensive planning for capacity and
institutional development (CID) exercise, which would greatly improve sustainability
both of strategies and outcomes for educational development into the medium and
long terms” (EU 2015).

1.4 Financing SSDP

The GDP growth rates projected under the Fourteenth Periodic Plan (2016–2019) (NPC 2016) and
the projected forecast in the Education Sector Analysis (MoE 2016) have been used to simulate
different growth rate scenarios for Nepal’s education sector. The average growth rate of GDP in the
last seven years (2008 to 2015) has been used to calculate a plausible growth scenario considering
the anticipated impact of events that adversely affected Nepal’s GDP in 2015. All three scenarios
are presented in Chapter 10. In the plausible scenario, the total estimated cost of the seven-year
SSDP is projected at US$ 10,577 million, of which $6,461 million is estimated for the first five years
(2016/17–2021/22).

Furthermore, the SSDP will be implemented at the time of a projected decrease in the number of
children in basic education and a bulge of children moving into secondary education (MoE 2016,
which will require the refocusing of priorities and the calculation of the cost implications and
adjustments. This will provide the opportunity to strengthen the quality of basic education by
increasing the average investment per child as the number of students in grade 1-5 decreases. The
rationalization of investment is crucial in the current fast changing governance, financing structure
and demographic scenarios. The SSDP seeks to ensure standardized minimum quality standards
while allowing for flexible approaches that cater to the diverse context and needs in which the
programme will be implemented.

1.5 Opportunities
The strong foundation that has been laid for school-based education in Nepal provides many
opportunities for determining and implementing new plans and programmes. The achievements
under SSRP and the identification of the major challenges provide a solid base for an effective and
efficient SSDP. The following are some noteworthy opportunities for SSDP to capitalize on:

15
a) School-level education has a high priority in government plans and policies.
b) Schools have been opened in sufficient numbers down to village and community levels, and
these schools have the capacity to sustain the demand for pupil enrolment.
c) The Consolidated Equity Strategy (DoE 2014) is the first of its kind; and the envisioned
implementation of its two-fold approach to prioritize resource allocations through disparity-
based formulas and to consolidate and target existing equity strategies, is a major opportunity.
d) The implementation of the Information and Communication Technology in Education Master
Plan (MoE 2013) has increased access to computers and the internet in schools, which allows
for the scaling-up of the use of ICT in school education.
e) Nepal has articulated its commitment to education through the constitution and by subscribing
to the Universal Declaration on Education by 2030 (UNESCO 2015). This is expected to foster
international cooperation and collaboration for educational development in the country.
f) The professional knowledge of teachers is increasing. The recently deployed cohorts of
teachers are entering the profession through a competitive process, a practice that is likely to
continue.
g) Functioning mechanisms are in place for curriculum development and for school management
for overall quality, examination systems, teacher selection, teacher training, professional
development and the measurement of student achievements.
h) Parental and household investment in education is increasing dramatically covering an
estimated 48% of the total cost of education. This shows that parents are increasingly ready to
support and invest in their children’s education (CBS 2016). And NGOs and other civil society
organizations are increasingly involved in the education sector.
i) There is an increasing interest and commitment across sectors on providing skill-oriented
education in line with the focus on LDC graduation and the provision of certified skills for
working abroad.
j) The Sustainable Development Goals and Nepal's goal to graduate from Least Developed
Country to Developing Country by 2022 and become a middle-income country by 2030 provide
a strong impetus to strengthen lifelong education.
k) The comprehensive data gathered by the education sector on the impact of the 2015
earthquakes has resulted in a sense of urgency to ensure that Nepal’s schools are safe. The
sector has initiated the production of a DRR strategy, the resilience of education stakeholders
has been strengthened and contingency planning updated. The lessons learned will be used to
inform the planning and implementation of reconstruction and recovery in the education
sector and best practices, such as the retrofitting of schools, need to be scaled up.
l) The institutional setup envisaged by the constitution allows state and local governments to
oversee the provision of school education.
m) In line with the commitment to the SDGs, the government, civil society and the donor
community are committed to improving health and nutrition in education especially through
introducing comprehensive sex education and improving water and sanitation for health
(WASH) facilities in schools.
n) The initiation and nationwide rollout of the IEMIS provides an opportunity to strengthen access
to and the use of data by stakeholders for increased accountability and need-based planning.

16
 2 VISION

2.1 SSDP Vision

In line with the Thirteenth Periodic Plan NPC (2014), the vision for the SDGs (NPC 2015a) and the
Fourteenth Plan (NPC 2016), the SSDP has the following vision:
Contribute to the development of self-sustainable, competitive, innovative and value-
oriented citizens for the socioeconomic transformation of the nation.

2.2 SSDP Mission, Goal, Purpose and Objectives

The SSDP has been developed to support the achievement of the country’s vision 2022 by working
towards the following mission, goal and purpose:

SSDP’s mission:
For Nepal’s school education to produce the needed human resources to elevate
Nepal’s status from a Least Developed Country by 2022 and to reach the status of a
middle-income country by 2030.

SSDP’s goal:
To contribute to socioeconomic development and reduce disparities in the country
through the continuous and inclusive development of its human resources capacity by
facilitating all citizens with opportunities to become functionally literate, numerate,
and to develop the basic life skills and knowledge required to enjoy a productive life,
taking into account the diversity of context and needs and with regards to the
forthcoming federalization of the country.

SSDP’s purpose:
To improve the equity, quality, efficiency, governance and management of the
education sector by achieving the following overall objectives:
Equity: To ensure that the education system is inclusive and equitable in terms of access,
participation and learning outcomes, with a special focus on reducing disparities among and
between groups identified as having the lowest levels of access, participation and learning
outcomes.
Quality: To increase students’ learning through enhancing the relevance and quality of the
learning environment, the curriculum, teaching and learning materials (including textbooks),
teaching methods, assessment and examinations.
Efficiency: To strengthen and reorient governance and management systems in the education
sector to make them robust and accountable to local governments while assuring agreed
overall minimum standards in teaching and learning processes and the learning environment.
Governance and management: To accommodate the political and administrative restructuring
of the education sector in line with the identified needs and the federal context and to ensure
sustainable financing and strong financial management by introducing a cost-sharing modality
between central, provincial, and local governments.

17
 Resilience: To mainstream comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction in the
education sector by strengthening school-level disaster management and resilience amongst
schools, students and communities and to ensure that schools are protected from conflict.

The specific objectives of the plan are set out in the following chapters for each of the levels of
education and for the cross-cutting themes. Their achievement will contribute to the fulfilment of
the purpose, goal, mission and vision of the overall plan.

2.3 Policy Framework

The changed context and evolving socio-political order under the new constitution provide the
foundation for reforming the country’s governance and management systems. Alongside this and
best practices and the lessons learned from SSRP, the following policies and instruments provided
the guiding principles for developing the SSDP document:

Constitutional provisions and legal instruments — The new constitution (2015) provided the
fundamental basis for the new plan, while the subsequently enacted related policies, acts and
regulations will guide its implementation. The governance and management of the educational
system and its delivery mechanisms need reorientation to fulfil the intent and mandates of the
new constitution including the new constitutional provisions of free and compulsory basic
education and free secondary education. The devolution of governance and management to the
local level is another major focus of the plan.

Eighth amendment to the Education Act — The eighth amendment of the Education Act (GoN
2016) has strengthened the enabling environment for school education by providing the basis for
structural and functional reforms. It has also realigned the school structure into basic (ECED/PPE to
grade 8) and secondary (grade 9 to 12) levels of education. Other key amendments are as follows:
The establishment of a National Education Council (NEC), led by the minister for education with
the mandate to review education policies and make recommendations to the Government of
Nepal.
Examination reform through the establishment of a National Examination Board (NEB) and the
standardization of exams at national, provincial and district levels.
The institutionalization of the Education Review Office (ERO).
The reformation of SMCs, as the appointment of roles/positions within the SMC will now be
undertaken by its members.
The strengthening of teacher management through the rationalization of teacher positions and
types.

Governance and management – The Education Act gives SMCs major responsibilities for governing
and managing schools. However, the extended roles bestowed on local bodies (VDCs and
municipalities) by the new constitution make it necessary to realign SMCs’ roles and
responsibilities. Their roles also need realigning by reactivating and strengthening village education
committees (VECs). While SMCs need to focus more on school level planning, head teachers will
have an increased focus on instructional leadership including reviewing teacher performance,
monitoring teachers' time on task and building the teacher capacity. SMCs and PTAs are
responsible for the internal management and day-to-day functioning of schools while VDCs and

18
 municipalities and mostly responsible for ‘external’ administrative and logistical functions,
including financing and accountability to provide access to quality education.

National periodic plans — The thirteenth national periodic plan (2013–2016) (NPC 2014), provide
the foundation for Nepal graduating from an LDC to a developing country by 2022. In addition to
this, the fourteenth periodic plan (2016-2019) (NPC 2016) aims to prepare Nepal to further
graduate to the status of a Middle-Income Country (MIC) by 2030. In addition to this, the
Fourteenth periodic plan also states the recovery from the 2015 earthquakes as a priority. All
sectoral objectives, including those in the SSDP, are aligned with the overarching national goal.

International and regional covenants and commitments — Nepal historically and currently supports
the major covenants directly related to the education sector. It strongly committed to Education
for All (EFA) by 2015 (2001–2015) and is committed to the SDGs by 2030 (NPC 2015a). These
commitments have provided the basic guidelines for drafting the SSDP’s programme and strategies
for the next seven years and beyond.

2.4 SSDP Key Performance Indicators

Table 2.1 gives the 30 key performance indicators against which the progress of the
implementation of the SSDP will be measured. These indicators are part of the overall Programme
and Results Framework (PRF) (Annex 2) and may be adjusted as the implementation of the plan
proceeds.

Table 2.1: SSDP key performance indicators

Sub sector/thematic area
Baseline 3-year target 5-year target 7-year target
Indicators (2015/16) (to 2018/19) (to 2020/21) (to 2022/23)
1. Early childhood education development/pre-primary education (ECED/PPE)
1.1 Gross enrolment ratio (GER) in ECED/PPE 81a 86 89.5 94
% of ECED/PPE teachers with required
1.2
qualification 93.7a 95.5 97 100
% of ECED/PPE teachers with one month
1.3
training 0 30 65 100
% of grade 1 new entrants with ECED/PPE
1.4
experience 62.4a 68.5 73 85
2. Basic education (grades 1–8)
2.1 Gross intake rate in grade 1 136.7a 130.5 127 115
a
2.2 Net intake rate in grade 1 93.9 95 96 100
a
2.3 GER of basic (grades 1-5) 135.4 130.5 125.5 115
2.4 Net enrolment ratio (NER) in basic education
(grades 1-5) 96.6a 97.5 98.5 100
a
2.5 GER of basic education (grades 1-8) 120.1 118 115 112
a
2.6 NER of basic education (grades 1-8) 89.4 94 95 100
2.7 Gender parity index (GPI) in NER in basic
education (grades 1-8) 1a 1 1 1
2.8 Survival rate for grade 8 76.6 86 92 97
a
2.9 Completion rate for basic education level 69.6 78.5 85 90
a
2.10 % of out of school children in basic 10.6 7.5 5 0

19
 Sub sector/thematic area
Baseline 3-year target 5-year target 7-year target
Indicators (2015/16) (to 2018/19) (to 2020/21) (to 2022/23)
education (age 5-12)
2.11.1 Students’ reading proficiency (%) in grade 3 27.2 42.2 52.2 60
b
2.12.1 Maths: 48 52 56 60
Students’ learning achievement scores (%) in b
2.12.2 English: 47 53 57 60
grade 5
b
2.12.3 Nepali: 46 54 59 65
c
2.13.1 Students’ learning achievement scores (%) in Maths: 35 48 55 60
2.13.2 grade 8 (based on National Assessment for Nepali: 48 c
52 57 62
Student Achievements, NASA) c
2.13.3 Science: 41 49 55 60
3. Secondary education
3.1 GER in grades 9-12 56.7 a 72 85 90
a
3.2 NER in grades 9-12 37.7 45 53 60
a
3.3 Survival rate to grade 10 37.9 50 65 75
3.4 Survival rate to grade 12 11.5 18 25 31
a
3.5 GPI in NER in grades 9-12 0.99 1 1 1
3.6 Number of model schools 0 600 1,000 1000
3.7 Number of students enrolled in technical
subjects in grades 9-12 9,750a 72,540 102,600 126,600
4. Non-formal education and lifelong learning
4.1 Literacy rate 6 years+ 78d 85 87 90
e
4.2 Literacy rate 15-24 years 88.6 92 95 98
f
4.3 Literacy 15+ years 57 70 75 80
5. Teacher management and professional development
5.1 % of female teachers in basic level 38.8 42 45 50
6. Sector finance
6.1 Education sector budget as % of national
budget 12.04% 15% 17% 20%
Sources: a. DoE (2016); b and c. ERO (2016); d. NPC (2016); e. NPC (2014); f. CBS (2012)

20
 3 SSDP THEORY OF CHANGE
Tremendous progress has been made in school education in Nepal over the past two decades
under the series of education sector plans and programmes. The overarching challenges have also
been identified (see Section 1.4). SSDP has been developed to build upon the achievements in the
education sector, particularly under SSRP, whilst addressing the challenges and focusing on the key
result areas where further progress is crucial. SSRP and earlier plans and programmes have
resulted in access to education for most children in Nepal. The aim is now to ensure equitable
access to quality education for all children. However, experience shows that this cannot be fulfilled
through a narrow set of interventions. Effective strategies need to be applied simultaneously
across a number of areas to build an equitable system in which all children benefit from a quality
education and gain high learning outcomes.

The SSDP is based on a Theory of Change that was informed by the education sector analysis (MoE
2016). This analysis considered the rich qualitative and quantitative data accumulated within the
Nepal education sector over the past decade, supported by supplementary thematic studies to
address knowledge gaps identified through the consultations within SSDP’s thematic working
groups (TWGs) and with stakeholders and experts. Based on the analyses of context, progress,
remaining challenges and constraints, imperatives and key result areas were identified as
components of the Plan’s Theory of Change (ToC) to bring about transformative change and the
envisioned results and outcomes of the SSDP as stated in chapter2. Improvements in each focus
area need to be sustained through various strategies, interventions and activities from ECED/PPE
through to the secondary education phase. It is essential that progress is made in all focus areas
across the various phases and on all plan components. The cumulative effect of success in each
strategic priority area will fulfil the SSDP’s purpose to improve equity, quality, efficiency,
governance and management, and resilience of the education sector. The full SSDP's Theory of
Change in Annex 3.

3.1 Imperatives for change

The Education Sector Analysis identified three major imperatives for the education sector
development and reform that captured in the SSDP’s TC. With Nepal’s constitution, enshrining
education as a universal right of all citizens by committing the State to:
“*make+ education scientific, technical, professional, skill-oriented, and employment
and people oriented in order to prepare the human resources to be competent,
competitive, moral, and committed to national interest.” (Article 51 h1).

The constitution’s call for education to be an engine for national development and the
advancement of national interests highlights at least the following three education reform
imperatives: (1) post-disaster recovery, (2) exploiting the demographic dividend, and (3)
graduating from LDC status.

Post Disaster Recovery

Nepal is located on fault line between the Indian and the Eurasian plates making it one of the
world’s most earthquake prone countries. The 2015 April/May earthquakes, were the strongest
quakes in 80 years, with a death toll of nearly 9,000. Over 35,000 classrooms were severely

21
damaged or destroyed, leaving more than a million children lacking access to a safe, permanent
place to learn (NEC 2015). However, the disaster also displayed the priority given to education
amongst affected communities, with education being identified as the second highest priority in
terms of post disaster needs, only to be passed by safe shelter (Plan et al. 2015).

From a post-disaster perspective, education reform is a humanitarian imperative because better

schools emphasize resilient humans in resilient buildings. This means improved structural design
that ensures accessibility for and the safety of all children including those with disabilities. It also
means resilient teachers, students, and communities, taking responsibility for the risks associated
with disasters, and are ready to rely on themselves to mitigate damage when disasters hit. Nepal’s
education reform imperative is, therefore, to ensure that the post disaster needs in the education
sector are addressed through a holistic approach of school safety including safe infrastructure,
strengthened school level disaster risk management and resilient school communities to ensure
education can perform the envisioned role of catalysts for building a cohesive, resilient, and
prosperous nation.

The Demographic Dividend window of opportunity

A demographic dividend window of opportunity opens up when The demographic dividend,
therefore, represents the rate increase of economic growth that results from an increase in the
working age ratio and greater female labour supply (Bailey 2006), which tends to result in higher
savings, more domestic resources. Nepal’s demographic dividend will be at its maximum in the
period 2016-2025, before it is projected to start shrinking in 2030. With Nepal’s fertility rate
expecting to decrease and its labour force simultaneously expecting to increase over the coming 10
years, the country’s demographic dividend constitutes an undeniable one time window of
opportunity and thereby imperative for change. The size of the demographic dividend opportunity
hinges on the productivity of young adults (Lee and Mason 2006). Like other South Asian countries,
the window for the demographic dividend in Nepal began in the mid-1980s. Herein lies the
education reform imperative. Based on the current school attainment of Nepal’s youth (15-24 year
olds), this part of the population is not adequately prepared to optimize its demographic dividend,
with 12 percent not having received education, 10 percent have not completed primary education,
and 41 percent have not completed secondary education (CBS 2011). Major investment in quality
education and training recognizes that highly productive citizens are the key to enduring national
prosperity. The number of young people emigrating out of the country increased from 762,181 in
2001 to 1,921,494 in 2011. In light of the decreasing fertility rate, emigrants’ numbers will
gradually reduce, causing remittances to fall accordingly.

Nepal’s Vision for Graduation by 2022 and 2030

Nepal’s vision for graduating from the LDC category should be recognized as the third imperative
for change in providing an enabling environment for the country to achieve the goals and
objectives set out under the SSDP. The Nepal National Planning Commission (NPC) has identified (i)
the rebuilding a resilient nation, (ii) entrepreneurial famers and productive farms, (iii) gender
equality with conscious empowered women, (iv) building infrastructure and creating jobs, (v) policy
reforms for growth take off, (vi) connecting communities with markets, and (vii) nurturing nature
to harness its riches as the main development goals to achieve the graduation. Achieving these

22
goals depends on entrepreneurial, productive, and resourceful individuals who believe in the
national vision and have the requisite skills to achieve it. The NPC identifies improving competency
in education, science, and technology as one of at least nine target areas for graduating the
country from LDC category to the status of developing or middle income country by 2022 (Sainju
2013). For this vision to be achieved, the per capita gross national income (GNI) has to be 20
percent above the threshold for inclusion in the LDC category, the Human Assets Index (HAI)3 has
to be 10 percent above the LDC inclusion level and the economic vulnerability index has to be 10
percent below the LDC inclusion level.

3.2 SSSDP’s strategic priority areas for change

Based on these imperatives and the SSDP goals and objectives, the following strategic priority areas
have been identified within which educational development and reforms will simultaneously need
to take place:

Decentralized Governance and Federalism

Challenges — While the new constitution is a major national achievement, its federal nature
presents a number of challenges for the education sector related to how the federal state will
function. The implementation of the federal system entails reorientation of the education system
through structural and functional reforms including the policy and regulatory frameworks. These
reforms will have to be determined during the first years of the SSDP.

Status — The constitution of Nepal guarantees the fundamental right to education and lays out the
directive principles of the federal state on education and concurring rights. This has provided the
parameters for developing the SSDP. The transformation into a federal system will build on the
policy of decentralization that was initiated decades ago. In the 1960s the government established
local administrative units for decentralized governance. These local bodies have functioned at
varying degrees of effectiveness as the political landscape has shifted from time to time. It is
expected that their functions will be enhanced under a federal system.

Decentralized planning and the building of capacity at district, sub-district and school levels was a
major strategy under SSRP. SMCs and PTAs were mainstreamed to involve local communities in
managing schools. The responsibilities and powers of district education offices (DEOs) were
enhanced with a number of functions transferred from central to district level. Under SSRP most of
the sector’s funds were used at the district and school levels with only a small part retained for
operating the central level system. All this provides a solid basis for further decentralization and
the transferring of functions under a federal system.

Strategic interventions — SSDP has been developed to support the further decentralization of the
education system. To the extent possible this anticipates the transformation to a federal state.
However, there are a number of specifics that have to be worked out after the responsibilities and
powers of each province are defined with regard to education. Considering this, the major strategic
interventions will include the following:

3
The HAI comprises percentage of population undernourished, mortality rate for children five years or under, gross
secondary school enrolment ratio, and adult literacy rate.

23
 The continuation of initiatives to build capacity at school and district levels and the devolution
of powers and responsibilities to lower levels of the system.
The consolidation of the capacity of central level agencies to provide oversight, to set
standards and to support district level stakeholders as more responsibilities are transferred to
the provincial level.
The annual review and adaptation of strategies and activities during the first three years of the
programme to accommodate changes in the delegation of responsibilities and the
promulgation of new rules and procedures.
The comprehensive review in the third year of SSDP as part of the mid-term review of the
programme to identify necessary adjustments according to the directives and needs of the
federal state.

Quality and Effective Pedagogy for Improved Learning Outcomes

Challenges — Despite the many achievements of SSRP and earlier plans and programmes, the
quality of education remains low at all levels of education. The quality objectives of the SSRP were
not fully met, particularly in terms of improved learning outcomes.

The quality of education is affected by many factors including the pedagogical approach of teachers
in schools. Despite many efforts to change approaches to teaching and learning, many classrooms
remain textbook and teacher-focused with didactic teaching methods that emphasize rote learning
and the uncritical absorption of facts. The joint evaluation of SSRP (Poyck et al. 2016) noted that
although teachers were being trained, new learning methods had not been transferred to
classrooms. This is a major reason for learning outcomes remaining low.

Status — Although SSRP did not result as expected in a major breakthrough in terms of quality and
improved learning outcomes, awareness of the problems has increased and there is a better
understanding of how to address related issues. Encouraging developments under the SSRP have
been the development of a teacher competency framework and a strengthened and standardized
teacher professional development framework, increasing its relevance to subject specific classroom
instruction. Furthermore, diverse modalities of teacher professional development that have been
developed and the revision of curriculum and learning materials provide a solid point of departure
for improved quality and learning outcomes under the SSDP.

The plans which have been developed for teachers’ professional development, although not
implemented under SSRP, could have a major transformative effect in the future. It is recognised
that the pedagogy practised in classrooms is a major determinant of children’s learning
achievements. The school improvement planning process could be a critical tool for integrating the
various quality inputs in schools and translating them into effective teaching and learning. Although
SIPs have in general been used as mechanisms for allocating funds and improving the physical
environment of schools, a number of organisations have worked with schools to use SIPs for more
transformative activities including improving teaching and learning. However, the SSRP did not give
enough emphasis to embedding quality at the school level.

Strategic interventions — Improving pedagogical practice to improve learning outcomes is one of

SSDP’s key strategies. As is the case with quality improvement in general, transforming pedagogy is
intrinsically linked with a number of factors.

24
The SSDP promotes child-friendly, learner-centred and interactive pedagogies for active learning
and the development of a range of skills. Experiential learning is to be emphasised in ECED/PPE.
Basic education needs to emphasise the laying of the strong foundations of literacy and numeracy
skills in grades 1–3. Grade-wise teaching will be promoted and both basic and secondary school
subject teachers need a firm grasp of their subjects and an understanding of the skills that need to
be developed in students. Teachers need to use child-centred active learning methods. This
approach is not a separate intervention, but needs to be an integral part of all aspects of improving
the quality of education.

Curriculum Framework and Learning Materials

Challenges — Although the first National Curriculum Framework was adopted in 2007 based on
grade-specific competencies (CDC 2005), it did not cover ECED/PPE and there has been no
systematic review since then of the curriculum from ECED/PPE through to grade 12. Some subjects,
topics and grades have been revised, and some aspects, such as life skills, added, but a number of
aspects have not been reviewed. The curriculum itself is not well understood by many teachers.
Poyck et al. (2016) found that although some teachers had been orientated on the curriculum,
most had not been comprehensively trained to understand how to implement a competency-based
curriculum. Many teachers and the general public consider textbooks to be the end-all and be-all of
the curriculum and all teaching is therefore tied to these books, with only the memorisation of the
text often being the result. The examination system often reinforces this approach.

Although the distribution of textbooks to schools before the start of each school year improved
under SSRP, a significant number of schools still do not receive their textbooks on time. Issues
regarding the quality and timely receipt of textbooks were not adequately addressed under SSRP.
There is also a scarcity of other teaching and learning materials, which results in over-reliance on
textbooks.

Status — Some aspects of the curriculum were reviewed and further developed under SSRP, but
not in a systematic way. The mid-term review (Cumming et al. 2012) found the curriculum
framework to be generally sound and based on good practices. Although further progress is
needed, there was significant improvement in the delivery of textbooks, and some other teaching
and learning materials are now being supplied to schools. Textbooks have also been developed in
22 languages other than Nepali.

Strategic interventions — Under the SSDP the curriculum is to be interpreted broadly as a

framework that includes skills, aptitudes, knowledge, understanding and values. It also
encompasses the approaches that will be used to teach and facilitate learning (including pedagogy
and classroom organisation). The curriculum is to be supported by both textbooks and other
teaching and learning materials including in languages other than Nepali. SSDP’s strategic
interventions will thus include the following:
A review of the curriculum and subsequent development of a revised comprehensive national
curriculum framework that encompasses the requisite skills, aptitudes, knowledge,
understanding and values that are acquired from ECED/PPE through to grade 12. Life skills,
environmental awareness and disaster preparedness will be included along with the more
academic skills. Experiential learning will be the basis for the ECED/PPE curriculum and child-
centred active learning methods will be incorporated throughout. Competencies for effective

25
 literacy and numeracy acquisition in the early grades will be included, and emphasis given to
priority subjects such as maths, science and English. Guidelines will also be prepared for
developing local curricula and for the development of textbooks and other learning materials in
languages other than Nepali.
Based on the revised curriculum framework, textbooks will be systematically revised over the
first five years of the SSDP. Other teaching and learning materials supportive to acquiring the
various skills of the curriculum will be identified and promoted. Guidelines may also be
prepared for the private development and production of textbooks and other teaching and
learning materials.
Efforts to ensure the timely production and distribution of textbooks to all schools will be
intensified with the aim of at least 95% of schools receiving the textbooks and other teaching
and learning materials before the start of each school year.

Assessment and Examinations

Challenges — Across the world, teachers ‘teaching to the test’ over-emphasise the importance of
examinations. However, it is unlikely that teachers will change the way they teach unless there is a
change in the ways by which teachers and their students are assessed. In Nepal, there is a high
dependence on summative exams with the majority of schools using term and annual tests, and
public exams at the end of grades 10, 11 and 12. The assessment and examination system is yet to
strengthen its focus on application and synthesis skills. This starts from the early grades all the way
through to the secondary level. The result is an emphasis on rote memorization and a lack of time
spent on developing students’ analytical skills. Nepal is yet to fully benefit from the international
good practices of using assessments to strengthen learning outcomes.4 Although the continuous
assessment of students (CAS) was introduced in 2009, according to Poyck et al. (2016), it is yet to
be fully comprehended by parents and teachers to be preferred over summative exams. Despite
the many hours spent memorizing facts, the pass rates for grade 10 and 12 exams have remained
less than 50 percent in recent years.

Status — A major SSRP initiative was to strengthen the CAS in primary schools and introduce it at
the secondary level. The purpose was to take the focus away from the mere recall of information
for passing term and annual tests. The information from continuous assessments was meant to be
used by teachers to target their teaching to learners’ needs. However, there have been a number
of problems with implementing the CAS. Teachers have reported that it is confusing and
cumbersome and difficult to implement. The focus seems to be on recording in a rather mechanical
way rather than assessing whether or not children have learned the requisite skills and concepts.
The use of the CAS in most cases does not seem to have been used by teachers to inform how and
what they teach.

There has been slow progress on exam reform at the secondary level with the result that students
still spend unnecessary amounts of time on memorisation and continue to achieve low results in
the grade 11 and 12 exams. One achievement of SSRP has been the adoption of the policy of single
subject exam certificates for grade 10, although this has yet to be fully introduced in other levels of

4
These good practices are formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning
process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment.

26
the education system. In the early grades, standardised early grade reading assessments (EGRA)
have been developed and used in some districts to assess children’s reading skills in grades 1–3.
These assessments have indicated that improved methods of teaching are needed in the early
grades. The methodology can be adapted for use by class teachers to assess their students’ reading
skills and to adjust their teaching accordingly.

Another accomplishment of the SSRP has been the introduction and institutionalisation of the
National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA). There have been two rounds of NASA for
grades 3, 5 and 8. The results have confirmed that student learning outcomes are low. Following
the administration of each NASA there is an analysis of the results to identify the areas in which
students are weak and areas where they are strong. The results are also analysed to show
differences in achievement by factors such as gender, social and economic status and geographical
location. The NASA is a tool that decision makers can use to target efforts and resources for
maximum gains in effectiveness and efficiency.

Strategic interventions — The SSDP will build on the achievements of the SSRP with an emphasis on
making both formative and summative assessments more skills and learner-focused rather than
content-focused. Based on the experience of SSRP it is recognised that more time must be spent
helping teachers understand the use of formative and summative exams to target their teaching
and to thereby improve learning outcomes. Exam reform will remain a major focus with the aim of
standardizing exams and ensuring that exams assess the competencies that students need to
acquire in each subject. The results of EGRAs and NASAs will be analysed to inform the ways in
which the curriculum, pedagogy and teachers’ professional development need to be adjusted to
improve learning outcomes. The results will also be used to identify populations that perform
poorly and to target efforts to raise their learning achievements. The strategic interventions will
thus include the following:
A National Examination Board (NEB) will be established to oversee and provide quality
assurance for public exams. The NEB will raise the standards of public exams and ensure that
they are competency-based and standardized.
EGRA and NASA will continue as part of the system and NASA will be extended to grade 10. The
results will be used to show whether or not learning achievement is improving over time and to
identify areas of weaknesses and strengths. The findings will be used to inform curriculum
development and teachers’ professional development courses. Both will be institutionalised
under the ERO.
The efficient and effective use of formative and summative assessments will be incorporated
into changes in the curriculum and into teachers’ professional development courses. Teachers
will also be supported to use CAS as not only an assessment tool but also as a teaching
strategy.
The single subject certificate policy for grade 10 will be fully implemented as per the adopted
policy and rolled out to grade 12 in line with the recently amended Education Act.

Teacher Management and Professional Development

Challenges — The following are the main challenges for teacher management and professional
development:

27
 Teacher’s salaries consume the major share of the education budget (about 70% of school
education sub-sector budget).
In some parts of the country there is an excess of teachers whilst in other parts there is an
insufficient number. Due to unbalanced distribution of teachers, there is a shortage in more
remote areas. Overall, there is an excess of teachers in basic education and a shortage in
secondary education. Female teachers are under-represented throughout the system and their
numbers are lowest at the secondary level.
Despite some improvements teacher absenteeism remains a problem; and there is inadequate
monitoring to ensure that teachers comply with the most basic requirements of their positions.
Many teachers, even when present in the school, do not spend sufficient time on task to
ensure student learning.
Although a variety of training courses have been provided, including on child-centred and
activity based learning, there has been insufficient transfer of these methods to classrooms.
There is no effective performance management of teachers and there is a lack of teacher
career paths and incentives. There are insufficient rewards for effective teaching and in general
the teaching force lacks motivation and public support.

Status — SSRP recognised the importance of a motivated and well-equipped teaching force; but it
has been difficult to implement an effective teacher management system due to the many
different types of teachers and contracts. In the last two years, there has been considerable
progress on the needs-based re-deployment of teachers across 65 districts and the application of
quotas that will increase the low numbers of female, Dalit and Janajati teachers.5 The provision in
the amended education act provides an opportunity to temporary teachers to upgrade to
permanent teachers or leave their post accepting a ‘golden handshake’, making space for the
recruitment of new permanent teachers. After many years, in 2013/14 the Teacher Service
Commission appointed 13,000 new permanent teachers, and recently an additional 12,000 such
teachers were recruited. This has greatly boosted the number of permanent teachers in the
system.

Even before SSRP, Nepal had a well-developed infrastructure for the continuous professional
development of teachers through the network of resource centres and resource persons. However,
there is a need to strengthen the correlation between teachers participating in professional
development courses and the increased quality of teaching-learning processes within the
classroom in terms of teachers demonstrating effective teaching methods. The needs-based
training introduced under SSRP seemed too flexible to ensure standards in terms of design and
implementation. The intention was to encourage teachers to identify their own training needs and
thereby increase their motivation; but in fact it has led to disconnected training courses that have
not in general enhanced teachers’ skills or qualifications. The findings of a teacher management
study undertaken in 2013 led to the development of a teacher competency framework, and MoE’s
approval of a Teacher Management and Development Strategy. A number of actions were taken
based on the strategy.

5
Dalits are the people belonging to the lowest groups in the traditional caste hierarchy while Janajatis are people
belonging to ethnic groups.

28
Strategic interventions — Although some updating is needed, the teacher management and
development strategy provides a solid foundation for improvements under the SSDP. It is
recognised that the management and professional development of teachers needs to be given top
priority if teaching practices are to improve. Effective teaching practises are essential for improving
learning outcomes at all levels. The full gambit of strategies and activities to be employed for
teacher management and professional development are given in Chapter 8. The following
overarching strategic interventions are called for under the SSDP:
The Teacher Service Commission will be strengthened to conduct the licensing of teachers
based on appropriate academic qualifications, and all teachers will successfully complete at
least a one-year professional development course and demonstrate the professional standards
appropriate for a teacher entering the profession. This will provide a pool of licensed teachers
from which schools and local bodies can appoint teachers in the decentralized system.
Teachers will take pre-service and in-service professional development courses based on a
teachers’ competency framework; and the growth of their pedagogical and subject skills will be
enhanced through a combination of course attendance, mentoring by peers and head teachers,
and their own classroom practice.
The National Centre for Educational Development (NCED) will, in phases, prepare a suite of
courses and professional development modalities to aid teacher professional development.
Emphasis will be given to subject knowledge, child-centred and active learning, inclusive
education, formative assessment and differentiation to meet the learning needs of every
student, with approaches that support teachers to apply theoretical knowledge into classroom
practice though supportive communities of practice.
Continue to redeploy teachers to ensure that the needs of each school are met, and undertake
special initiatives to recruit promising new graduates as teachers in priority subjects such as
science, mathematics and English.

Languages of Education
Challenges — Nepal is a linguistically diverse country. Although this is a strength, it also presents
challenges for the country’s under-resourced education system. The medium of instruction in most
schools is Nepali; but there has been a shift in two directions. On the one hand, many educationists
and some political groups have advocated that education should be provided to children in their
mother tongues, and MoE has a policy of supporting mother tongue-based multilingual education
up to grade 3 (DoE 2009). The move to federalism is likely to give this fresh impetus. On the other
hand, most private schools use English as the medium of instruction and a number of community
schools have also started using English as the medium. There is a general demand for English from
parents and communities. However, most community schools are not resourced in terms of
teachers or of teaching and learning materials to effectively deliver the curriculum in English. The
same is true for schools in terms of teaching in children’s mother tongues.

The acquisition of literacy skills is also a challenge. Recent research confirms what has been
observed for a number of years. Many children are not acquiring adequate literacy skills in the
early grades of schooling. One survey (RTI 2014) found that of the children assessed over 50% of
third graders were unable to understand half of what they were reading and most were reading
only at a grade 1 level. The same study found that 19% of grade 3 students and 37% of grade 2

29
students could not read a single word! The reading skills of children who did not speak Nepali as
their mother tongue were even more problematic. The proportion of non-Nepali speaking grade 3
students who scored zero on reading comprehension was 70% higher than for the Nepali speaking
grade 3 students.

Status — The Constitution of Nepal provides that every Nepali community living in Nepal shall have
the right to acquire education in its mother tongue. There is also provision to establish a language
commission ensuring representation of the provinces within a year from the commencement of
the constitution. Under SSRP, various mother tongue-based multilingual education (MLE)
programmes were tried out in the early primary grades.

Strategic interventions — A languages of education framework will be finalised and endorsed

within the first year of SSDP. The purpose is to provide a framework for the effective teaching of
languages in schools as subjects and for their appropriate use as the medium of instruction. The
goal is for all students to develop their linguistic skills over time in their mother tongue, as well as
in Nepali and in English and to use these skills for their academic, social and economic
advancement and for building a socially and economically vibrant society. At the same time
children will be assisted to acquire Nepali if it is not their mother tongue so that they can fully
engage in the national education system. English is to be added as a second or third language to
prepare students to use an international language for their future social and economic
advancement.

The sequence in which the various languages are used for instruction and/or introduced as subjects
will depend in part on the type of communities served by individual schools. School catchment
communities are generally of three types and the use of languages should be adapted accordingly:
Type 1 schools are made up mainly of learners who are homogeneously Nepali speaking on
entry to ECED/PPE or grade 1 (estimated as accounting for 60-70% of schools). In these schools,
no interventions other than early grade reading (EGR) and effective English language teaching
are needed.
Type 2 schools are made up of learners that homogeneously speak a language other than
Nepali as their mother tongue on entry to ECED/PPE or grade 1 (estimated as 10-15% of
schools). For these schools the mother tongue will play a prominent role in children’s learning
in ECED/PPE through grade 3. Progressively their mother tongue will be supported and
developed as well as used to assist children to transition to Nepali as the medium of
instruction.
Type 3 schools are made up of learners from diverse language backgrounds with no common
mother tongue on entry to ECED/PPE or grade 1 (estimated as 15-20% of schools). For these
schools, all the children’s languages will be valued, but Nepali will be used as the medium of
instruction throughout basic and usually throughout secondary school. Children who do not
speak Nepali upon entry will be given additional support to learn it as a second language and to
develop their skills in Nepali as the medium of instruction. Special attention will go to
comprehension as part of the EGR programme, and English will be taught as a subject from
grade 1 and may be developed in the same way as for the homogeneously Nepali speaking
schools (type 1 schools).

30
The following strategic interventions will be undertaken to enhance the teaching and use of
languages in schools and for schools, districts, provinces and the nation to progressively implement
the Languages of Education Strategic Framework:
Development of teaching and learning materials in mother tongues: Making use of the
materials developed through the NEGRP and textbooks already developed, the Curriculum
Development Centre (CDC) will work with provinces and language communities to develop
appropriate teaching and learning materials in Nepal’s major languages.
Expansion of the National Early Grades Reading Programme: Materials are being developed
through the NEGRP for the effective teaching of literacy skills in Nepali and some of Nepal’s
other languages. As literacy materials are developed in various languages they will provide the
basis for the use of mother tongues as a full or partial medium of instruction in ECED/PPE and
grades 1-3.
The improved teaching of English as a subject: Special initiatives will support the teaching of
English in schools through the widespread use of multimedia resources, the development of
learner-friendly and attractive teaching and learning materials, the recruitment of capable
users of English as English subject teachers, and the professional development of English
teachers in modern technologies and the use of multimedia resources.
The professional development of teachers: Training programmes will be provided for mother
tongue teachers on how to develop children’s language skills in these languages and to
facilitate their transition to Nepali.
Provision of bilingual support: Provision will be made for schools to engage bilingual teachers,
ECED/PPE teachers and/or assistants to ensure that students who speak only limited Nepali
language upon entry to school receive necessary language support in their mother tongue.
Assessment and monitoring system of languages of education: The flash system will start to
collect information on schools’ languages of education and their use of languages will be
monitored. DEOs will assess each school’s language provision, work with schools to ensure that
the most appropriate option is being implemented and monitor progress in language use.

Equity and Inclusion

Challenges — Nepal has a very diverse population. During the past two decades, there has been an
emphasis on increasing access to education in Nepal, and girls’ education has been given a high
priority. As a result, there has been significant progress on strengthening equity, and there is now
gender parity on a number of basic and secondary education indicators. However, many
differences remain with children receiving inequitable access to quality education due to gender,
socioeconomic status, language, ethnicity, caste, geographical location and differing abilities.
Although efforts are being made to include children with various forms of disability in mainstream
classrooms, the enrolment and meaningful participation of children with disabilities (CwDs) in
regular classrooms remains low. CwDs tend either to be not enrolled in school or to be placed in
special schools or special classes with little interaction with other children. Education can be a tool
to change perceptions and address inequities, but there are still many challenges to address if it is
to bring about transformative change in classrooms, in schools and in society at large.

31
Status — There is a solid basis for SSDP to address all kinds of inequity within and outside the
education system. Besides the progress made by SSRP, the preamble of the new constitution
commits to:
ending all forms of discrimination and oppression created by feudal, autocratic,
centralized, and unitary system. It further commits to embracing multi-caste, multi-
lingual, multi-cultural, and diverse geographical specificities, by ending discrimination
relating to class, caste, region, language, religion, and gender including all forms of
racial untouchability.

Under SSRP a range of strategies were implemented that have collectively resulted in improved
access and enrolment outcomes. With regards to resource allocation, one significant gap in the
SSRP seems to have been the lack of focus on reducing disparities between schools in contrast to
reducing inequalities between children; but the former point is now recognised as an issue that
needs attention. The Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Education Sector in Nepal (DoE
2014) was approved in December 2014. An Equity Index has been prepared that will help identify
population groups in need of special efforts to ensure their full access, participation and learning
within the education system.

Strategic interventions — The preparatory work carried out under SSRP means that there is a solid
foundation for SSDP to address equity, gender and disability issues. The proposed activities are
aligned with the consolidated equity strategy. It is important that actions are taken simultaneously
(i.e. not sequentially) to produce the maximum effect. The planned strategic directions thus include
the following:
As part of the implementation of the Consolidated Equity Strategy consolidate equity-based
strategies and implement them directed by the ranking and identification of dominant drivers
through disparity based formulas (an equity index) in order to reduce disparities in access,
participation and learning outcomes.
The use of disparity based formulas and indexes as a part of EMIS to inform need and evidence
based planning and implementation.
Strengthening the evidence base and rationalization of criteria and modalities of scholarships
and other incentive schemes and developing the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of
such schemes.
Strengthening the institutional capacity to provide inclusive education for children with
disabilities and special needs and establishing partnerships with non-state actors and other
relevant line ministries to respond to the needs of children with complex or severe disabilities.

Enabling Environment
Challenges — Until recently, the environment in most schools in Nepal, both basic and secondary,
was not conducive to effective learning. Schools in most cases have been built by communities
without following any standards in terms of size, appropriateness for learning activities or safety.
Very often schools, including ECED/PPE classes, were characterized by an uninviting interior with
bare walls and a scarcity of teaching and learning materials. ECED/PPE centres lacked basic
equipment and play materials. Challenges remain and schools, particularly in rural areas, still
struggle to provide an appropriate learning environment. The earthquakes of April and May 2015

32
exacerbated the situation and many of the gains made over the years were reversed in the 14 most
affected districts.

Status — The implementation of the EFA programme and the SSRP saw the progression from the
implementation of a ‘child friendly schools’ programme to agreement on a set of national
minimum enabling conditions (MECs) to provide a conducive learning environment in schools. The
MECs framework provides guidelines for 25 different components that are considered as the
minimum needs for an enabling school environment. The criteria mostly cover physical conditions
and measures such as student-teacher ratios; but some outputs such as student attendance are
also included. The framework provides school communities with a benchmark for their operational
planning.

Considering the enormity of the task for all schools to meet the MECs and budget limitations, in
2013 it was decided to focus on five priority MECs (the PMECs), covering the student-teacher ratio,
classroom space, sets of textbooks per child per year, separate girls and boys toilets plus water,
and book/learning corners in all classrooms. This reduced set of criteria led to an acceleration of
progress and the number of schools providing data on their achievement of the PMECs has
increased. The monitoring of the PMECs has increased needs-based support to schools to reduce
disparities in learning environments. However, resource constraints and the impact of the 2015
earthquakes have left many schools not meeting all five PMECs. According to DoE data, only a few
schools were meeting all five PMECs at the end of the SSRP period. Although schools may use the
non-salary part of per child funding (PCF) grants to improve their learning environments and the
quality of teaching, many schools need additional resources, particularly for infrastructure
development. The PMECs were set mainly with primary (grade 1-5) schools in mind. In addition, a
set of MECs has been drafted for secondary schools, covering a sufficient teacher to student ratio,
safe school buildings, gender sensitive WASH facilities, science and ICT labs in identified schools,
and the availability of curriculum, textbooks and learning materials. MEC indicators also need to be
set for ECED/PPE centres.

Strategic interventions — The SSRP provided a solid foundation to promote child-friendly enabling
environments in all schools. Although the damage caused by the 2015 earthquakes has lengthened
the time needed for schools to achieve the PMECs; over time the focus will shift to ensuring that
more comprehensive criteria are met to ensure that truly enabling environments are in place in
basic and secondary schools. This will include the creation of conducive conditions for the full
participation of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, which in turn will promote
inclusive education. ICT facilities and opportunities will increasingly be made available to enable
learners to engage with the rapidly changing technological world. The following major
interventions are thus needed to promote enabling conditions for learning:
Develop guidelines for minimum quality standards for ECED/PPE and for ensuring that children
with disabilities have full access to learning activities in schools.
Strengthening teaching-learning processes, particularly in science, maths and English, through
increased access to and the use of ICT-based teaching and learning.
Finalise the PMECs for secondary schools and for ECED/PPE centres and/or pre-primary
education in basic schools.

33
 Progressively include all aspects of a gender sensitive learning environment, including
segregated toilets and water and sanitation facilities, in the list of minimum conditions.6
Strengthen governance and management, particularly at district and school levels, to ensure
minimum standards are monitored and met.

Infrastructure Development and School Safety

Challenges — The rapid growth of Nepal’s education system since the 1960s has been possible only
because of the active involvement of local communities. Many school buildings have been
constructed, at least in part, using locally raised funds and often with volunteer labour. Although
this participation has resulted in high levels of community ownership and enabled the rapid
expansion of the education system, one of the negative results has been poorly constructed school
buildings. An ambitious infrastructure development initiative was undertaken under SSRP, but only
a small percentage of schools were provided with new buildings or retrofitted (made structurally
safe). This situation was exacerbated by the April and May 2015 earthquakes, which resulted in
35,000 classrooms being mostly or entirely damaged leaving over one million children without safe
permanent places to learn. The first major earthquake happened on a Saturday, the one day of the
week that schools are closed. Otherwise, judging from the damage to schools, there would have
been tens of thousands of deaths of children in their classrooms. This highlights the urgent need to
ensure that new and existing buildings are safe and earthquake resistant, especially considering
that large areas of Nepal that are disaster-prone.

Status — A comprehensive Post Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework was
completed following the 2015 earthquake (NPC 2015b). Education was one of the sectors assessed
(NPC 2015c). The assessment identified over 45,000 classrooms in need of repair or reconstruction
as well as many toilets, boundary walls and water supply and sanitation facilities. A pilot project
had previously retrofitted a few schools (making them safe and earthquake resistant) (NSET 2014).
This provides the blueprint for retrofitting school buildings in Nepal. The project also included
school safety and DRR promotion and awareness building. The PMECs do not include classrooms
being constructed to DRR standards, and most school buildings do not meet minimum safety
standards. However, the education sector is developing a DRR strategy in line with the national
school safety framework. The SSDP targets are based on this.

Strategic interventions — The government and its development partners have committed to the
construction, reconstruction and retrofitting of schools to standards that ensure they are
earthquake resistant, and to promoting school safety and DRR. Schools are to be (re)constructed
and/or retrofitted in line with national guidelines and specifications to ensure safe learning places.
This entails safe site selection, adherence to building codes, disaster resilient designs, retrofitting,
construction supervision and quality control. The following strategic interventions are thus called
for under the SSDP:
Ensure that short, medium and long term recovery efforts related to the 2015 earthquakes are
carried out in line with national standards and within overall national plans.

6
Including disability friendly physical infrastructures.

34
 Mainstream comprehensive school safety and DRR in the education sector by strengthening
school level disaster management and resilience amongst schools, students and communities.
Strengthen the preparedness and risk reduction capacity of the education system from national
to school levels through multi-hazard risk assessment and mapping for disaster management
(structural and non-structural), action planning to reduce risks at the school level, the
incorporation of school safety into school improvement plans, planning for educational
continuity, and by building response and preparedness capacities.
Establish a joint coordination mechanism that focuses on comprehensive recovery in the
earthquake-affected districts by addressing the holistic needs of schools and communities,
including for DRR and school safety.

Capacity Development
Challenges — Ensuring sufficient capacity at all levels of the system to deliver high quality
education was a challenge throughout (and before) SSRP. It is recognised that the existing
institutional capacity is in need of strengthening. It will be a major challenge to build capacity
within the system while at the same time transitioning to the federal system. Federal restructuring
is expected to be accompanied by a large demand on the existing human and institutional capacity
within the system, as well as for additional roles and responsibilities to execute the further
decentralization of educational management and planning.

Status — Good progress was made on building the capacity of the education sector during the SSRP
period. This included strengthening planning and monitoring systems, establishing a national
assessment of learning achievement system, and improving public financial management and
improving teacher deployment. In 2013 an Institutional Assessment and Capacity Development
Plan (IACDP) was produced under the SSRP (Moriani et al. 2013). The findings of a rapid assessment
survey of administrative staff, which was carried out as part of the IACDP, suggested that MoE,
DoE, and DEO staff all doubted the adequacy of professional development opportunities. This
indicates that incentives were not perceived to be in place to meet the professional development
needs of staff. Staff concerns are also symptomatic of broader supervisory capacity challenges that
the IACDP report described as operational rigidities, weak public disclosure, weak governance and
weak public financial management. The study’s recommendations provide a good starting point for
addressing capacity challenges.

Strategic interventions — The underlying principle for all capacity development activities in SSDP is
preparation for and eventually the implementation of a decentralized federal system of
governance. Although the timeline and specific arrangements remains unknown, it is certain that
capacities will need to be developed at provincial, district and school levels in order for the relevant
officials and stakeholders to perform their duties and fulfil their assigned roles. Administrative staff
will need support for (i) phasing in the federal structure of education governance, (ii) strengthening
the leadership skills of provincial and local officials in educational planning, (iii) management, (iv)
budgeting and vi) developing clear professional profiles and recruitment criteria to ensure that
staff have the requisite competencies to undertake their duties successfully.

Based on the foundational principle of further decentralisation the following strategic interventions
are needed:

35
Develop a national framework to support local governments to establish roles and functions
including the capacity of SMCs to strengthen school governance and management.
Develop a costed capacity development plan that outlines competencies and skills sets of
different positions and levels in the education sector with reference to decentralisation.
Strengthen the awareness of parents and communities to increase the capacity of SMCs and
PTAs and through them the accountability of schools for providing quality education.
Strengthen the capacity of school management personnel on account keeping, linkages
between planned activities and budgets and disaster management and strengthen the
leadership of head teachers.

36
 4 BASIC EDUCATION

4.1 Introduction
Education for All (EFA) Goal 2 aimed for all children, particularly girls and children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to disadvantaged ethnic groups, to have access to and
complete free and compulsory quality primary education. This is also a responsibility of the state.

Several major gains have been made in basic education in Nepal.7 There have been large increases
in the net intake rate in grade 1, increasing to 92.7 percent of eligible girls and 93.3 percent of
eligible boys in 2015, and a steady improvement in basic level net enrolment rates (to 88.7 percent
in 2015), although these figures fall short of the SSRP target of 98 percent.

To ensure school readiness, one year of ECED/PPE is incorporated as part of the basic education
cycle under the SSDP. Significant gains have been made in improving access to ECED/PPE during the
Education For All and SSRP periods (2001–2015). The National Policy on Early Childhood
Development (DoE 2004a) provided the basis for large investments by MoE in ECED/PPE and PPE
centres, with the number of centres increasing to over 35,000 by 2014. As a result, the gross
enrolment rate (GER) in ECED/PPE has reached almost 78 percent (DoE 2015). In 2002, only about
10 percent of grade 1 students had taken part in ECED/PPE. Measures will be taken under the SSDP
to increase the enrolment of children from vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Furthermore,
minimum quality standards will be assured by, where possible, bringing ECED/PPE services in to
schools and upgrading the minimum requirements and professional development of ECED/PPE
facilitators/teachers. Parental education will be a key strategy to strengthened community
engagement in the schools and the education of children.

The Education Sector Analysis (ESA) (MoE 2016) notes that although there has been overall
progress in access to basic education, students from disadvantaged groups have disproportionately
low access and high repetition and drop-out rates (MoE 2016). While the difference between boys
and girls in quality and efficiency indicators is quite small, girls consistently perform less well than
boys and are more likely to drop out and repeat across all grades. This indicates systematic barriers
that prevent girls from benefitting from enabling learning conditions. With regard to caste and
ethnic-based disparities in learning outcomes, only 23.1 percent of Terai Dalits are literate
compared to 80 percent of Terai Brahmans and Chhetris. In addition to efficiency problems evident
in the high repetition and low survival rates, student career and college readiness indicators reflect
wider problems in the education sector’s external efficiency. These disparities increase
exponentially when children face multiple drivers of inequity as do, for example, Dalit girls in the
central Terai and children with disabilities in remote area (DoE 2014).

CwDs generally have the least access to basic education. Increasing their educational attainment
entails institutionalizing support systems that include early screening and interventions through
closer coordination between the health and education ministries and a move from special and

7
Note that in line with reforms began under SSRP, basic education now covers one year of
ECED/PPE, grades 1 to 8 and non-formal education (NFE). ECED/PPE and NFE as well as grades 1 to
8 are therefore covered in this chapter.

37
segregated education services to the mainstreaming of CwDs through inclusive education models,
ensuring that the institutional capacity and the expertise needed for this are in place. This requires
updating and regularly collecting data on the types and prevalence of disability and their levels of
severity, updating teacher training to include special education and addressing the social stigma
associated with disability.

The rationale of including NFE under basic education is that NFE programmes such as flexible
education schemes help bring children that are out-of-school back into formal education and
provides alternative basic education for older children and adults who are unlikely or unable to
enter or re-enter formal education.

Non-formal education has a large role in education reform in Nepal in the light of the country’s
high school dropout rates, the high number of out-of-school children, the large number of low-
skilled workers, and the poor fit between tertiary education and labour market needs. In 2008, the
Non-Formal Education Centre (NFEC) launched the National Literacy Campaign Programme (NLCP)
to eradicate illiteracy, mostly catering to adult literacy and out-of-school children through school
outreach programmes. Community learning centres (CLCs) help deliver literacy and lifelong
learning programmes. However, Cumming et al. (2012) noted only marginal increases in literacy
among fifteen year olds from 55.6 percent in 2008 to 57 percent in 2011. Gender and regional
disparities remain a source of concern, with urban areas having 77 percent literacy and rural areas
only 57 percent literacy in the above six-year-old age range. Cumming et al. (2012) also noted
limited institutional capacity at district and below levels to manage the programme and an
inadequate quality of facilitators.

While overcoming access disparities is important, improving the quality of basic education is also a
priority. Student achievement is a major problem at all levels of education in Nepal. In 2013/2014,
on average, 48 percent of students (51 percent of grade 5 students and 52 percent of grade 8
students) did not pass the grade level in science, maths or English (ERO 2013). The data shows that
the level of attainment does not seem to have changed significantly since 2011 and the levels of
attainment are even less for disadvantaged groups.

The main challenges in basic education relate to the many lingering problems of the sector.
Demand side challenges include the low awareness and engagement of communities, which is tied
to the lack of capacity of SMCs and PTAs. On the supply side, The education sector analysis (MoE
2016) identified teaching and learning factors that undermine the quality of education.

Set against this background, SSDP focuses on improving access to safe environments that enable
learning, improving access to and the quality of non-formal education and strengthening peer
support mechanisms for children.

A main focus is on quality learning environments. Children need access to education in safe schools
with resilient infrastructure and child-friendly environments free from bullying and harassment.
This includes making sure that gender inclusive (girl-friendly) practices are implemented and
gender-based violence is addressed by promoting equal access to education, including learning
opportunities that empower girls to succeed, and training opportunities for female teachers to
serve as professional role models for girls.

An adequate and enabling learning environment will mean that basic education schools comply
with the MECs, build the logistical and teacher capacity to promote teaching in mother tongue

38
languages and use mother tongues as a medium of instruction, and have quality relevant curricula
in place that are regularly adjusted to suit the differing abilities of students on the basis of reliable
assessments.

By taking a holistic approach to students’ well-being, the SSDP envisions increasing knowledge on
food, nutrition and health in students and communities, which leads to enhanced cognitive
abilities. This will include further instituting school health and nutrition programmes (midday
meals) in areas of poverty and food insecurity.

SSDP calls for strengthening non-formal education by expanding flexible and open programming
for skills-development and income generation with programmes targeted at underserved
populations. Improving the quality of NFE-related educational institutions is important for
achieving the objectives of this sub-sector. CLCs will continue to be the main mechanism for
delivering non-formal education, but part of their funding will be tied to the results they achieve.
MoE will invest in creating an expert pool of facilitators at district and local levels and provide them
with capacity enhancement opportunities. As a growing number of civil society organisation offer
NFE catering to diverse learning needs, MoE will standardize the NFE curricula and initiate
accreditation/equivalence of NFE programmes to ensure minimum standards are met while also
extending support to enhance their capacities.

Finally, the SSDP calls for strengthening child clubs as peer support mechanisms to increase
education outcomes for children in the transition grades where the highest attrition takes place
and expanding and strengthening social networks to counter harmful social norms and support
learners to stay in school education.

4.2 Objectives and Strategies

SSDP’s basic education objectives are as follows:
To promote a rights-based approach to ECED/PPE programmes for developing the physical,
socio-emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral potential of children below five years, and
ensure school readiness.
Ensure universal access to quality basic education for all 4–12-year-old children.
Ensure student readiness for secondary education by students gaining the required learning
competencies.
To promote life skills and value-based education and impart early orientation on the national
economy and harmony in socio-cultural diversity.
To complement formal education by providing alternative and flexible modes of education.

SSDP’s strategies for improving basic education are arranged under the topics of equity, quality and
efficiency:

Equity
a) Develop annual equity strategy implementation plans (ESIPs), as a part of annual strategic
implementation plans (ASIPs) and annual work plans and budgets (AWPBs). The production
of ESIPs will strengthen the relevance and targeting of support and incentive schemes,

39
 including through tailored packages of strategies and activities for targeted groups8 and
regions, conditional cash transfer schemes and poverty cards, and mobile education in
remote locations.
b) Institutionalize the use of the Equity Index to rank, analyse and compare prevalence,
composition and trends of education disparities within and across districts. The aim is to
strengthen equitable access, participation and learning outcomes and to strengthen
awareness among local stakeholders to enhance needs-based school-level planning.
c) Establish a one-year school based ECED/PPE programme in all basic education schools.
Towards achieving this relocate and merge ECED/PPE facilities within school catchment
areas to maximise access to school based ECED/PPE and the use of available resources.
d) Establish different models of ECED/PPE services such as school-based, community-based
and home-based programmes that respond to identified needs and projected trends and
comply with the approved norms and implementation frameworks, prioritizing expansion
in communities with low basic education net intake rates (NIR) and low percentages of
children that enrol in grade 1 with ECED/PPE experience.
e) Support community-based ECED/PPE centres to establish links with neighbouring and
nearby community schools for technical and administrative support and to receive
individual EMIS codes.
f) Increase the engagement of parents and communities in ECED/PPE through the provision
of parental education and packaged programmes, linking ECED/PPE with family literacy,
income generation, health and hygiene awareness and skills training programmes.
g) Establish and strengthen diagnostic and referral mechanisms to identify and support
children with disabilities, including the establishment of specialized CwD ECED/PPE
facilities and home-based support for children with complex or severe disabilities.
h) Develop and identify criteria and guidelines to prioritize locations for new schools by using
geographical information system (GIS) tools for mapping existing and potential locations.
Different models are needed (see description of models under ‘Quality’ below) depending
on needs.
i) Ensure gender-sensitive learning environments and district and school-based support
structures, including strengthening the national gender education and gender focal point
network to address gender-based violence in schools in order to increase girls’
participation and their completion of basic education.
j) Ensure access through the one-teacher small school (grades 1-3) concept in remote and
marginalized/disadvantaged communities.
k) Develop a long-term inclusive education plan (based on expert and stakeholder
consultations) including a strategy for special and residential schools (that are gradually
transformed to serve as resource centres serving clusters of inclusive mainstream schools).
Also, strengthen diagnostic and referral mechanisms for children with disabilities and
develop education resources that are adapted for children with special needs.

8
The targeted groups are children who face barriers to access, participation and learning outcomes based on their
economic status, gender, abilities, location, caste and ethnicity and vulnerability.

40
 l) Ensure that schools are safe spaces to learn in and equip teachers and school
managements with the skills to identify and address the bullying and harassment of and
among students and staff in schools. Also, strengthen the grievance and complaint referral
system in schools.
m) Scale up school health and nutrition activities, prioritizing schools in food deficient areas,
including the continuation and need-based expansion of school-based nutrition
programmes, such as midday meals in the Karnali districts.
n) Roll out the nationwide tracking and monitoring of access, retention and completion of
individual students through school-based data collection (school-based EMIS) with data
uploaded to a central database embedded in the government’s EMIS.
o) Deliver education through different modes on-demand including through formal,
alternative and open schools and ensure that the National Qualification Framework
includes the accreditation/equivalence of NFE programmes.
p) Link with established mother groups to ensure enrolment and retention within school
catchment areas.
q) Develop a component for the recovery of the basic education (including ECED/PPE and
NFE) sub-sector from the impact of the 2015 earthquakes as part of the overall recovery
roadmap, including both hardware and software needs.

Quality in ECED/PPE
a) Develop guidelines for (i) ECED/PPE facilities to be school-based where possible, and (ii) for
the different types and modalities of ECED/PPE including their administration and
management links with a nearby school.
b) Develop and approve regulations and guidelines for minimum quality standards of
ECED/PPE programmes, including for enabling learning environments, thus enabling
children to benefit from the Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) (DoE 2004b).
c) Ensure that all ECED/PPE teachers have minimum qualifications (grade 10 graduation) and
pre-service education in line with the ELDS requirement. At the same time develop and
approve a comprehensive capacity development action plan for all ECED/PPE teachers
currently employed who do not meet the minimum requirements and/or have the required
pre-service training.
d) Formalize technical and administrative support for ECED/PPE by developing guidelines and
requirements, and by SMCs monitoring approved minimum quality standards and early
childhood development minimum conditions (ECDMCs).
e) Develop incentives for ECED/PPE teachers by aligning their remuneration with grade 10
level government employees and developing career paths with specifications for different
levels and their remuneration.
f) Standardize the existing ECED/PPE curricula through the Curriculum Development Centre
and prepare one year and multiple year packages, of which the former will be mandatory
across all ECED/PPE programmes and the latter optional for schools that operate multi-
year ECED/PPE programmes.
g) Introduce ECED/PPE as a module for graduates of basic education (at grade 9) to increase
the availability of competent ECED/PPE teachers, with incentives for graduates who

41
 successfully complete this module, such as priority enrolment in ECED/PPE-related
academic courses.
h) Develop interactive classroom-based assessments of children’s overall development
against the ELDS, and guidelines for teachers in a way that minimizes administrative
implications.

Quality in basic education

a) Ensure the presence of the MECs in all public and institutional schools including
infrastructure requirements, inclusive designs, and teacher and education resources. And
support schools that do not meet the MECs (as identified by regular EMIS monitoring)
based on the quality framework, prioritising the neediest schools.
b) Establish alternative school building designs in line with approved guidelines and the MECs
and requirements, such as grade 1-3 and grade 1-5 models, and implement multi-grade
multi-level (MGML) education programmes in communities with lower student populations
and in remote geographic locations.
c) Ensure accountable, competent and qualified teachers across the basic education cycle,
prioritizing qualified science and maths subject teachers for grades 6–8 in line with
student-teacher-ratio norms and reservation quotas for strengthening equitable
representation of female teachers and teachers from ethnic groups (see teacher
management and professional development in Section 7.1)
d) Strengthen teacher support structures and networks by (i) making strategies to address
the shortage of subject teachers, and (ii) supporting the teaching of English, maths and
science in return for credit hour certificates to count towards future employability in
education, for teaching licenses, and in higher academic degrees.
e) Formulate the National Qualification Framework (NQF) for accrediting formal and
alternative modes of learning including non-formal and informal learning.
f) Develop a National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for the entire school education cycle
(grades 1-12), specifying the provisions for developing local (and in time provincial)
curricula, and including guidelines on the application of digital and interactive teaching-
learning resources and the integration of life-skills, soft skills and value based education.
g) Strengthen the monitoring of compliance with the minimum quality standards and learning
outcomes in traditional schools including gumbas (Buddhist monasteries), gurukuls (Vedic
schools) and madrasas (Muslim educational institutions).
h) Implement the NEGRP phase-wise. The CDC to formulate standards for grade and level-
specific learning competencies in grades 1-3, including developing appropriate instructional
design and materials to meet language requirements based on the results of EGRA and
early grades maths assessments (EGMA) assessments. As a part of NEGRP, provide libraries
and reading corners in schools to foster a reading culture.
i) Implement a policy for the medium of instruction and mother tongue education in early
grades, and for schools to introduce a trilingual medium of instruction as well as providing
Nepali as a subject for children with a first language other than Nepali. Also, provide
additional education instructional resources and English reading materials for English
medium schools that agree to return to providing English as a subject.

42
 j) Undertake regular national assessments of learning outcomes (NASAs, EGRAs and EGMAs)
in grades 1-3, 5 and 8 and use findings to inform ASIPs and AWPBs (see Section 7.5 on
monitoring, evaluation and assessment).
k) Mobilize child clubs at the basic education level to provide peer support networks for
students to improve learning outcomes (including reading habits) and reduce attrition in
the transition grades (grades 6-8).
l) Based on the ICT master plan (MoE 2013), develop an overall plan and timeline for
assimilating ICT in a systematic way in school education to improve teaching and learning.
Implement this phase-wise by introducing interactive classes, online modules and digital
teaching-learning materials, such as digital libraries and videos for English, science and
maths for basic level (grades 6-8).

Efficiency
a) Mandate local governments to operate and manage ECED/PPE programmes in their
jurisdictions and encourage them to allocate revenue to fund the expansion of ECED/PPE
where possible through local government. And engage non-government and private sector
actors to expand the availability of ECED/PPE in underserved areas and to mitigate overlaps
and duplication in services provided by different actors.
b) Strengthen the roles of local governments to supervise and monitor ECED/PPE with the
focus on providing support following the establishment of centres and develop and
approve regulations and guidelines for programmes for additional second years of
childhood development provided by communities (including schools) and non-government
actors.
c) Strengthen coordination between central level ministries for integrated interventions
across health, nutrition, education and protection, and take a more holistic approach to
drive results for children in education.
d) Strengthen cross-sectoral coordination within districts on early child development and
prepare multi-sectoral early childhood development district plans with inputs from DEOs
and district health offices.
e) Revisit the roles of the current resource centres and the systems for recruiting resource
persons and introduce resource teachers in centres on a pilot basis to strengthen
monitoring and supervision focusing on teaching and learning support.
f) Develop time-bound action plans for the timely printing and distribution of textbooks at
the beginning of each academic year, including provisions for involving the private sector
to provide technical backstopping for printing textbooks.
g) Strengthen SIP-based planning, including the contributions of teachers and education
stakeholders focused on ‘converting’ quality inputs at the school level into effective
teaching and learning.
h) Introduce local mechanisms for NFE monitoring and supervisory support.

43
4.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions

Table 4.1: SSDP’s basic education outcomes, results, interventions, targets and indicators
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Improved Needs-based → Revise guidelines for → By age four 3.6 million → Percentage of
access and distribution of establishing new ECED/PPE children receive at least one grade 1 new
equity school-based centres and rationalize year ECED/PPE learning entrants with
PPE/ECED/PPE existing provision based on → 32,000 ECED/PPE
Reduced disparities need and demand. school/community-based experience
in school readiness → Develop and disseminate ECED/PPE centres → GER in
ECED/PPE orientation operational ECED/PPE
Enhanced parental materials and packages for
awareness and local bodies and parents.
engagement
→ Enhance parental
awareness and engagement.
→ Need-based rationalization
and expansion of school-
based ECED/PPE.
Enabling safe → The need and criteria- → 38,000 additional safe → Number of
environments and based construction of classrooms established in schools
safe schools classrooms, other rooms and earthquake-affected reconstructed
WASH facilities (based on districts → Number of
surveys by DEO technical → 21,000 additional safe schools
personnel). schools with at least four retrofitted
→ Revised scholarship rooms established
schemes (targeting and → Maintenance and
amounts). retrofitting in 19,500 schools
Universal enrolment → Free textbooks. → 4.8 million 5-year old → Grade 1 gross
at basic level (grade → Midday meals in targeted children enrolled in grade 1 intake ratio (GIR)
1-5) districts. and net intake
→ Mainstream traditional ratio (NIR)
schools, mobile schools, multi- → GER and NER
grade schools and CwDs in for basic
special schools/resource education (grades
classes. 1-5 and 1-8)
→ Use the Equity Index to
Increased → Survival rate
identify the most
completion of basic for grade 8
disadvantaged districts and to
education
mainstream out-of-school
Reduced children. → 365 integrated schools → GPI in NER in
geographical and with resource classes for basic education
social disparities children with disabilities (grade 1-8)
including for CwDs → 620,0009 children receive → % of previously
midday meals annually in out of school
target districts and all children in basic
Karnali districts level (age 5-12)
→ 34 special schools and
eight residential schools in
operation for students with
hearing impairments
→ 10 mobile schools in
operation in remote and

9
The midday meal target includes both cash and in-kind modalities

44
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
mountain regions
Increased % of out- → Implement needs-based → 165,000 out of school → Qualification
of-school children NFE programmes. children receive flexible framework for
(re)enrolled in → Provide tailored education programme basic lifelong and non-
formal education programme packages for out- (1-5 and 6-8 grade formal education
of-school children, working equivalent), secondary level is prepared
youth, adolescents, CwDs. equivalent
→ Strengthen the transition to
formal education through the
accreditation and equivalence
of NFE programmes.
Increased Improved quality of → Development of minimum → 32,000 ECED/PPE → Number of
school PPE/ECED standards for ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers’ ECED/PPE
readiness Availability of programme. positions filled with trained teachers with
upon qualified and trained → Provision of qualified and personnel required
enrolment ECED/PPE teachers trained ECED/PPE → 1,400 master training of qualifications
in grade 1 facilitators/teachers. trainers (MToT) courses run → Number of
→ Appoint teachers to on basic training for ECED/PPE
ECED/PPE centres (as ECED/PPE teachers teachers with one
vacancies arise), and where → All 32,000 ECED/PPE months’ training
needed appoint assistant facilitators/teachers receive
teachers to match languages ECED/PPE refresher training
of students
→ Increase number of
teachers who have completed
the month-long training
including on Nepali and
mother tongue language skills.
→ Availability of ECED/PPE
teaching-learning materials.
Improved Improved minimum → Deploy and redeploy → Number of
teaching- enabling conditions teachers based on revised teachers receiving
learning for learning norms. training in soft
and → Develop integrated skills component
equitable Improved curriculum curriculum and textbooks for → 7.5 million children
student (including early grades and revise the annually have access to a
learning assessment curriculum (including reduced full set of textbooks and
outcomes framework), subject loads in basic and supplementary reading
textbooks and secondary covering ICT, materials
learning materials languages, Comprehensive
Sex Education (CSE) and soft
Enhanced early skills). → Early Grade Reading → Number of
grade reading skills Programme is implemented grade 1-3
→ Phase wise implementation
nationally teachers who
of the NEGRP rolled out
→ 29,000 schools have receive training in
nationally, including EGR
library corners and early grade
materials development &
supplementary reading reading
distribution, and classroom-
material in grades 1-3 instruction and
based EGRA.
→ 25,000 schools assessment
→ Approve and implement
implement classroom-based → % of grade 3
the Strategic Framework for
EGRA students reading
Languages in Education (see
→ 56,000 basic level (grade grade level texts
Annex 4).
1-5) teachers trained in EGR with fluency and
→ Provide professional comprehension
development in early grade
Improved → Free textbooks provided → % of students

45
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
curriculum, textbook reading instruction and to 6.1 million students in in basic education
and learning assessment for grade 1-3 basic education annually who receive full
materials teachers. → 11,245 basic schools set of textbooks
→ Develop the National supported with science and on time
Curriculum Framework (NCF), maths kits
Improved student and revise the curriculum. → Students’
assessment and textbooks and materials. learning
examination system → Revise grade 1-3 textbooks achievement
and curriculum. → (NASA) scores
→ Train teachers on teaching (%) in grade 5 and
the soft skills component. 8 in maths,
→ Develop standardized test English and Nepali
items for grades 3, 5 and 8
Improved teacher → 48,000 basic teachers
exams and standardized
attendance and provided with one month
exams at end of grade 8
performance certification training
→ Carry out NASA in grades 5
Schools teaching and 8
languages and in
→ Revise and develop
languages
additional teacher
appropriate for their
professional development
student populations
packages (on EGR, Nepali as
second language and medium
of instruction, mother tongue-
based multi-lingual education
(MTB-MLE), interactive
English, ICT, soft skills, maths
and science kits, CAS and
remedial education).
→ Implement targeted
programme to improve
acquisition of English by
students including use of
interactive methods and
equipment.
→ Develop and distribute e-
learning resources and videos.

46
 5 SECONDARY EDUCATION

5.1 Introduction
There have been large improvements on enrolment, survival rates and gender parity in secondary
education. Net enrolment has increased from only 17.3 percent in 1995 to 56.1 percent in 2015
and gross enrolment has increased from 28 percent in 1990 to 70.1 percent in 2014. These gains
have, however, not been consistent across all sections of society. Girls from the lowest wealth
quintile and from Madhesi10 and Muslim communities are under-represented in secondary
education. Grade 10 graduation rates have mostly remained below 50% nationwide, with a similar
situation in grades 11 and 12, suggesting that while disparities in education outcomes need to be
minimized, the sector will also focus on improving overall learning outcomes. Core subjects like
maths, science and English have remained the most demanding subjects for students as reflected
in performances in grade 10 examinations. The employability of students remains a huge challenge.

The SSDP therefore aims to put more focus on ensuring access to and the quality and relevance of
secondary education. This will include enforcing the fulfilment of MECs in secondary schools and
targeted allocations to reduce disparities between schools to meet them. Furthermore, the SSDP
aims to strengthen pathways and bridges that enable students to shift between more academic to
applied focused education. It also prioritizes maths and science, which include providing an
adequate supply of subject specialist teachers. This calls for reform of the curriculum and textbooks
to better align with levels and streams. Another key requirement is the appointment of head
teachers with management skills.

Drawing on the lessons of SSRP, the SSDP aims to strengthen technical and vocational education
(TVE) in secondary schools by introducing measures that develop qualified and technical human
resources capable of earning decent incomes. To achieve this, MoE will consolidate the technical-
vocational curricula in the secondary level (classes 9 to 12) and introduce a broad National
Vocational Qualifications Framework to accredit institutions that deliver vocational education. MoE
will also invest in creating opportunities for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, while
developing teachers who are qualified in technical subjects. SSDP recognises that a strategic
partnership with the private sector is needed to successfully develop and sustain technical and
vocational education. Therefore, local and national private sector organisations will be made
partners to develop relevant curricula and for providing on-the-job and apprenticeship
opportunities to students.

5.2 Objective and Strategies

SSDP’s secondary education objectives are as follows:
Make students ready for the world of work by developing skilled human resources.
Focus on access to education without compromising quality.

10
The term ’Madhesi’ is generally used as the identifier of most ethnic and caste groups who live in Nepal’s Terai areas
who do not originate from the Midhills and mountains of Nepal.

47
 Provide options and accredited learning pathways for students between technical and general
secondary education.
Strengthen institutional links and facilitate the transition to higher education.
Prepare students to uphold and fulfil their civic duties.
Ensure the acquisition of foundation skills through technical and vocational education at
secondary level that will enable adolescents to acquire skill sets.

The strategies for meeting these objectives and improving secondary education are as follows:

Equity
a) Encourage partnership models for implementing free secondary education.
b) Develop annual equity strategy implementation plans (ESIPs) as a part of ASIPs and AWPBs
to strengthen the relevance and targeting of support, including providing open and
alternative, residential, and inclusive education to cater to the learning needs of children
from groups with less access and participation and low learning outcomes.11
c) Institute the performance-based allocation of resources (schools and teachers) while
providing grants to schools (basic grants, special needs school grants, large/model school
grants).
d) Rationalize distribution of different types of schools(model, special schools, etc.) based on
needs as identified with support of GIS mapping.
e) Introduce programmes to support outstanding students on a merit basis.
f) Pilot a scheme to support poor students to continue with secondary education by
supporting grade 8 completers from the poorest households (who would otherwise be
likely to drop out) to continue secondary education from grades 9 to 12.
g) Support outstanding students from among grade 10 completers who secure above 90% to
continue grades 11 and 12.
h) Develop a specific component for the recovery of the secondary education sub-sector from
the impact of the 2015 earthquakes as part in the overall recovery roadmap, including both
hardware and software needs.
i) Increase the participation and completion of girls in secondary education through
strategies aimed at (i) push factors such as strengthening the gender network and peer
support and the establishment of gender-sensitive learning environments that take the
specific needs of adolescent girls into account, and (ii) pull factors such as ending early
marriage and reducing the expectation of girls’ involvement in home based chores and
labour.
j) Expand school-based technical and vocational programmes, prioritizing the provision of
these subjects in secondary schools in communities with low socioeconomic status.
k) Increase the access to secondary education of students from families with low
socioeconomic status by providing needs-based scholarships.

11
Including children with disabilities and children from marginalised groups such as Chepangs, Rautes, Badis, Musahars,
Doms, Chamars, Dusadhs, Rajmamas and Kusundas.

48
 l) Develop a specific component for the recovery of the school-based technical and
vocational education (TVE) sub-sector from the damage caused by the 2015 earthquakes as
part of the overall recovery roadmap, including both hardware and software needs.

Quality
a) Introduce a broad National Qualification Framework, including vocational qualifications, to
accredit certificates provided by different education systems (such as open, alternative and
informal learning) to allow vertical and lateral entry from and within levels of education.
b) Develop a National Curriculum Framework for the entire school education cycle (grades 1–
12), including core skills such as critical thinking and collaboration while promoting the use
of digital and interactive teaching-learning resources and the integration of life-skills, soft
skills and values-based education.
c) Initiate processes to accredit formal, non-formal and informal learning to ease vertical and
horizontal access to education. Do this by developing a National Qualifications Framework
(NQF) and a National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) including the
introduction of soft skills value-based education programmes linked with economic, social
and cultural diversity.
d) Review and consolidate the number of subjects offered in secondary level.
e) Introduce and implement regulatory provisions and institutional arrangements to operate
the technical-vocational education programme.
f) Review and reorient the secondary curricula to (i) focus on basic maths and science, (ii)
orient and train students to become skilled human resources, (iii) educate students about
civic duties and their obligations to their families and society, and (iv) make students
competent scholars to join higher education.
g) Review and consolidate technical-vocational curricula in the secondary level curriculum
(classes 9 to 12) in collaboration with the private and public sectors.
h) Enforce quality standards by defining sets of MECs to be met by public and institutional
schools in order to operate secondary schools and, where possible, form partnerships and
shared responsibility to meet the MECs in public schools.
i) Institute an accountability and performance audit system to award and regulate secondary
schools.
j) Introduce a comprehensive support scheme for schools that operate technical and
vocational subjects in secondary education, and introduce support packages for
underachieving schools.
k) Provide teacher management and professional development support (further elaborated
under ‘Cross cutting issues’ in Section 7.1) with a focus on improving the teaching and
learning of science, languages (Nepali and English) and maths.
l) Carry out annual reviews of schools’ operations and management standards through
performance audits to ensure accountability.

m) Strengthen readiness for the transition to higher education subject-specific classroom

teaching when the latter is made available through model schools.

49
 n) Expand testing and certification centres to accredit vocational and technical skills earned
through formal or informal modes.
o) Provide professional development support for technical and vocational education (TVE)
teachers.

Efficiency
a) Institute the demand-based allocation of residential and model schools with provision in
them of technical and vocational subjects.
b) Develop instructional design in collaboration with established business houses and
industrial sectors to foster entrepreneurial skills and provide on-the-job training including
apprenticeships to students.
c) Institute the demand-based allocation of model TVE schools that have grades 9–12.
d) Introduce the demand-based distribution of subject-specific schools under the technical-
vocational subjects.

e) Develop instructional design in collaboration with local and national business houses and
the industrial sector to support students to develop entrepreneurial skills and access on-
the-job training including apprenticeships.
f) Review and consolidate the technical-vocational curricula in the secondary level curriculum
(classes 9 to 12) in collaboration with the private and public sectors.

5.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions

Table 5.1: SSDP’s secondary education outcomes, results, interventions, targets and indicators
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Improved Adequate school → Build new school buildings, → 4.7 million 13- → GER and NER in
access and buildings with safe additional classrooms and water year old children grades 9-12
equity structures and sanitation facilities as per enrolled in grade 9 in → GER and NER in
norms. secondary level grades 9-10
→ Provide more higher value → Survival rate in
scholarships for poor and grade 10 & 12
marginalized students (residential → Transition rate
and non-residential). from grade 8 to 9
→ Provide free textbooks up to
Reduced disparities → 40 special schools → GPI in grades 9-12
grade 12 for selected groups.
in access and with full residential
participation across → Establish open schools and and care services
gender, special schools. operating for
regions/districts, → Upgrade secondary schools to children with
disadvantaged provide up to grade 12, based on disabilities
social groups and mapping and needs. → 86,400 grade 8
for CwDs → Run targeted programmes in graduates with poor
districts with low GER/NER and economic conditions
low GPI (increase the no. of receive incentive
scholarships). support to continue
→ Establish at least one secondary education
secondary school providing
Increased access to → 1,650 subject → Number of
science at grade 11 in each
the science subject teachers deployed in secondary education

50
 Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
in grades 11–12 constituency. secondary schools schools having
NQF and NVQF → Head teachers conduct qualified and trained
developed and mandatory biannual performance subject teachers for
implemented appraisals of all their teachers. English, science and
maths
Improved Minimum enabling → The phased placement of → 8,200 additional → Improvement of
teaching- conditions (MECs) subject teachers (maths, science teachers deployed in NASA results in
learning and fulfilled (teachers, and English). secondary level grade 10
equitable safe buildings, → Separate head teacher
student science and ICT labs positions created and filled and
learning for identified training provided.
outcomes schools, curriculum, → Build libraries and science labs
textbooks and
→ Revise the curriculum,
learning materials)
textbooks and teacher guides.
Improved → Establish the National
curriculum Education Board; develop quality
(including test items; improve exam
assessment administration, scoring and
framework for grading and data analysis; and
regular and TVE introduce standardized board
subjects), textbooks exams, including single subject
and learning certification, in grades 10-12.
materials
→ Extend NASA to grade 10.
Reforms in → Implement revised teacher → Single subject
assessment and professional development certification in grade
examinations through various modalities 10 and 12
Implementation of (induction, science, maths and → 6,000 secondary → % of teachers
revised teacher English, head teacher leadership teachers provided trained
professional and management, ICT). with one month → % of teachers with
development → Develop model schools with certification training certification
separate head teachers, full
Model schools → 1,000 model → Number of model
complements of subject teachers,
established to schools equipped schools in operation
DRR infrastructure, science labs,
demonstrate with ICT and
ICT learning centres, extra
improved teaching- separate head
curricula activities (ECA), remedial
learning and teachers
teaching, and enhanced teaching-
student learning
learning.
outcomes
→ Develop and distribute subject-
ICT enabled wise e-learning resources for
teaching-learning in students and teachers.
science, maths and
English
Strengthened
monitoring of
school performance
and academic
support
Improved Strengthened TVE → Maintain minimum standards → 301,740 children, → Number of
standards and subjects in of TVE instruction. youth and adults schools offering
quality of TVE secondary schools receive school-based technical subjects
programme TVE education → Number of
→ 540 schools offer students enrolled in
five specific TVE technical subjects in
subjects grades 9-12

51
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Training for TVE → 5,912 teachers
subject teachers receive tailored TVE
provided professional
development as part
of their pre- and in-
service training.

52
 6 LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING

6.1 Introduction
Literacy and lifelong learning have a large role to play in education reform in Nepal in the light of
the large number of low skilled workers, and the poor fit between tertiary education and labour
market needs. In 2008, the Non-Formal Education Centre (NFEC) launched the National Literacy
Campaign Programme (NLCP) and Later Literate Nepal Mission (LLNM) to eradicate illiteracy,
mostly catering to adult literacy and out-of-school children through school outreach programmes.
As a result, 29 districts have been declared as literate districts by the end of 2015/016 and 30
additional districts are expected to be declared by literate within the first year of the SSDP
(2016/017). Current literacy initiatives comprise programmes for basic, post-literacy and income
generating activities, with a focus on women. Community learning centres (CLCs) help deliver
literacy and lifelong learning programmes. Gender and regional disparities remain a source of
concern, with urban areas having 77 percent literacy and rural areas only 57 percent literacy in the
above six-year-old age range. Cumming et al. (2012) noted limited institutional capacity at district
and below levels to manage the programme and the inadequate quality of facilitators.

6.2 Objective and Strategies

SSDP’s literacy and lifelong learning objective is as follows:
Enhance functional literacy and cultivate reading and learning habits among youths and adults.

SSDP’s strategies for improving literacy and lifelong education are as follows:

Equity
a) Scale-up continuous education programmes by expanding libraries and community reading
centres.
b) Establish community learning centres as the main mechanism to operate lifelong learning.
c) Develop a specific component for the recovery of the non-formal education sub-sector
from the impact of the 2015 earthquakes as part of the overall recovery roadmap,
including both hardware and software needs.

Quality
a) Develop and implement career-based programmes focused on work-related skills and
professional development support.
b) Enhance the technical capacity of facilitators by giving them basic and refresher training
opportunities.

Efficiency
a) Empower local governments to design and develop, plan and implement literacy and post-
literacy programmes in a coordinated way.
b) Launch national volunteer campaigns in collaboration with local governments and primary
stakeholders such as civil society organisations.

53
6.3 Outcomes, Results and Major Interventions

Table 6.1: SSDP’s literacy and lifelong learning outcomes, results and major interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Increased Increased access → Implement tailored → 2,400,000 illiterate and → Literacy rate
functional to continuous programme packages neo-literate people receive for 6+ year olds
literacy and education and for working youth and continuing education → Literacy rate
reading and literacy adolescents. → 165,000 children in basic for 15-24 year
learning programmes → Strengthen the education receive flexible olds
habits transition to formal education programme (basic → Literacy rate
cultivated education through (1-5 and 6-8 grade for 15+ year olds
among youths accreditation and equivalent), secondary level
and adults equivalence of lifelong (9-12 equivalent)
learning programmes.
Increased quality → Provide → 160,000 facilitators receive
of literacy and professional basic and refresher training.
lifelong learning development training → 4,242 CLCs in operation
programmes for literacy and providing continuing
lifelong learning education
facilitators.

54
 7 CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

7.1 Teacher Management and Professional Development

Ensuring quality and needs-based teacher professional development and performance-based and
accountable teacher management is one of the main elements in SSDP’s theory of change. With an
investment of around 70% of the total SSDP budget, teacher salaries are considered as the prime
resource to establish quality education. Strong ownership of SSDP’s programme by teacher
professional organizations is crucial, even more so with respect to the need to transform the
teacher management and professional development structure to accommodate the upcoming
decentralization of the education system under the federal system. With regard to teacher
management, this will mean that the Teacher Service Commission at the federal level will continue
to accredit and certify teachers as well as monitor the criteria for the recruitment, appointment,
and promotion of teachers at the provincial level. To ensure ownership, local bodies will participate
in the recruitment and appointment of teachers.

The role of education training centres (ETCs) at district levels will be further strengthened and
professional development packages developed at provincial and district levels to allow
contextualization, after which they will be approved at federal levels by the National Centre for
Educational Development. During their tenure, teachers will return to ETCs for in-service and
refresher training at set times and will be linked with senior teachers to mentor and guide them on
translating the obtained skills into practices in the classroom. Teachers will also be capacitated to
undertake continuous assessment for education within their classrooms to ensure that the
strategies applied unleash learning outcomes that accommodate the needs and interests of
students. Within available in-service training and professional development opportunities, teachers
will be encouraged to undertake regular self and peer assessments to identify their professional
development needs.

Objectives and strategies

SSDP’s teacher management and professional development objectives are as follows:
To enhance teachers’ qualification and professional competencies to better facilitate student
learning processes.
The provision of qualified competent teachers.
To ensure that teaching-learning days and teachers’ time on task is in line with government
directives and guidelines.
To maintain high morale and motivation for teaching and learning among teachers and
students.

SSDP’s strategies for improving teacher management are as follows:

a) Strengthen the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) to conduct licensing and to select
candidates for school teacher positions. The TSC will recommend selected candidates as
school teachers with local governments appointing and deploying teachers to the
appropriate schools.

55
 b) Review and strengthen eligibility criteria for teacher licensing and participation in teacher
service examinations. For example, persons fulfilling basic qualifications and having taken a
one-year preparatory course will be eligible to participate in teaching licence examinations.
c) Regularize the intake of new teachers through the TSC to address issues related to the
deployment of temporary teachers.
d) Enforce teacher recruitment and performance assessment based on the to be developed
teacher competency framework.
e) Create an enabling environment that is supportive towards recruitment of female teachers
and teachers from targeted and marginalised groups until the reservation quotas are met.
f) Fill additional teacher positions to address the needs at secondary level by first consuming
the surplus of basic education teachers and then further recruiting based on the identified
need and deficit of secondary school level teachers.
g) Develop a strategy to allow effective teacher management through harmonization of the
many existing types of teachers and their service conditions and in line with the
constitutional mandate.

h) Develop a roadmap for the appointment of subject teachers in secondary education in a

phased way, including targets on the numbers of teachers to be upgraded from basic level
and additional subject teacher positions based on mapping needs at the school level.
i) Introduce standard norms and guidelines to manage temporary teachers or teachers
appointed through resources mobilized at school level.

SSDP’s strategies for improving teacher professional development are as follows:

a) Redefine roles and responsibilities among the institutional arrangement for teachers’
professional development, such as (local) resource centres and ETCs.
b) Run teacher preparation programmes to supply adequate teachers to teach core subjects
such as science, mathematics and English, as well as TVE subjects.
c) Develop teacher performance appraisal systems that recognise outstanding teachers with
certification and link these systems to further career development opportunities and
incentives.
d) Introduce career paths for the promotion of teachers to higher levels.
e) Develop a mentor programme that enforces peer support for and the monitoring of the
translation of professional development into improved quality classroom teaching-learning
practices with special consideration for an induction year for new teachers.
f) Introduce a compulsory inclusive education (IE) module in pre-service programmes to
provide basic knowledge and skills on (i) the needs and abilities of children with special
needs, (ii) child-centred pedagogical methods and (iii) active and participative learning
techniques, instructional accommodation and activity differentiation.
g) Strengthen CAS as a tool that guides teachers in self- and peer assessment on applying
student-centred and child-friendly teaching methodologies.
h) Engage with universities to reform and strengthen the preparatory courses for teachers
and to strengthen student-centred and child-friendly learning methodologies.

56
 i) Make teacher professional development (TPD) mandatory using centrally designed
modules for teachers of different levels and subjects, including on early grade reading
(especially focusing on the teaching of languages), the use of basic science kits, student
assessments (including formative and summative), activity-based learning, and English,
maths and science at secondary level.
j) Provide demand-based as well as needs-based short and medium term training
programmes for teachers.
k) Provide training for teachers on teaching children with a first language other than Nepali,
Nepali as a second language, and teaching multiple languages, including the transition
between languages.
l) Develop strategies to respond to the professional development needs of teachers in the
context of disaster-affected areas (for example strengthening counselling and multi grade-
multi level teaching in temporary facilities).

Outcomes, results and major interventions

Table 7.1: SSDP’s teacher management and professional development outcomes, results and
major interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Strengthened Enforcement of → Strengthen teacher → 51,000 basic → % of teachers with
quality education minimum allocation through education teachers approved competency
through improved qualifications and recruitment, trained and certified established
teaching and competencies deployment and → 25,000 secondary
management redeployment based education teachers
on revised norms trained and certified
Strengthened → Develop a national → 18,000 head
school based teacher competency teachers’
teacher framework and a management training
management national framework
→ 32,000 ECED/PPE
for teacher
Harmonized teacher/facilitator
preparation and
teacher positions positions filled and
professional
trained
development.
Efficient → 1,650 subject
recruitment and teachers deployed in
distribution of secondary school
teachers across → 8,200 additional
sub-sectors and teachers deployed at
subjects secondary level
Improved teacher → No. teacher
→ 4,800 refresher
attendance and attendance days per
trainings taken by
performance year
PPC/ECED
Strengthened Increased quality of → Revise and develop teachers/facilitators
quality education professional additional TPD
through improved development packages for basic
teacher modalities school teachers (EGR,
professional Strengthened Nepali as second → 56,000 basic level → Number and
development provision of language medium of (grade 1-5) school percentage of
professional instruction, MTB-MLE, teachers take EGRP teachers trained
development for interactive English, training
sub-sectors and on ICT, soft skills, maths
→ 5,912 teachers
subjects and science kits, CAS
trained on technical

57
 Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
and remediation). and vocational
→ Revise TPD for education
secondary school
Increased in-service teachers implemented → School-based
support to transfer in various ways professional
knowledge into (induction, science, development for basic
practice maths and English and level schools
ICT).
→ School-based
→ Strengthen capacity professional
for continuous development for
professional secondary schools
development of
teachers, including
peer support,
mentoring and
coaching.

7.2 School Governance and Management

The implementation of federalism in the country is expected to revise the responsibilities of federal
(or national), provincial and local levels in terms of education planning, management and
budgeting. Implementing the resulting reforms and restructuring institutional arrangements will
consume the education sector in the initial SSDP period. Lessons learned for improving overall
governance and management of schools during the SSRP will, however, remain pertinent.
Therefore, SSDP calls for clarifying the responsibilities of SMCs, PTAs, VDCs, municipalities and
head teachers to support schools to be more accountable to the communities they serve and to
take a larger role in their overall management. SIPs will remain as important planning tools for
SMCs and will be linked to the resources provided to the districts.

In the initial years of SSDP, MoE will introduce performance-based management and resourcing at
the school level. A scaling system to rank community schools on the basis of several indicators
related to education achievement, school governance and facilities available will be developed and
implemented.

Objective and strategies

SSDP’s governance and management objective is as follows:
Effective efficient delivery of public education services within the decentralized governance
and management structure.

SSDP’s strategies for improving governance and management are as follows:

a) Develop a three-year roadmap for the reform and restructuring of institutional arrangements
to accommodate the federal structure.
b) Gradually transition school governance and management in line with the constitutional
mandate and upcoming federal structure to be the responsibility of local governments.
c) Strengthen the roles of village and municipality education committees (VECs and MECs).
d) Review existing rules and regulations to align school governance and management with the
following overall responsibilities for SMCs, PTAs and VECs:

58
 oSMCs: School level planning, including disaster planning and response.
oSMCs and PTAs: Internal management and day-to-day functioning of schools.
oHead teachers: Technical functions of teacher performance, teachers’ time on task and
teacher capacity building.
o VDCs and municipalities: External and logistical functions.
e) Develop a national framework to support local governments to revisit their roles and functions
including the capacity of SMCs to strengthen school governance and management.
f) Strengthen the use of SIPs as tools for quality improvement at the school level and establish a
mechanism to link them with resource allocation to districts.
g) Establish efficient and effective educational services by strengthening public financial
management and school level management.
h) Develop a strategy to reduce the political affiliation of school level staff, teachers and
managers and to strengthen community affiliation.
i) Promote study circles and visits to good performing schools, and platforms for sharing
knowledge among SMC members to improve education delivery at the school level.
j) Introduce performance-based management and resourcing for ensuring accountability at the
school level.
k) Introduce separate service contracts for school head teachers. These will be signed by school
head teachers based on the proposed reform plan and their capacity to implement them by
demonstrating improved student learning results.
l) Establish a grievance handling mechanism so education stakeholders and beneficiaries can
directly report their grievances to the DoE.
m) Establish a coordination mechanism between the DoE, the National Centre for Education
Development (NCED) and CDC, as well as their district institutions (ETCs, LRCs/RCs) to partner
with external institutes for the development of quality products.

Outcomes, results and major interventions

Table 7.2: SSDP’s school governance and management outcomes, results and major
interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Strengthened Strengthened → Revise education regulations, → 10,000 basic
institutional school based prepare action plan, and review level head teachers
arrangements management central level agency reporting trained
arrangements and budget → 4,000 basic level
release mechanisms in line with head teachers
results-based financing. trained
→ Complete a roadmap for the → 500 education
restructuring and realignment managers trained.
of MoE in relation to state
Strengthened
restructuring and the findings of
financial
an organisation and
management

59
 Outcomes Results Major interventions Physical targets and Key performance
beneficiaries indicators
Improved management (O&M) survey. → 500 pilot
grant → Ensure financial community schools
management management and procurement receive financial
at central and support. management
school level → Prepare and implement capacity
overall grant management strengthening
mechanism at central and support
district levels. → Computerized
→ Train education managers on accounting
formulating district education software system
plans (DEPs), village education implemented in all
plans (VEPs), SIPs, social 75 districts
accountability and transparency
through social auditing.
→ Develop a Financial
Management Action Plan
(FMAP).
→ Develop and disseminate
financial management
guidelines and other
mechanisms to strengthen
financial management in
schools.
→ Train schools on simplified
accounting and reporting
formats.
→ Implement unified
accounting software (CGAS) in
MoE.
→ Carry out school
performance audits, and
establish incentives and support
mechanisms.
→ Review school financing
(needs-based, and performance
based incentives, in addition to
per child funding).
→ Conduct fund flow tracking
surveys.

7.3 Institutional Capacity Development

As the implementation of the federal structure is expected to be initiated in the first one to three
years of the SSDP period, with institutionalization in the medium term (3–5 years), the first years of
SSDP implementation need to be used to prepare the system for this transformation, both in terms
of the management and funding structures as well as in building human and institutional
capacities. While education planning, management and budgeting responsibilities will be revised
for federal, provincial and local levels under the federal structure, lessons from efforts undertaken
in the past suggest that there is a need to improve capacities in all these areas. SSDP envisions
enhanced capacities, particularly of VDCs, municipalities, PTAs and SMCs, including related to their
responsibilities for monitoring the performance of schools. Additionally, significant capacity
development measures are needed at the national level to introduce the National Curriculum

60
Framework, the National Quality Framework and a National Examination Board, all of which are
paramount for improving learning outcomes.

Traditionally, capacity development is perceived as a synonym for training; however, this

perception is insufficient as training often does not result in strengthened institutional capacity or
the improved quality of teaching and learning processes. Strengthened skills sets and competencies
and institutional performance require a more holistic and results-based approach.

Objective and strategies

SSDP’s institutional capacity development objectives are as follows:
To prepare human and institutional resources within the education sector for the forthcoming
federalization of the country’s system of governance.
To improve the quality and efficiency of service delivery by establishing a capable and result-
oriented workforce in the public education sector.

SSDP’s strategies for institutional capacity development are as follows:

a) Develop a capacity development plan for MoE, DoE, central level education agencies and
district bodies to respond to the needs related to the implementation of the SSDP that will
emerge as a result of the federal restructuring of institutional arrangements.
b) Strengthen the capacity of school governance and management and work with SMCs, PTAs,
VDCs and municipalities according to the revised roles and responsibilities of each of these
entities.
c) Develop tailored intervention packages to strengthen district and local management in areas
with the lowest education outcomes, such as the central Tarai and the Karnali zone
d) Scale up the development of skills on inclusive education and children with special needs at the
national levels for DoE, NCED and CDC and at district levels for DEOs and assessment centre
coordinators, supported by relevant academic institutions.
e) Develop a capacity development plan to introduce the National Curriculum Framework (NCF)
for the entire school education cycle (grades 1-12), including core skills such as critical thinking
and collaboration while promoting the use of digital and interactive teaching-learning
resources and the integration of life-skills, comprehensive sex education, soft skills and values-
based education.
f) Develop a capacity development plan to introduce a broad National Qualification Framework
to accredit certificates provided by different education systems such as open, alternative and
informal learning to allow vertical as well as lateral entry from and within streams and levels of
education.
g) Develop a capacity development plan to introduce the National Examination Board.

61
Outcome, outputs and key interventions

Table 7.3: SSDP’s institutional capacity development outcomes, results and major
interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions

Sufficient Central level Prepare and implement a costed capacity development plan to
institutional institutional capacity accommodate federalization at all levels.
capacity to strengthened Strengthen and functionalize district education committees
implement Regional, provincial Train education managers on formulating DEPs, VEPs, SIPs and
the SSDP at all and district level social accountability and transparency through social auditing.
levels institutional capacity Train schools on simplified accounting and reporting formats.
strengthened

7.4 Disaster Risk Reduction and School Safety

Large areas of Nepal are disaster prone, and the country has experienced a number of earthquakes
and other natural disasters over the past decades, with the April and May 2015 earthquakes
causing extensive human losses and damage to livelihoods and infrastructure. The Post Disaster
Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Recovery Framework (PDRF) (NRA 2016) identified over 45,000
classrooms as in need of repair or reconstruction, along with toilets, school walls, water supply and
sanitation facilities. As such, the focus of disaster risk reduction in the education sector is focused
on strengthening education facilities in non-affected areas, as well as ensuring that the recovery of
education facilities is undertaken in line with the three pillars of comprehensive school safety.

Objectives and strategies

SSDP’s disaster risk reduction (DRR) and school safety objectives are as follows:
To ensure all children can access safe enabling learning environments.
To mainstream comprehensive school safety and DRR in the education sector by strengthening
school level disaster management and resilience among communities.

SSDP’s strategies for disaster risk reduction and school safety are as follows:
a) Strengthen the preparedness and risk reduction capacity of the education system from national
to school level through multi-hazard risk assessment and mapping for disaster management
(structural and non-structural), and action planning to reduce risks at the school level.
b) Incorporate school safety measures into SIPs, plan for educational continuity, build response
and preparedness capacities, and strengthening awareness on school disaster management
(SDM) within communities.
c) Mainstream risk reduction and resilience into formal and non-formal education through
national and local curricula and teachers’ professional development.
d) Identify pre- and post-disaster lessons learned within the education sector and suggest policies
and strategies to inform the development of the SSDP.
e) Identify a minimum package for schools on comprehensive school safety and disaster risk
reduction (CSS-DRR) to reach children, teachers, head teachers, SMCs, parents, communities,
education authorities and officials at all levels through existing government mechanisms.

62
f) Increase national level leadership and oversight in recovery in the affected districts by
establishing a national level education sector coordinating mechanism and leveraging funding
and other support from partners to achieve set goals aligned to minimum standards.
g) Map the main actors and on-going and future initiatives including the Comprehensive School
Safety Master Plan and other relevant strategies and initiatives that will support the MoE’s and
DoE’s leadership in ensuring the mainstreaming of DRR and school safety.
h) Develop a roadmap with education sub-sector specific components to balance the needs that
emerged from the 2015 earthquake with those remaining as a result of the unfinished agenda
of the SSRP, taking available dedicated human resources and capacities, as well as social and
non-infrastructure impact and needs into account.
i) Establish inter-sectoral linkages with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Government
(MoFALD), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Department of Urban Development
and Building Construction (DUDBC) to leverage local resources and enhance coordination for
mainstreaming DRR.
j) Develop specific strategies to respond to the professional development needs of teachers in
the context of disaster-affected districts (for example by strengthening counselling and multi
grade-multi level teaching in temporary facilities).

Outcomes, outputs and key interventions

Table 7.4: SSDP’s disaster risk reduction and school safety outcomes, results and major
interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions
School facilities Increased number Develop and implement time-bound action plan for the
resilient to of schools resilient (re)construction of safe basic and secondary schools with committed
different kinds of to various types of resources for all costs (assessment, planning, supervision,
disasters disasters implementation, consulting, coordination, research and development,
awareness and capacity building).
Develop and approve prototype designs for new school construction
that are resilient to multiple hazards and are inclusive.
Increase the number of qualified staff (including engineers) and
develop guidelines for supervision to enforce mandatory certification
by authorized government agencies and technical oversight during the
construction and retrofitting of schools.
Register and monitor all organisations involved in school construction
to ensure they comply with government rules and regulations.
Strengthened Specific DRR Define and monitor community involvement by introducing block
school disaster related roles and grant modes to ensure safe school facilities and more resilient
management responsibilities are communities.
included in SMCs’ Develop and monitor a standard set of key messages on
terms of reference comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction in schools
DRR indicators and standard operating procedures for different types of disasters.
incorporated DEOs to produce and regularly update district education emergency
within EMIS preparedness plans.
Enhance the responsiveness of teachers, students, and other school
stakeholders on DRR and emergency preparedness.
Incorporate DRR and school safety in SIPs and train head teachers and
teachers on these matters.
Develop standard educational training packages on DRR for teachers,
head teachers and SMCs, using different approaches including audio-

63
 Outcomes Results Major interventions
visual materials such as videos and dramas.
Regularly update the education sector’s contingency and
preparedness plans.
Institutionalization Children become Review the scope and sequence of the curriculum and incorporate
of risk reduction aware about learning outcomes for DRR throughout ECED/PPE, basic and secondary
and resilience disaster risk grades.
education mitigation and are Mobilize child clubs to engage children in active learning on DRR.
able to assess
Integrate DRR into academic, informal (non-formal) and professional
their environment
curricula progressively from basic awareness to vocational training
for risks and make
and advanced knowledge and skill sets.
fast adequate
responses to Develop a communications strategy to promote the use of a range of
minimise human tools to disseminate DRR information to children, communities and
losses during parents.
disasters

7.5 Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment

Achievement against the SSDP results framework (Annex 2) is the main means of monitoring the
implementation of SSDP. The framework contains the indicators for measuring progress in each
sub-sector and cross-cutting area. MoE and its development partners will review the sector’s
performance at joint annual reviews and a joint mid-term evaluation, which will be conducted by
an external evaluator approximately half-way through SSDP implementation. These reviews will
help MoE and its development partners make necessary adjustments to achieve the results
framework results.

The results framework uses information and data from routine information systems, primarily the
EMIS. SSDP envisions strengthening the EMIS by expanding its use and availability to improve
planning, implementation and review processes at all levels. At the local level, EMIS data will
support VDCs and SMCs to inform their annual plans while at the national level it will inform policy
makers about the implementation status of educational programmes and measure their impact.

Objective and strategies

SSDP’s monitoring, evaluation and assessment objectives are as follows:
To monitor programme inputs, processes and outputs and evaluate the impact of programmes.
To inform policy making bodies about the status of the education system in general and
learning achievements in particular.
To provide regular feedback to implementing agencies about the status of programmes and
activities.
To ensure that data is accessible for duty bearers and stakeholders to inform planning at local
and district levels.

SSDP’s strategies for improving monitoring, evaluation and assessment are as follows:
a) Design a mid-term review of SSDP and reflect this in the proposed three-year institutional
capacity roadmap for the reform and restructuring of institutional arrangements to
accommodate the federal structure of the education sector.

64
b) Strengthen the institutional capacity of the Education Review Office (ERO) to independently
review and audit the education system, including student assessments, and build its capacity to
regularly conduct NASAs and EGRAs.
c) Strengthen student assessments by effectively implementing the continuous assessment
system, classroom-based EGRAs, and EGRAs.
d) Strengthen the results-oriented monitoring and evaluation system and the EMIS.
e) Develop a specific component within the Programme and Results Framework to monitor the
status of the implementation of the proposed roadmap with sub-sector specific components to
respond to the needs that emerged from the 2015 earthquake.
f) Implement communication strategies on school level education outcomes to strengthen the
monitoring and engagement of management and provision of education by communities and
parents.
g) Strengthen the use of technology for managing educational data.
h) Establish linkages between the EMIS and ASIPs and AWPBs as well as different datasets to link
the results of NASA, ERO and M&E with policy-making and annual planning.
i) Ensure that disaggregated data on children with different types of disabilities is in line with
international standards and is collected regularly and is available to inform policy and planning
processes.
j) Strengthen institutional research and the analysis of education trends at the policy level to
ensure evidence based policy and plan development.
k) Operationalize the Equity Index within the EMIS at all levels to inform the government’s central
and decentralized planning and its budgeting processes on reducing disparities.
l) Design and develop a framework for carrying out periodic evaluations of educational
programmes.
m) Develop a research-based/oriented monitoring and evaluation system.
n) Carry out client satisfaction surveys and formative research.
o) Strengthen EMIS to enable it to monitor progress of recovery and reconstruction and DRR
indicators.
Outcomes, outputs and key interventions

Table 7.5: SSDP’s monitoring, evaluation and assessment outcomes, results and major
interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions Key
performance
indicators
Increased Strengthened SSDP programme support, monitoring and → NASA
institutional capacity of the coordination (PSMC) mechanism established within outcomes for
capacity for Education Review MoE. 5, 8 and 10
policy level Office (ERO) to Establish and make functional the National
analysis and independently review Examination Board with its functions aligned with
evidence and audit the examining bodies (Office of Controller of Examinations
based planning education system [OCE], HSE Board).
including student
Strengthen the capacity of the ERO to independently
assessments
review and audit the education system including
Strengthened links of → Early

65
 Outcomes Results Major interventions Key
performance
indicators
policy level EMIS to student assessments. grades
DoE’s EMIS and other Enable student/beneficiary monitoring of teacher reading
education datasets as attendance. scores
well as strengthened
Implement the independent verification of EMIS data,
institutional capacity
and agreed corrective actions.
to undertake
formative research Design and implement ICT-based system for
strengthening the monitoring and reporting system
The integration of (with orientation to senior management)
NASA, EGRA, NFE-
Enable resource centres to undertake results based
MIS, grade 10 & 12
monitoring at the school level.
exam data and DRR
into EMIS to establish Institutionalise the monitoring of time-on-task of all
a comprehensive teachers
dataset for the school Carry out studies/assessments, such as impact
education sector and evaluations and client satisfaction surveys.
the reflection of this Develop the automated production of regional, district
in flash reporting and school profile cards using IEMIS data; then prepare
Strengthened Strengthening EMIS tools to support the analysis of district and school
quality and for increased profile cards to inform resource centres, DEOs and SIPs.
use of transparency and Categorize and compare districts and schools based on
educational accountability Equity Index scores at district and sub-district levels to
data at district, inform school grant formulas.
sub-district Pilot and introduce new technologies for data
and local collection and feedback, including for monitoring time-
levels on-task and assessing physical maintenance priorities
Verify and validate data on out-of-school children in
EMIS at school level through the use of district, VDC
and school profiles
Collect information and standardise public reporting on
languages of students, languages taught in schools and
caste/ethnic identities of students.
Develop the Equity Index as an integral part of EMIS.
Strengthen the EMIS and other databases (e.g. Teacher
Information System and Scholarship Management
System) to provide reliable and timely information on
key performance indicators including MECs, availability
of subject teachers, scholarships, school infrastructure
status and student learning outcomes.
Increase survival, retention and completion rates for
different social groups
Make EMIS web-based and school-based enabling the
tracking of the progress of individual schools.
Enhance transparency by making the databases
available in the public domain.
Ensure learning outcomes are captured in the EMIS
(e.g. grade 10 database, EGR assessment results).
Strengthened Improved learning Conduct classroom-based EGRAs in a phased manner
classroom- outcomes through Simplify the continuous assessment system.
based application of
assessments simplified classroom-
for education based assessment by
teachers.

66
7.6 Examination and Accreditation
A National Examination Board will be made responsible for regulating and carrying out all public
examinations, certification and accreditation functions for grades 8, 10 and 12, including TVE
subject certification based on letter grading and single subject certifications. Public examinations
will be held at three levels: federal, provincial and local. Federal level examination will be
conducted at the end of grade 12 administered by the National Examination Board. Provincial level
examinations will be conducted at the end of grade 10 and district level exams will be conducted at
the end of grade 8.

SSDP will build on the achievements of SSRP with an emphasis on making both formative and
summative assessments more skills and learner focused rather than content focused. More time
will be spent helping teachers understand the use of formative and summative exams to target
their teaching and to thereby improve learning outcomes. For this purpose, there needs to be a
greater cohesion of curriculum, textbooks and assessment and a move from the assessment of
learning to assessment for learning.

Objectives, policy direction and strategies

SSDP’s examination and accreditation objectives are as follows:
A credible system of certification of educational qualifications.
The accreditation and acceptance of certification across the country.

The overarching examination and accreditation policy direction is:

The decentralisation of student examinations and certification.

SSDP’s strategies for improving examination and accreditation are as follows:

a) National Examination Board to be made fully operational for accreditation of education
qualifications.
b) Adopt letter-wise grading and single subject certification in all educational certificates.
c) Review and rationalise the level of cohesion of the curriculum, textbooks and assessment and
move from the assessment of learning to assessment for learning.
d) Introduce and strengthen formative and summative assessments and exam reform strategies.
e) Hold examinations at three levels to test at the end of grades 8 (district), 10 (provincial) and 12
(national/federal), for which all certificates will be issued by the NEB. Schools to issue
educational certificates in all other grades.
f) Develop specific strategies to respond to the needs of students and schools during
examinations in the context of disaster-affected districts (for example for students from areas
that face related challenges in undertaking their grade 10 exams).
g) Implement the yet to be developed exam reform roadmap that will be based on international
best practices and Nepal’s context.

67
Outcomes, outputs and key interventions

Table 7.6: SSDP’s examination and accreditation outcomes, results and major interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions

Assessment and Comprehensively Implement single subject certification policy for grade 10, and 12
examination reformed grade exams.
reform 10 and 12 Develop assessment framework for grades 8, 10 and 12 that supports
examinations desired learning including higher order, application-based learning.
Minimum Implement NASA in grade 10.
standards Standardize the grade 10 and 12 exams.
established for
Reform the institutional structure of the National Examination Board.
achievement in
key areas of Improve the quality of term tests and annual examinations by using
each subject standardized test items.
Use the analysis of results of school-based assessments to identify
weaker students and arrange revision and remediation for them.
Reform district level examinations in grade 8 with a special focus on
standardization across districts and the use of items to measure all
cognitive domains as well as skills and attitudes.
Reform school-based periodic tests and exams with the use of
standardized test items that measure all cognitive domains as well as
skills and attitudes.

7.7 Application of ICT in education

A long-term goal of education in Nepal is to provide citizens with the knowledge and skills they
need to work for the development of the country and to integrate Nepal into the global
community. To achieve this goal, the Government of Nepal is working to ensure access to quality
basic education for all and to develop work and job market relevant education. With the expanding
role of information and communication technology (ICT) in all areas of life, MoE considers the use
of and knowledge of ICT essential. MoE therefore aims to provide students with ICT skills and use
ICT as an important tool to:
improve classroom delivery;
increase access to learning materials; and
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of educational governance and management.

MoE has introduced ICT into the school sector by establishing computer labs in selected schools
and internet connectivity in DEOs and schools. Furthermore, central level agencies, regional
education directorates and all 75 DEOs have launched websites and the DoE has developed
interactive digital learning materials for students in grades 2 to 6 in Nepali, maths, English and
science. However, the ICT equipment in schools is mostly being used for administrative purposes.
This highlights the need for strengthening institutional capacity, skills and the awareness of
teachers and education managers to maximize the impact of introducing ICT in education. It is
crucial to ensure that ICT is used in relevant and appropriate ways and that an ICT enabling
environment is established with the institutional and professional capacity to maintain, update and
use applications and features, as well as that educational facilities support the use of ICT in terms
of power supplies, internet connectivity and other necessities.

68
Objectives and strategies
SSDP’s ICT objectives are as follows:
The appropriate use of ICT to improve classroom delivery by establishing an ICT enabling
learning environment (including institutional and professional capacity of managers and
implementers) and based on need and context.
Appropriate development access to learning materials and supporting professional
development packages and guidelines to ensure adequate capacity for incorporating these in
the curriculum.
The use of ICT for the improvement and increased effectiveness and efficiency of overall
educational governance and management.

SSDP’s strategies for improving knowledge of and the use of ICT are as follows:
a) Establish an ICT enabling learning environment by including ICT prerequisites as enabling
conditions in secondary schools and the provision of ICT infrastructure and teaching-learning
materials for pedagogy.
b) Establish ICT learning centres in model schools with enhanced teaching-learning processes.
c) Incorporate ICT in the secondary curriculum through the development of professional
development packages and guidelines.
d) Develop need based educational materials for children with visual and hearing impairment and
support computer education in secondary deaf schools.
e) Develop portals and websites including e-libraries.
f) Train teachers on the use of ICT in teaching and learning.
g) Develop online and offline training courses and materials (focusing on science, maths and
English).
h) Prepare ICT teaching and learning materials, initially for science, maths and English.
i) Develop and distribute subject-wise e-learning resources for students and teachers and
establish a repository of them.
j) Strengthen school governance and management through a strengthened EMIS, including the
enhanced use of ICT to improve the EMIS and implement a unified accounting software, the
Computerized Government Accounting System (CGAS) in MoE.

Outcomes, outputs and interventions

Table 7.7: SSDP’s ICT outcomes, results and major interventions

Outcomes Results Major interventions
Appropriate Strengthened ICT Provide ICT teaching-learning materials to strengthen teaching
application of infrastructure interactive approaches.
ICT in ICT enabled teaching- Establish ICT learning centres in model schools.
education learning for science, Prepare ICT teaching and learning materials initially for science,
maths and English maths and English.
implemented Provide ICT infrastructure and teaching-learning materials.
Strengthened EMIS, Implement unified accounting software (CGAS) in MoE’s system.
including by enhanced Introduce school based integrated EMIS, including an Equity Index,
use of ICT in it school profiles and unique student IDs.

69
7.8 Health and Nutrition in Schools
Nutritional and micronutrient deficiencies are national challenges, particularly in food insecure
areas and contribute to poor attentiveness in schools. As a result, many children attend school
hungry, which impacts their concentration levels and educational outcomes. There are quite a few
food deficit areas in Nepal and chronically malnourished and stunted children face lifelong barriers
to learning. For this reason, the School Health and Nutrition (SHN) strategy (MoE 2006) was
developed and implemented under the SSRP. It focuses on schoolchildren having access to
essential health and nutrition by improving water, sanitation and hygiene. The strategy aims to
improve the physical (nutritional), mental, emotional, and educational status of school children.
Ensuring health and nutrition for school children requires multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral
collaboration and technical and financial assistance from partner agencies and the participation of
local communities, CBOs and local government bodies.
Regarding the importance of adequate sex education, well-trained, supported and motivated
teachers play a key role in the delivery of good quality sex education. Clear sectoral and school
policies and curricula help teachers in this regard. Teachers who teach sex education will have
professional support and opportunities for pre-service and in-service teacher training on
comprehensive sex education.
Schools have significant gaps in water supply, sanitation and waste disposal facilities, which results
in a huge burden of disease among young children. Poor hygiene habits lead to increased disease
prevalence. Furthermore, lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities and support for
girl students results in their increased absence from schools. Also, lack of disabled friendly WASH
facilities are a barrier for children with disabilities to enrol and remain in school. Water, sanitation
and hygiene (WASH) education programmes provide and advocate for safe drinking water,
improved sanitation facilities and good hygiene practices. WASH in school programmes help to
improve health, foster learning, contribute to dignity and gender equality, reduce dropout rates of
adolescent girls and enable children to participate as agents of change for their siblings, parents
and communities. The broad aim is for all schools to have user-friendly functional water and
sanitation facilities and provide safe, healthy and comfortable environments where children can
grow, learn and thrive. The large investments made by the government on WASH in schools have
led to around 80% of all basic schools having access to water and sanitation.12 However, 20.3% of
schools do not have water supplies and 18.7% do not have toilets.

Objectives and strategies

SSDP’s health and nutrition objectives are as follows:
To increase health and nutrition services in schools, including the provision of deworming,
micronutrient supplementation and malaria treatment as well as vision and hearing screening.
For all schools to have functional water and sanitation facilities that are environmentally sound
and user-friendly for children, boys and girls and differently-abled students and teachers.
To strengthen participation and learning outcomes, minimizing the drop-out rate of adolescent
girls by fulfilling their privacy and menstrual hygiene management related needs.

12
Access to water and sanitation in basic schools is 79.7% and 81.3% respectively.

70
 To promote healthy behaviours through skills-based health education including HIV/AIDS
prevention, hygiene and nutrition. The knowledge, attitudes, values and skills developed will
enable children to stay healthy and safe long after they leave school.

SSDP’s strategies for improving the health and nutrition of school children are as follows:
a) Provide midday meals to children enrolled in basic education in food deficit areas.
b) Position school nutrition programmes within the national safety net framework to allow for a
targeted and scaled approach in schools across the country, as well as determining the role of
such programmes in emergency responses.
c) Support school nutrition in close collaboration with agriculture by boosting the use of local
produce to support social equality and the local economy.
d) Provide pre/in-service training on CSE as a supply subject.
e) Support the integration of nutrition into life-skills education for adolescent girls, with a focus
on improving maternal and child nutrition.
f) Raise adolescent girls' knowledge of reducing chronic malnutrition.
g) Prepare updated resource materials on parenting education for improved maternal and child
care and feeding practices.
h) Organize programmes to enhance parental knowledge on maternal and child care and feeding
practices.
i) Provide nutritional support to adolescent girls (iron folic acid with deworming) to adolescent
girls.
j) Align non-formal education programmes for out-of-school children with the formal school
curriculum cycles and revisions on CSE to ensure that out-of-school young people also benefit
from the Social and Financial Skill package in terms of life skills and financial literacy.
k) Ensure consistency of the CSE topics linking each grade with age appropriate and culturally
accepted information during revision of the curriculum
l) Improve WASH behaviour and infrastructure, including gender and differently-able friendly
facilities in schools to improve health and nutrition outcomes.
m) Foster inter-agency complementary services in schools such as deworming and vision checks to
reduce absenteeism due to commonly preventable illness.
n) Nominate WASH focal teachers and menstrual hygiene management female teachers in all
schools for coordinating, planning, resource mobilization and the monitoring of school WASH
activities and facilities in coordination with school WASH coordination committees.
o) Monitor the implementation of WASH in schools by establishing and mobilising school WASH
coordination committees and child clubs as per the guidelines on school WASH committee
formation.
p) Promote partnerships among DoE, development partners, and I/NGOs to promote WASH in
schools.
q) Link WASH in school interventions with the planning framework of district, municipality and
VDC level WASH-coordination committees.
r) Ensure the quality, standard and sustainability of WASH facilities in schools by the
development and wider dissemination of user-friendly manuals on the technical designs

71
 (standard operating procedures) of WASH facilities and through school awareness raising
programmes.
s) Enhance knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviours of students and teachers on WASH related
morbidity using life skills-based WASH education.

Table 7.7: SSDP’s health and nutrition outcomes, results and major interventions
Outcomes Results Major interventions
Improved health Nutrition and Midday meals in schools to reduce short term hunger among schoolchildren,
and nutrition feeding schemes and address micronutrient deficiencies through multi-fortified foods and
status of school in schools diversifying the food basket, including with fresh and locally produced foods.
aged children located in food Food management committees established within school management
deficient areas committees for programmatic support and oversight.
Gender WASH behaviour change activities to improve health outcomes, linking to open
segregated and defecation free (ODF) programmes
disabled friendly Install WASH infrastructure (latrines, water stations) to improve health
WASH facilities outcomes.
in school
Produce and disseminate nutrition-sensitive literacy materials to increase
knowledge on nutrition and influence behaviours.

72
73
 8 PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION

8.1 Basic Education (Including ECED/PPE and NFE)

Programme description
The basic education programme component will encompass school readiness through the one-year
provision of ECED/PPE and non-formal education to ensure that children of a school going age are
mainstreamed and brought (back) into formal basic education or provided with access to
alternative education if this is not possible.

ECED/PPE — To strengthen equitable access, the various models of ECED/PPE services will be
expanded, while ensuring a minimum enabling environment, in areas of need to serve children
from diverse backgrounds. The ECED/PPE provided by newly established and existing centres will
need to be better standardised, monitored and supported to improve its quality. At the community
level, local governments need to play a greater stewardship role by mobilizing non-government
and private actors in underserved areas, holding SMCs accountable for the implementation of
ECED/PPE programmes and investing more of their resources in ECED/PPE. MoE will seek to further
improve the learning outcomes in early education by implementing minimum quality standards for
ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers and will move to certifying their services while developing a
comprehensive plan to enhance the capacity of existing facilitators and by providing more
performance incentives.

The main strategic quality reform under the SSDP programme is to ensure that all ECED/PPE
services are established and run as part of the basic education school structure. At the same time
implementation modalities and clear guidelines for quality standards will be developed for home-
based, community-based, institutional school-based and community school-based ECED/PPE
centres within the first year of SSDP programme.

The second major quality intervention is to increase the minimum qualification level of ECED/PPE
facilitators/teachers to grade 10 with a commensurate increase in the remuneration level. New
recruits must have passed grade 10 while existing facilitators with less than grade 10 qualification
will be encouraged to complete grade 10 at the earliest. In line with this, one-month intensive
training and refresher training will be provided to all ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers. For those who
have already taken 16 days of related training, two weeks of training will be provided to cover all
the ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers over the seven-year SSDP period.

Finally, strengthened parental and community engagement will be pursued under SSDP
programme by educating parents to encourage them to enrol their children in basic education. A
number of parental education programmes will be run in each district as well as orientation
programmes on ECED/PPE for local bodies as they are responsible for managing ECED/PPE centres
and need to be prepared to take on this responsibility, particularly in view of the implementation
of the federal structure of governance.

Basic education — With regards to basic education, the Consolidated Equity Strategy (DoE 2014)
will be implemented to reduce disparities in access, participation and learning outcomes in basic
education with reference to gender, disability, poverty, marginalised communities and children in
remote locations. The strategy will be implemented through a two-fold approach of (i) identifying
disparities at all levels through a disparity-based composite index as part of the regular EMIS and

74
(ii) based on this to rationalise available and existing programmes and strategies to ensure targeted
and need based approach and to monitor the result of the interventions for further analysis and
implementation. As part of this, policy guidelines will be reviewed on ending gender, caste and
ethnicity-based discrimination in access to education, on the targeting of scholarships to the
neediest students and on promoting mother tongue education in the early grades. Access and
participation in education for children with disabilities (CwDs) will be a focus area of basic
education interventions and will proceed by (i) strengthening support systems targeted at CwDs
and institutionalizing them to improve CwDs’ access to education, and (ii) reviewing and updating
norms and operation guidelines including guidelines on the types of disabilities that differently
abled children have (in the first year of SSDP programme).

With regards to quality, a number of strategies will be deployed to ensure a minimum quality
learning environment for students, including by strengthening the monitoring of compliance with
minimum quality standards and learning outcomes. Minimum enabling conditions will be ensured
in public and institutional schools related to infrastructure, inclusiveness, teachers and education
resources, and will be monitored as part of the regular EMIS and against the established MECs.
Besides this, the National Early Grade Reading Programme (NEGRP) will be implemented to
strengthen the reading and numeracy skills of students in the foundation years (grades 1–3) to
enabling improved learning outcomes throughout the school education cycle. Another major
quality component will be to strengthen assessments, including regular national assessments of
learning outcomes (NASAs) in grades 8 and supporting teachers to undertake learning assessments
of grade 3 and 5 students.

Activities, milestones and costing

Based on the annual targets for the first five years of SSDP (Table 8.1), an estimated budget of US$
3,782.08 million is needed for the SSDP programme (Table 8.2).

Table 8.1: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme basic education (including ECED/PPE & NFE)
programme activities
Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
ECED/PPE programme activities
Review and update norms and
No. 1
guidelines
Develop implementation modalities
(home, community, institutional and No. 4
community school-based)
Develop and prepare ECED/PPE
No. 1
learning materials
Print and distribute new ECED/PPE
Student 667,341 672,159 676,086 679,121 678,860
learning materials
One month intensive training for
ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers by Teacher 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500
ETCs
16 days’ refresher training for
Teacher 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers
Refresher training Teacher 4,567 4,567 4,567 4,567 4,567
MToT for ECED/PPE
Trainer 200 200 200 200 200
facilitators/teachers

75
 Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Development of ECED/PPE course
(and textbooks and reference
No. 1 1
materials) as optional subject for
grades 9 and 10
ECED/PPE materials and book corner
Centre 30,448 30,448 30,448 30,448 30,448
costs
Strengthening parental education Programme 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
Establishment of new centres No. 0 0 0 1,500 1,500
Conducting ECED/PPE networking and
No. 480 480 480 480 480
other meetings
Orientation programmes for local
No. 2,000 2,000
bodies
Strengthened access and equity in basic education programme activities
Development and updating of
programme packages to implement
consolidated equity strategy including
Equity Index No. 1 1 1 1 1
Integrated schooling (resource classes
in general schools with facilities for Resource
children with disabilities) centre 365 365 365 365 365
Special schools for audibly impaired
children, including operational grants
for partner organizations. School 34 34 34 34 34
Targeted programmes to strengthen
educational engagement of
marginalized groups (Raute, Badi,
Mushahar, Chepang and others) Student 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000
Scholarships and incentive schemes
Provision of midday meals in targeted
districts Student 340,000 345,000 350,000 355,000 360,000
Review of basic and secondary
scholarships No. 1
Scholarships for girls Student 2,750,930 2,783,407 2,813,599 2,820,681 2,832,589
Scholarships for Dalit students Student 600,000 950,614 961,270 963,770 967,972
Scholarships for Janajati students Student 128,351 129,917 131,374 131,715 132,290
Scholarships for students with
disabilities Student 80,871 81,858 82,776 82,991 83,353
Programme for free and compulsory basic education
District and
Enrolment campaign for grade I region 80 80 80 80 80
Out-of-school children enrolment Out-of-
programme school child 60,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000
Identification of out-of-school
children, planning and orientation —
database preparation plus data
collection District 23 80
Management costs of gender
education network meetings and District and
strengthening region 80 80 80 80 80

76
 Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Programmes to mainstream traditional and religious schools
i. Grants to grades 1–5 traditional and
religious schools School 845 845 845 845 845
ii. Grants to grades 1—8 traditional
and religious schools School 29 29 29 29 29
iii. Training for basic level teachers in
traditional and religious schools Teacher 400 400 400 400 400
Mobile schools in remote regions School 10 10 10 10 10
National early grade reading
programme in grades 1–3, including
supplementary EGRP materials School 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
Printing/procurement of EGRA
teaching learning materials Student 1,900,000 1,900,000 1,900,000 1,900,000 1,900,000
Minimum enabling conditions
Construction of need-based
classrooms and WASH facilities No. 1 2 10 30 50
Reconstruction and repair of
classrooms in earthquake-affected
districts, including toilets and WASH
facilities Classroom 7,000 3,000 5,000 8,000 15,000
Post-earthquake reconstruction of Building
school buildings with 4 classrooms block 7,000 7,000 7,000
Post-earthquake minor maintenance
and retrofitting Classroom 6,500 6,500 6,500
Retrofitting schools School 150 150 150 150 150
Textbooks
Grade 1 Set 843,789 826,330 814,367 804,418 795,752
Grade2 Set 772,831 742,657 731,995 727,545 725,433
Grade 3 Set 699,404 734,106 709,873 700,728 698,258
Grade 4 Set 659,512 670,871 705,812 687,792 681,326
Grade 5 Set 622,707 629,963 641,382 675,170 660,554
Grade 6 Set 606,370 599,415 606,802 618,997 652,740
Grade 7 Set 521,019 578,789 576,233 585,188 599,236
Grade 8 Set 491,878 499,058 553,925 554,439 564,325
Strengthened quality in basic education programme activities
Formulate competence-based
National Qualifications Framework No. 1
Equipment support for technology-
based curricular materials
development No. 1
Capacity development for activity-
based curricular materials
development No. 1
Language, ICT and enterprise skills
textbooks preparation No. 1
Digitize basic and secondary
curricular materials No. 1 1

77
 Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Development of interactive
pedagogical materials No. 1
Basic level (grade 1-3) learning
materials for schools (book corners) Student 1,698,243 1,703,927 1,703,430 1,695,652 1,661,323
Basic level (grade 6-8) learning
materials for schools (book corners) Student 1,619,267 1,677,263 1,736,960 1,758,624 1,816,301
Grants to schools to strengthen
interactive and activity based
pedagogical process (ICT support) School 5,500 5,500
Interactive pedagogical materials for
children with disabilities School 10 10 30 40 50
Multi-grade school operation costs School 26 26 26 26 26
Materials support to existing
multilingual schools School 70 70 70 70 70
Management support for newly
identified multi-grade schools School 257 257 257 257 257
Revisit the roles of RCs and resource
persons and support for the change No. 1
CAS implementation Student 843,789 826,330 814,367 804,418 795,752
Grade 8 examinations No. 491,878 499,058 553,925 554,439 564,325

Table 8.2: Cost of SSDP programme basic education (including ECED/PPE & NFE) programme
activities (in USD million)
Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
ECED/PPE
meetings,
networking and
Management & coordination 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.40 0.22
administration Basic education
costs meetings,
0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.11 0.06
networking and
coordination
Operational costs 8.45 9.13 9.84 10.65 11.51 49.58 27.42
Development,
production and
distribution of
2.31 3.59 3.87 4.19 5.40 19.36 9.77
ECED/PPE
textbooks and
learning materials
Other ECED/PPE
Programme 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.36 0.39 1.25 0.50
programme costs
costs
Review and
development of 0.02 - - - - 0.02 0.02
policy guidelines
Construction of
classrooms & 0.02 0.05 0.27 0.86 1.55 2.75 0.34
WASH facilities
(including toilets)

78
 Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
and post-
earthquake
reconstruction
Development,
production and
distribution of 19.90 37.71 44.63 48.44 60.07 210.75 102.24
textbooks and
learning materials
ICT 0.16 0.06 0.17 33.23 36.0 69.62 0.39
Incentives and
9.51 14.52 15.89 34.78 38.10 112.80 39.92
support
Other programme
6.01 21.97 23.78 25.75 27.73 105.24 51.76
costs
Review and
development of 0.07 - - - - 0.07 0.07
policy guidelines
Scholarships 17.23 24.45 26.70 28.91 36.30 133.59 68.38
Training and
capacity 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.17 0.09
development
ECED/PPE 22.62 39.49 42.65 46.06 73.85 224.67 104.76
Salaries &
Basic (grade 1-5) 350.50 385.80 416.70 450.00 486.00 2,089.00 1153.0
remuneration
Basic (grade 6-8) 116.00 143.50 155.00 167.40 180.80 762.70 414.50
Total 553.08 680.56 739.80 850.78 957.86 3,782.08 1,973.44

8.2 Secondary Education Including Technical and Vocational Subjects

Programme description
Secondary education covers four years (grades 9–12) to primarily serve students in the 13 to 16-
year age group. This level of education is free and includes general education and technical and
vocational (TVE) subjects. SSDP programme’s secondary education focus is on reducing disparities
related to access, participation and learning outcomes with reference to gender, disability, poverty,
marginalised communities and children in remote areas. Schools are classified into general schools,
model/lead schools and special schools, based on geographical coverage, population, the subjects
offered, infrastructure and the inclusive design. There are different types of grants for schools
including basic grants, special needs school grants and large/model school grants. Measures will be
initiated to further improve the participation of targeted ethnic groups and underserved
population groups, including by providing financial scholarships to support such students through
school. The sector has identified minimum enabling conditions for schools to create safe, inclusive
and learning environments for students. MoE will seek to ensure that these conditions are met in
schools and, where appropriate, seek partnerships with the private sector.

Over the SSDP programme period, secondary schools (covering grades 1-10 or 1-12) will be
facilitated to achieve selected minimum enabling conditions to ensure enhanced teaching-learning
practices and improved student learning outcomes. For this purpose, all secondary schools will
receive the full set of qualified, competent and trained subject teachers and separate head teacher

79
positions in a phased manner, in addition to the current levels and types of support from MoE. It is
expected that all secondary schools will gradually evolve into viable and autonomous secondary
schools (model schools) through the provision of additional targeted support to ensure enabling
learning environments for innovative pedagogical activities, equity, efficiency, and effective
learning. During the SSDP programme period, it is estimated that approximately 1,000 existing
secondary schools (providing grades 1-10 or grades 1-12) will evolve into model schools.

Model schools: It is estimated that approximately 1,000 existing schools will evolve into model
schools in a phased manner in 1,000 (approximate) local units as envisaged by the new
constitution. These schools will be provided with the following inputs: separate, full-time head
teacher positions; full set of subject teachers; Disaster resilient infrastructure; ICT lab; Science lab;
Library; and water and sanitation facilities.

Curriculum and textbooks: A new national curriculum framework for school education (grades 1-
12) will be formulated to ensure vertical and horizontal linkages across levels and subjects. Existing
curricula and textbooks for grades 9-10 will be reviewed and revised in order to inform the
reallocation of subject weightage and content through a workshop-based process with a strong
trialling process. The alignment of grades 9-10 and 11-12 and curriculum gaps will be reviewed,
especially for science and maths to identify needed adjustments. Essential learning materials
(science and maths kits) will be identified and produced for supporting textbook activities.

The SSDP emphasises a multi-pronged approach to improving student achievements. The

curriculum for both general and vocational education will be revised to focus on maths, science
and English in line with the latest National Curriculum Framework. MoE, over the SSDP programme
period, will also invest in upgrading the capacity of schools and teachers and make them more
accountable to student learning outcomes. For this purpose, secondary education will be
accredited and made uniform across the country through the National Qualification Framework.
Schools will be supported by MoE to meet these standards and weaker ones will receive additional
support to enhance their performance. Appropriate materials to facilitate learning, such as science
and maths kits and ICT materials, will be provided to schools and additional teachers, (volunteer
and resource teachers), will be hired to provide supervision and instructional support. Drawing on
lessons from the SSRP period, teachers will be supported to implement innovative tools and
processes that enable them to facilitate critical and creative thinking among students.

These ambitious measures require the participation of communities and local governments. A
package of incentives will be rolled out to motivate SMCs to improve their schools’ performance
and to engage with local stakeholders to mutually plan to address the needs of schools in their
communities. With regard to the SSDP objective of strengthening TVE, MoE will expand the
number of schools offering TVE education, with increased opportunities for students from low
socioeconomic backgrounds, while also offering opportunities for the professional development of
TVE teachers. Partnerships with the private sector are needed to successfully develop and sustain
vocational education, and such partnerships will be sought to develop relevant curricula and for
on-the-job and apprenticeship opportunities for students. Over the SSDP programme period, MoE
will seek to better regulate the vocational education sector. It will introduce regulatory provisions
under the broad National Vocational Qualification Framework to accredit these institutions.

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Activities, milestones and costing
The development of guidelines, implementation modalities, and other learning materials are
scheduled in the first years of SSDP programme so that improved modalities and learning materials
can come into operation from the second year onward. To roll out the secondary education and
TVE activities planned under the SSDP programme (Table 8.3) will require an estimated budget of
US$ 1,727.26 million over five years (Table 8.4).

Table 8.3: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme secondary education and TVE programme
activities
Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Development of
partnership models for
free secondary
education No. 1
Establishment of model schools
Appointment of head Model
teachers school 240 290 340 440 540
Model
Disaster risk reduction school 50 100 100 150 150
Model
Library facilities school 50 100 100 150 150
Model
ICT facilities school 50 100 100 150 150
Science labs and Model
facilities school 50 100 100 150 150
Gender and inclusive Model
sanitation facilities school 50 100 100 150 150
ICT pedagogy teaching &
learning materials
(particular science,
maths and English) No. 1 1
Model school subject Subject
teachers teacher 150 450 750 1200 1,650
Model schools with Model
residential facilities school 5 10 15 15 25
Access and equity support and incentives
Secondary level special
schools for children with Special
hearing impairment school 1 3 5 7
Targeted incentives for
selected students
promoted from grade 8 Student 5,400 10,800 16,200 21,600 162,00
Support to under-
achieving schools
through district subject
expert pools School 750 750 750 750 750
Strengthening performance of secondary level students and schools
Performance-based
support schemes for
students Student 500 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000

81
 Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Implement
accountability and
performance audit and
reward system for Sample
community schools school 225 225 225 225
Strengthening of quality of secondary education
Development of portals
and websites including 1
e-libraries No.
Revision of textbooks to
reflect National
(Vocational)
Qualification
Framework, languages,
ICT, & entrepreneurial
skills No. 1
Provision of volunteer Volunteer
teachers teacher 500 500 500 500 500
Equipment grants for ICT
and science School 6,040 5,940 5,840 5,740
Remedial support for
weaker students
including grade 10 exam
coaching Student 8,339 8,339 8,339 8,339 8,339
Strengthening assessment and examination
Assessment framework
for grades 8, 10 and 12 No. 1
Development of
standardized test items No. 1
Comprehensive reform
of secondary
examinations (grades
10, 11 and 12) No. 1
Introduction of NASA in
grade 10 No. 1
Set up National
Examination Board No. 1
Orientate oral
examiners/monitors on
English as a subject School 1,748 1,748 1,748 1,748 1,748
Strengthening maths, science and reading proficiency
Establishment of science
labs and equipment and
libraries School 5 10 85 200 200
Distribution of
educational video
material School 5 10 85 200 200
Science and maths
educational kits,
textbooks and materials
distribution School 5 10 85 200 200

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 Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Library establishment School 500 500 500 500 500
Supplementary books
for libraries School 1,000 1,000 1,000 2,000 2,000
Science lab
establishment School 150 150 150 150
Scholarships and incentive schemes
Provision of free
textbooks to all students
in grade 9 Student 438,375 422,722 428,570 476,492 480,220
Provision of free
textbooks to all students
in grade 10 Student 372,040 413,759 400,693 408,539 455,508
Provision of free
textbooks to targeted
groups in grades 11 and
12 Student 435,256 444,644 468,638 485,498 495,217
Residential scholarships
for children of
marginalized
communities and
targeted groups Student 9,500 9,500 9,500 9,500 9,500
Residential scholarships
for students in mountain
and remote areas Student 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
Targeted scholarships
for Dalits and girls Student 242,906 249,819 253,091 267,253 279,034
Secondary education
science scholarships
with living expenses Student 500 500 500 500 500
Scholarships
(residential/non-
residential) for children
with disabilities Student 11,000 12,000 13,000 13,000 13,000
Strengthening technical and vocational subject at secondary level
Provisions for students
to enrol in secondary
technical and vocational
education subject Student 15,630 23,340 33,570 46,800 55,800
Provision of specialized
teachers to teach
technical and vocational
subjects Teacher 282 640 998 998 998

Table 8.4: Cost of SSDP programme secondary education programme activities (in USD million)
Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
Management Operation and
& admin. costs administrative costs 9.98 10.96 12.28 13.75 15.37 62.34 33.22
Construction —
Programme 6.05 13.06 14.39 22.85 25.33 81.68 33.50
classrooms, WASH,

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 Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
costs toilets, post-
earthquake
reconstruction
Development,
production and
distribution of
textbooks, learning
materials 22.0 32.14 39.98 44.93 54.40 193.45 94.12
Equipment and other
fixtures and fittings 0.34 8.18 12.63 19.92 21.51 62.58 21.15
Strengthening
teaching-learning
processes through
application of ICT 9.84 12.23 13.05 16.03 6.9 58.05 35.12
Incentives and
support 6.29 10.09 13.90 18.25 16.21 64.74 30.28
Inclusive education - 0.05 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.41 0.16
Other programme
costs 0.01 0.69 0.76 0.93 0.81 3.20 1.46
Review and
development of
policy guidelines 0.03 - - - - 0.03 0.03
Provision of
scholarships 11.30 13.65 14.87 16.40 18.02 74.24 39.82
Secondary teaching
and non-teaching
staff 128.82 165.22 174.18 184.06 193.94 846.21 520.89
TVE
management & Other programme
admin. costs costs - 6.17 6.67 - - 12.84 12.84
Review and
TVE development of
programme policy guidelines - 0.01 - - - 0.01 0.01
costs
Secondary technical 1.22 3.27 5.51 5.95 6.43 22.38 10.00
Salary & Operation and
remuneration administrative costs 3.72 6.00 9.32 14.04 18.08 51.16 19.04
Total 198.53 299.74 353.37 414.94 460.60 1,727.26 851.68

8.3 Literacy and Lifelong Learning

Programme description
The SSDP programme aims to strengthen non-formal education and lifelong learning. For this
purpose, flexible and open programming will be expanded for skills development and income
generation with specific programmes targeted at underserved populations. Improving the quality
of NFE-related educational institutions is key to achieving this sub-sector’s objectives. While
community learning centres (CLCs) continue to be the main mechanism for delivering lifelong
learning and non-formal education, part of their funding will be tied to the achievement of results.
Furthermore, MoE will invest in creating pools of expert facilitators at district and local levels and

84
will provide them with opportunities for capacity enhancement. As a growing number of civil
society organisations are offering NFE catering to diverse needs, MoE will standardize NFE curricula
and initiate accreditation/equivalence of NFE programmes to ensure minimum standards are met
while also extending support to enhance the capacity of these organisations. Career-based
programmes will be run to mitigate gaps between education and employment. Special
programmes and packages will be introduced and strengthened for targeted groups (such as
people with disabilities) and geographical areas, with a special focus on skills development and
income generation. Community engagement in these programmes will be strengthened by
launching national volunteer campaigns in collaboration with local governments and primary
stakeholders, such as organised civil society groups, and by introducing locally based mechanisms
for monitoring and supervisory support.

Activities, milestones and costing

To roll out the NFE and lifelong learning activities planned under the SSDP programme (Table 8.5)
will require an estimated budget of US$ 76.29 million over five years (Table 8.6).

Table 8.5: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme lifelong learning and literacy programme
activities
Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Development of non-formal EMIS and No.
linkage to EMIS 1
Open school programme for working Program
youths and adults 148 281 281 281 281
Person
Flexible education programmes 5,000 10,000 15,000 15,000 15,000
Online course and material development No.
for open school programme grades 6-10 1 1
Centre
Strengthening and mobilization of CLCs 3610 3610 3610 3610 3610
Review and revision of curricula based on No.
learning needs 1 1
Non-formal education programme for Program
women 284 284 284 284 284
Professional development for non-formal Person
education experts and facilitators 100 100 100 100 100
Non-formal qualifications reflected in the No.
National Qualification Framework 1
Person
Literacy and neo-literacy programmes 300,000 300,000 400,000 400,000 400,000

Table 8.6: Cost of SSDP programme lifelong learning and literacy programme activities (in USD
million)
Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
Management Operation and
and admin. administrative
Costs costs 7.71 8.64 9.33 10.08 10.89 46.65 25.68

85
 Total Total
Cost categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
Development,
production and
distribution of
textbooks, learning
materials 0.05 0.07 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.46 0.24
Equipment and
other fixtures and
fittings 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.03
Programme
costs ICT - 0.04 0.04 - - 0.08 0.08
Other programme
costs 0.29 0.41 0.44 0.48 0.52 2.14 1.14
Programme/ school
operational costs 2.86 3.09 4.44 4.80 5.18 20.37 10.39
Training and
capacity
development 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.03
Salaries and Non-formal
remuneration facilitators 1.00 1.49 1.89 2.04 2.21 8.63 4.38
Total 11.64 13.35 15.84 17.05 18.41 76.29 40.83

8.4 Teacher Professional Development and Management

Programme description
The quality of the teaching workforce will be regulated at the national level through a teacher
competency and licensing system, which will also guide teacher preparation courses, teacher
qualification requirements, and guidelines for selecting teachers at the lower levels including for
managing teachers. Teacher management has been recognized as a key agenda for improving the
quality of education. As such, a number of interventions will be carried out during SSDP
programme period to improve the supply of teachers to schools, including rationalizing the supply
of teachers at the school level and creating new secondary teacher positions to supply subject
teachers at the secondary level. Furthermore, incentive and scholarship schemes will be introduced
to attract more candidates to teacher education programmes in subjects like science, where there
are too few teachers, and the curricula of teacher preparation programmes will be aligned with the
teacher recruitment policy (e.g., prospective teachers may have to take a number of school
subjects and additional assignments). Diverse teacher professional development programmes will
be strengthened including one-month in-service certification training, refresher courses and other
on-demand short courses including online self-learning courses and courses responding to
specialized needs like special needs education. Also, schools and district education officers will be
encouraged to implement school and cluster-based teacher development activities ranging from
mentoring to participation in professional forums. Finally, in-service certification courses will be
standardized both in terms of design and implementation, and will be implemented through ETCs
and lead resource centres (LRCs).

All secondary schools will have a separate head teacher. And all grade 6-8 and secondary schools
will get a full set of subject teachers in a phased manner by 2022 starting from model schools (at
least one school in each proposed local government unit; 1,000 schools in total). For this purpose,

86
new norms have been developed for calculating schools’ teacher requirements based on student-
school ratio (for basic level) and the requirements for subject teachers (for secondary levels). The
general student-teacher ratio (STR) norm for calculating the number of teachers required is 30 in
the mountains; 35 in the hills, and 40 in the Tarai and Kathmandu Valley. Additional teachers will
be provided based on the above STR and the subjects offered in grades 6 to 12. The norms for the
different types of schools are as follows:
Small schools (grades 1-3): A single teacher will be provided to grade 1-3 schools with fewer
than 30 students in the mountains and fewer than 35 in other areas. Such schools will operate
as multi-grade-multi-level (MGML) schools. It is estimated that there will be approximately
1,100 MGML schools operational during the SSDP programme period.
Basic schools (grades 1-5): A minimum of two teachers will be provided if students number
fewer than or equal to 35 in grades 1-5, and three teachers will be provided to schools with a
total of 35-70 students in these grades. Additional teachers will be provided based on the
standard mountain/hill/Terai STR.
Basic schools (grades 1-8): In addition to the above provision for grades 1-5, a minimum of 4
additional subject teachers will be provided for grade 1-8 schools.
Secondary schools (grades 1-10): In addition to the provision for grades 1-5 mentioned above,
at least an additional 8 secondary subject teachers will be provided for grades 6-10. These
schools will not get any lower secondary level teachers. Additional teachers will be provided
based on the on the standard mountain/hill/Terai STR. In addition, one full-time head teacher
will be provided.
Secondary schools (grades 1-12): In addition to the provisions for basic schools mentioned
above, a minimum of four additional subject teachers plus an additional grant for teacher(s)
will be provided to schools that offer science subjects in grades 11-12. In addition, one full-time
head teacher will be provided. Additional teachers will be provided based on the standard
mountain/hill/Terai STR.

With regard to teacher professional development, the SSDP programme aims to provide for the
development and delivery of centralized (or centrally validated) in-service training programmes
through ETCs and lead resource centres. Alongside this, diverse means of continuous professional
development will also be introduced, including online and mobile phone based self-learning
resources, short modular courses, support for development and sustenance of subject teacher
networks and school based professional development for secondary teachers.

In-service teacher professional development will include mandatory induction training for all new
recruits (including pre-primary class [PPC] teachers) for 10 days followed by school based learning.
With regard to the in-service training, provisions have been made to provide one month and
refresher training for PPC/ECED/PPE teachers, to train 56,000 lower basic level (grade 1-5) teachers
on EGRP, and to provide certificate training for 54,000 teachers of basic and secondary level for a
period of 30 days (in two modules, including 10 days of school-based practice). These courses will
include a variety of topics including how to develop reading skills in students, the use of ICT in
pedagogy, the use of basic science kits, student assessment (including formative and summative)
and activity-based learning. These courses will be designed and conducted by the NCED and ETCs
(and LRCs). Certification of having passed the above courses is proposed to be made mandatory for

87
promotion. Furthermore, modular short duration refresher courses will be provided for 60,000
teachers.

Pre-service teacher education will include the development of a national teacher competency
framework and a framework for pre-service teacher preparation to guide teacher education
institutions to reform the curriculum and deliver pre-service teacher education courses. The
competency framework will be used for the recruitment of teachers, guidance for teacher
professional development and performance appraisal.13

Activities, milestones and costing

To roll out the teacher professional development and management activities planned under the
SSDP programme (Table 8.7) will require an estimated budget of US$ 129.25 million over five years
(Table 8.8).

Table 8.7: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme teacher professional development and
management programme activities
Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Teacher preparation programmes for +2
students for English, science and
mathematics (from other faculties) and
technical subjects No. 20 40 60 80 100
Teacher preparation programmes for
English, science and mathematics (from
other faculties) for model schools Person 100 350 550 0 0
Teacher preparation programme (including
qualification upgrading) for core subjects in
grades 6 - 8 Person 5,000 10,000 10,000
Teacher preparation programmes for core
subjects in grades 9-12 Person 1,000 3,000 7,000 11,000 16,000
Long term management training for head
teachers Person 200 300 300 300 100
Training for basic level head teachers Person 1,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 1,000
Training for secondary level head teachers Person 500 800 800 800 1,100
EGRP training for grades 1,2,3 teachers Person 9,000 13,000 12,000 12,000 10,000
Certification training for lower level (grade 1-
5) basic teachers (10+5 days modules) Person 3,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 9,000
Certification training for basic (grade 6-8)
teachers (10+5 days 2 modules) Person 1,500 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,400
Certification training for secondary teachers
(10+5 days 2 modules) Person 500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,000
Development of online self-learning courses Person 8 12 12 12 6
Online self-learning Person 500 1,500 1,000 1,000 1,000
One month training for PPC/ECED/PPE
teachers (10+5 days in 2 modules Person 1,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 1,000
14-day training for PPC/ECED/PPE teachers
who have 16 days of training Person 3,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 2,000

13
The Teacher competency framework is expected to be finalized in the first year of the SSDP implementation

88
 Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Refresher training for PPC/ECED/PPE
teachers Person 4,800 4,800 4,800 4,800 4,800
MToT for PPC/ECED/PPE teachers Person 200 200 200 200 200
School-based professional development for
basic level schools Person 2,500 8,000 8,000 8,000 8,000
School based professional development for
secondary level schools Person 1,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,000
Modular courses and seminars - refresher
training courses Person 5,000 16,000 16,000 16,000 6,000
Modular courses and seminars - mobilizing
subject wise teacher professional networks Person 400 1,600 1,600 1,600 600
Job induction training (10 days) Person 4,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 2,000

Table 8.8: Programme costs of SSDP programme teacher professional development and
management programme activities (in USD million)
Total Total
Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
5 yrs 3 yrs
Long term management
training for head teachers 0.08 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.05 0.52 0.33
Training for basic level head
teachers 0.29 0.51 0.56 0.60 0.26 2.22 1.36
Training for secondary level
head teachers 0.14 0.25 0.27 0.29 0.43 1.38 0.66
EGRP training for grade 1,2,3
teachers 0.86 1.34 1.33 1.44 1.30 6.27 3.53
Certification training for
teachers (basic and
secondary - 10+5 days’
modules) 1.05 2.47 2.67 2.88 3.11 12.18 6.19
Development of online self-
learning courses 0.02 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.16 0.10
Online self-learning 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.11 0.06
One month training for
PPC/ECED/PPE teachers
(10+5 days in 2 modules) 0.36 0.64 0.69 0.75 0.32 2.76 1.69
14-day training for
PPC/ECED/PPE teachers who
have 16 days of training 0.29 0.51 0.56 0.60 0.26 2.22 1.36
Refresher training for
PPC/ECED/PPE teachers 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.40 0.22
MToT for PPC/ECED/PPE
teachers 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.17 0.09
School based professional
development for basic level
schools 0.02 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.39 0.19
School-based professional
development for secondary
level schools 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.08 0.05

89
 Total Total
Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
5 yrs 3 yrs
Modular courses and
seminars - refresher training
course 0.10 0.33 0.36 0.38 0.16 1.33 0.79
Modular course and seminar
- mobilizing subject-wise
teacher professional
networks 0.02 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.04 0.33 0.19
Job induction training (10
days) 0.19 0.41 0.44 0.48 0.13 1.65 1.04
Teacher preparation
programmes 0.31 0.84 0.91 0.98 0.34 3.38 2.06
Strengthening the TSC 0.14 0.45 6.10 17.64 69.37 93.70 6.69
Total 3.67 7.4 13.49 25.61 75.72 129.25 26.60

8.5 Disaster Risk Reduction and School Safety

Programme description
The focus of DRR under the SSDP programme is the safe reconstruction, repair and retro-
maintenance of schools in earthquake-affected areas and the safe construction and retrofitting of
schools in non-affected areas. The concept of safe schools covers all three pillars of the
comprehensive school safety framework of (i) safe infrastructure, (ii) strengthened disaster risk
management and (iii) strengthened resilience in communities and among stakeholders. In order to
ensure access for all children to a safe enabling learning environment, comprehensive disaster risk
reduction and school safety programmes are envisioned in all schools. These programmes will also
improve disaster management and resilience in communities.

Safe infrastructure — As part of the first pillar, the programme aims to increase the number of
staff qualified on DRR (including engineers) and develop supervision guidelines to enforce
mandatory certification by authorized government agencies and technical oversight during the
construction and retrofitting of schools. The other main measures to be implemented under SSDP
programme are as follows:
Register and monitor all organisations involved in school construction to ensure they comply
with government rules and regulations and to develop.
Implement time-bound action plans for the (re)construction of safe basic and secondary
schools with resources committed for all possible costs (assessment, planning, supervision,
implementation, consulting, coordination, research and development, awareness and capacity
building).
Use approved prototype designs that make new schools resilient to multiple hazards and have
an inclusive design.
Develop and monitor a set of standard approved key messages for comprehensive school
safety and DRR in schools and standard operating procedures for different types of disasters.

Strengthened disaster risk management — Regarding the second pillar, the programme calls for
adding specific DRR-related roles and responsibilities to the terms of reference of SMCs and
developing the capacity of the reconstruction Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) and district

90
implementation units (DIUs) to monitor a set of standard approved key messages for
comprehensive school safety and DRR in schools and standard operating procedures for different
types of disasters. Furthermore, the use of the SIP Supplementary Training Manual will be
amended to include school disaster readiness in the SIP planning process and to incorporate a DRR
component within EMIS to capture preventative and response activities within the education
sector. Finally, the SSDP programme aims to ensure that all school disaster management materials
are accessible to all and are developed in line with gender equality and social inclusion (GESI)
principles.

Strengthened resilience in communities — With regard to the third pillar, the programme aims to
incorporate key DRR messages into teacher professional development and training packages and to
disseminate these through different mechanisms to reach children, teachers, SMC members and
communities. Furthermore, a set of standard educational training packages will be developed on
DRR for teachers, head teachers and SMCs, using a range of different approaches including audio-
visual materials such as video, DVDs and drama. The programme also aims to ensure that children
become aware about disaster risk mitigation strategies and are able to assess risks in their
environments to enable fast and adequate responses to minimise human losses during disasters
while making all risk reduction and education accessible for all and incorporating GESI principles.

Coordination of the recovery of the school education sector

Reconstruction work in the 31 affected districts is being undertaken in line with the Post Disaster
Recovery Framework (PDRF) (NRA 2016) and through DoE’s PIU supported by the Nepal Education
Cluster (NEC). The PDRF builds on the findings of the Post-Disaster Needs Analysis (PDNA, NPC
2015b and 2015c) and builds on the analysis of data that has become available since the PDNA was
published. The PDRF details the programmatic recovery and reconstruction needs for the duration
of the SSDP programme (2016-2021). Planning of the recovery work will be coordinated through
the SSDP sector wide approach (SWAp) and will be monitored through regular joint consultations
and reviews of progress and the achievement of outcomes as part of the SSDP SWAp. MoUs for
transitional and permanent reconstruction in the school education sector made during the
response period at the district level will be reviewed through a fast track mechanism and then
accredited or otherwise at the central level by DoE. At the DoE, a focal desk has been established
to coordinate budget support for reconstruction and the National Engineering Campus (NEC) has
set up a coordination mechanism through the placement of focal persons in the most affected
districts. Apart from the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) as the Programme Management
Unit (PMU), the key implementing agencies will be the PIU and the DIUs in affected districts. In
addition to existing skilled human resources (engineers and sub-engineers), further capacity will be
needed for education-related DDR work across all affected districts. Technical expertise is being
recruited to support the capacity development and orientation of DoE engineers and stakeholders
on safe school reconstruction practices with regard to contractual work, design and supervision.

Activities, milestones and costing

To roll out the disaster risk reduction and school safety activities planned under the SSDP
programme (Table 8.9) will require an estimated budget of US$ 1,013.92 million over five years
(Table 8.10).

91
Table 8.9: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme disaster risk reduction and school safety
programme activities
Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Provision of safe learning facilities
Number of classrooms established
with minimum enabling
conditions and DRR requirements
(including provision of WASH) No. 7,000 3,000 5,000 8,000 15,000
Number of school blocks (4
rooms) established with minimum
enabling conditions and DRR
requirements No. 7,000 7,000 7,000
Number of damaged classrooms
repaired and retrofitted No. 6,500 6,500 6,500
Numbers of schools retrofitted No. 150 150 150 150 150
Develop and implement time-
bound action plan for the
(re)construction of safe basic and 1
secondary schools No.
Develop and approve prototype
designs for new school 1
construction No.
Strengthening school disaster management
Develop a set of educational
training packages on DRR for
students, teachers and SMCs No. 1
Develop DRR kits and materials
for schools No. 1 1
Develop and distribute of DRR
awareness programme Schools 29,010 29,010 29,010 29,010 29,010
Strengthen preparedness and risk
reduction at school level Schools 29,010 29,010 29,010 29,010 29,010
Incorporate key DRR messages
into professional development
and training packages No. 1
Provide guidelines for head
teachers and SMCs on risk
assessment and school safety
planning No. 1
Support disaster readiness in the
SIP planning process. No. 1
Include specific DRR related roles
and responsibilities in SMCs’ ToRs No. 1
Incorporate a DRR component in
the EMIS No. 1
Institutionalizing risk reduction and resilience education
Update pre- and in-service
teacher training and other
relevant training packages to
incorporate DRR No. 1
Develop a communications No. 1

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 Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
strategy to promote DRR
information to children,
communities and parents

Table 8.10: Cost of SSDP programme disaster risk reduction and school safety programme
activities (in USD million)
Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Total 5 yrs Total 3 yrs
Construction of new classrooms and
repair of major earthquake damage
(including provision for toilets/WASH) 73.33 33.94 61.10 105.58 213.79 487.74 168.37
Post-earthquake minor maintenance
and retrofitting 12.38 13.37 14.44 - - 40.19 40.19
Post-earthquake reconstruction of
school buildings with 4 classrooms 133.33 144.00 155.52 - - 432.85 432.85
Retrofitting schools 2.14 2.31 2.50 2.70 2.92 12.57 6.95
Develop a set of standard educational
training packages on DRR for
students, teachers, and SMCs 0.01 - - - - 0.01 0.01
Develop DRR kits and other materials
for distribution to schools 0.02 0.02 - - - 0.04 0.04
Run awareness programmes at the
school level 2.76 2.98 3.22 3.48 3.76 16.20 8.96
Strengthen preparedness and risk
reduction capacity in schools 4.14 4.48 4.83 5.22 5.64 24.31 13.45
Total 228.11 201.10 241.61 116.98 226.11 1,013.92 670.85

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 9 PROGRAMME GOVERNANCE, MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

9.1 Governance Arrangements

The SSDP programme will be implemented at a time when Nepal is going through major state
restructuring as it moves towards federal and provincial levels of government as per the new
constitution and school restructuring following the recent passage and enactment of the amended
Education Act. Although preparations to facilitate this restructuring process have been initiated, it
is assumed that the major organizational restructuring of MoE and the central level agencies that
come under it will only occur after three years of the beginning of the SSDP programme. The SSDP
programme governance and implementation arrangements will be undertaken through the two-
pronged strategy of (i) the development of a roadmap for restructuring and realigning MoE in
relation to the transition to the federal system; and (ii) strengthening existing implementation
arrangements through improved programme management, technical oversight and coordination.

The school education system has the six major functions of (i) curriculum development, (ii)
textbook preparation and distribution, (iii) teacher recruitment, development and management,
(iv) management and implementation of local school education systems, (v) school management,
and (vi) student examination and assessment. Broadly speaking, functions that need to be
standardized (sometimes at the international level) need to be centrally designed and regulated.
Therefore, curriculum development, textbook preparation, teacher development and examination
will remain under the federal government. In addition, there will be a regional educational
directorate (RED) level agency in all the provinces. For curriculum development, there will be local
curriculum components that will be governed by provincial and local governments. However, the
effective use of local curriculum would depend upon their institutional capacity for which the
federal government units will have to play a role. Textbook printing and distribution, teacher
management, management and implementation of school education system and school
management will be governed by provincial and local governments.

In view of the difficulties faced while implementing SSRP, particularly at the district level, there are
likely to be capacity constraints at the provincial and local levels, and there is therefore a strong
need for institutional capacity building. The transition from the existing set-up to a federal
structure is likely to take some time as it involves (i) designing the new organizational structure at
provincial and local levels, (ii) fulfilment of legal requirements, iii) addressing capacity constraints,
and iv) transforming the current structures. Until then, existing institutional structures will have to
be used, which will need capacitating for the effective implementation of the SSDP programme. In
this context, a number of initiatives are proposed for the implementation of the SSDP programme
(see below).

9.2 SSDP programme Implementation Arrangements

The SSDP programme implementation arrangements will mitigate the challenges and gaps
identified during the implementation and evaluation of the SSRP and the need to take forward
SSDP’s transformative agenda focused on substantially improving the quality of delivery of
education and student learning. The implementation of the federal form of governance is expected
to be initiated within the SSDP programme period. This will restructure the state into federal,
provincial, and local levels and will entail changes to the law and the broader regulatory

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framework. The details of the functions to be carried out by the respective tiers of government
remain to be finalized. The report of the high level Local Bodies Restructuring Commission is due in
March 2017. The implementation of the SSDP programme will therefore be led by MoE until full-
fledged state restructuring takes place. MoE will be responsible for oversight, financial
management, procurement, safeguards, monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements until
restructuring takes place. The DoE will be the main implementing agency tasked with preparing
annual strategic implementation plans (ASIPs) and AWPBs and for carrying out programme
activities with the support of other central level agencies. Regional education directorates and
DEOs will execute the programme at the regional and district levels, and report to DoE. At the
school level, where most SSDP programme expenditure will happen, the main frontline actors will
be the community schools themselves, with SMCs responsible for managing all school-level
activities and PTAs for monitoring these activities. Twenty-nine education training centres (ETCs)
and 1,053 resource centres provide training, management and monitoring support to these
schools. See Figure 2 for SSDP programme implementation arrangements.

Central level management structure

The governance and management of the SSDP programme will be safeguarded by strengthening
the following sections, central level committees and commissions to provide policy guidance,
implementation and monitoring support in line with the results-based programme approach:
a) A National Education Council, chaired by the minister of education, has been established in
line with the recent amendment to the Education Act. The functions of the existing
Education Policy Committee (EPC) will be revised accordingly.
b) The Ministerial Level Development Action Committee meets every two months, headed by
the minister of education with the secretary and the membership of the National Planning
Commission (NPC) and the Ministry of Finance. The National Development Action
Committee (NDAC) is headed by the prime minister and meets three times a year.
c) An SSDP Steering Committee (SSDP-SC) will be established to oversee the coordination,
monitoring and to verify progress of the implementation of the SSDP programme and the
external assistance to carry out these tasks done through MoE’s Planning Division and
Monitoring and Evaluation division, with support from the Technical Support Unit (TSU).
The steering committee will be chaired by the MoE secretary and the joint secretary of the
Planning Division will be the member-secretary. The joint secretary of the M&E Division of
the MoE, the DoE director general, the NCED executive director, the CDC executive
director, representatives from NPC, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Financial
Comptroller General Office (FCGO) will serve as members. In addition, the Steering
Committee may invite the other CLA heads and the Development partners’ focal point as
and when required. The steering committee will create sub committees to handle thematic
issues.14 The committee will be responsible for (i) providing directions for programme
policy and reform, (ii) overseeing overall programme implementation and providing
operational guidance, (iii) providing guidance for annual SSDP programme budget
preparation and endorsing the TA-AWPB for government approval, (iv) providing guidance

14
Thematic sub committees can be created for key SSDP interventions such as audit and financial management, model
schools, scholarships and teacher management and development.

95
 to addressing constraints and bottlenecks in timely implementation, including ensuring the
timely submission of Financial Management Reports (FMRs) and Audit reports for SSDP
programme, (v) reviewing progress on the fulfilment of annual DLIs for the smooth
functioning of collaboration with the joint financing partners (JFPs), (vi) addressing critical
inter-ministerial policy and implementation issues, and (vii) addressing any reform needs to
SSDP programme emerging due to changes likely from on-going implementation of federal
system. The committee will meet at least three times a year.
a) An SSDP programme implementation committee will be established, headed by the DoE
director general with the heads of central level agencies as members. The head of DoE’s
Programme Section will be member secretary.
o Programme implementation support
o Recommend utilization of TA to Steering Committee
The MoE’s Foreign Coordination Section (FCS) comes under MoE’s Planning Division and is
headed by an under-secretary. It will continue to serve as the government’s focal point for
foreign aid and development partner coordination. The section will handle all associated
requirements for external partnerships, including budgeting, financing, programme
monitoring and disbursement linked indicator (DLI) reporting, including the financial
management and audit reports that are critical for the smooth functioning of external
partnerships. As guided by the SSDP Steering Committee, the FCS will:
o coordinate SSDP programme activities across MoE’s divisions, DoE and the central level
agencies;
o support implementation of innovations planned under SSDP programme;
o recruit consulting services for the Technical Support Unit (TSU, see description below)
ensuring necessary externally hired technical and programme implementation support
is provisioned to DoE and other central level agencies;
o coordinate with JFPs for joint SSDP programme review meetings, the fulfilment of DLIs
and activities necessary for the smooth functioning of the partnerships with external
agencies; and
o coordinate within MoE and DoE to develop annual school sector performance or/and
status reports.
b) An SSDP Technical Support Unit (TSU) will be established within FCS with dedicated staff
assigned to manage all TA requirements for SSDP programme implementation and is
responsible to (i) support the M&E Division for monitoring and evaluating the achievement
of SSDP indicators and results, including compliance with and DLI verification, and (ii)
support the Planning Division to coordinate the SSDP programme implementation,
compliance with development cooperation agreements, and the management of technical
assistance. The TSU will be governed by SSDP’s Steering Committee. The TSU will function
as an annex to the FCS. The TSU will support the government to provide timely, good
quality and coordinated TA support on capacity and institutional development priorities to
design, assess, implement and monitor SSDP’s various policies and strategies. It will be

96
 supported by government funds and through TA from joint financing partners15 on behalf
of participating development partners, as well as accommodating parallel funding.

As part of efforts to align TA support for the SSDP, a common TA framework will be
designed, compatible with different TA funding modalities. The common TA framework will
include a minimum TA reporting requirement that all SSDP development partners
subscribe to. The government can also pre-finance expenditure for this unit from the
treasury account. The TSU could be tasked with managing TA recruitment so that TA
supported activities, including DLI activities, can be implemented efficiently (time) and
effectively (quality).
c) The planning and review of SSDP programme will be done through the Planning Division
and Monitoring and Evaluation Division. Technical assistance (TA) to ensure adequate
planning and review of the SSDP will be mobilized through the Technical Support Unit
(TSU).
d) The DoE will produce progress reports against the DLI targets. The DoE can request
technical assistance to be mobilized through the TSU if this requires additional monitoring
and verification.
e) Based on the lessons learned under SSRP, joint thematic working groups can be established
consisting of government representatives, development partners and technical experts to
work as mandated by joint missions and meetings.
f) The Teacher Service Commission will be entrusted with conducting district-wise eligibility
tests for potential head teacher candidates.

Note that the joint financing partners could be tasked with managing TA recruitment so
that TA supported activities, including DLI activities, can be implemented efficiently (time)
and effectively (quality).

District level management structure

a) The district education offices, headed by district education officers, will be the main agencies
responsible for implementing the SSDP at the district level. DEOs will provide supervisory and
technical support to VDCs and municipalities to implement nationally mandated programmes
and support them to manage the schools under their jurisdiction. Technical committees will be
formed in DEOs under senior officers other than the district education officer. These
committees will (i) identify eligible school, teacher and student beneficiaries for SSDP grants,
(ii) prepare award confirmation forms (ACFs) based on compliance with eligibility criteria, (iii)
support DEO accounts units to disburse funds through the banking system as per award
confirmation forms, (iv) collect information and supporting documentation on school grant
use, (v) reconcile expenditure (between information from the banking system and information
provided by schools), and (vi) prepare grant eligibility compliance and grant use reports.
b) District level education training centres (ETCs) will provide periodic in-service and refresher
professional development opportunities for teachers at provincial and district levels. They will
support teacher capacity improvement on the continuous assessments of students to improve

15
As of 15 July 2016, the Joint Financing Partners (JFPs) are the Asian Development Bank, Australia, the European Union,
Finland, JICA, Norway, UNICEF, World Bank

97
 learning outcomes and to undertake regular self and peer-assessments to identify their
professional development needs.
c) DEOs will remain as the implementing arms of the DoE at the district level. They will be
provided with clearer job responsibilities including for handling complaints and conducting
regular performance audits of schools.
d) There is the need to strengthen grant management at the district level by ensuring compliance
with DoE guidelines.
e) There is the need to reallocate deputy DEOs and school supervisors based on the number of
students and the number of schools in districts.
f) There is the need to redefine the roles of DEOs for them to focus more on improving the
quality of education provided. This will involve reviewing the structure of resource centres to
use them for the technical backstopping of schools and teachers.

Local level management structure

VDCs and municipalities have administrative and logistical responsibilities, including the financing
and oversight of schools to ensure access to quality education. They are responsible for monitoring
progress against local development targets, including in education, and for developing strategies
accordingly considering the needs of socially excluded and marginalized populations in their areas.
Local governments also need to mobilize resources to fund these strategies.

School level management

SMCs, led by locally elected chairpersons, are responsible for the overall quality assurance and
management of schools. They jointly plan with teachers and local stakeholders using the SIP tool
and evidence generated from EMIS data while incorporating school safety, planning for educational
continuity, building response and preparedness capacities, and reaching out to communities. SMCs
are supported in the internal management and day-to-day functioning of schools by PTAs. Head
teachers focus on technical functions, particularly on teacher performance, teachers’ time on task
and teacher capacity building.

The related components of the SSDP to school level management are as follows:
a) Strengthen procurement at school level ensuring (i) the identification of individual school’s
procurement needs (new construction, equipment supplies, science labs, IT labs, etc.) in
annual budget preparation, and b) compliance with guidelines and procurement rules
through technical support and supervision.
b) Provide greater autonomy to school managements starting from model schools.
c) Create separate positions for head teachers to strengthen school management in a phased
way starting from model secondary schools.
d) Make head teachers accountable for the management of their schools with SMCs
responsible for providing policy directions.
e) Provide non–teaching staff in schools as per norms.
f) Schools to regularly make financial and educational performance disclosures to parents
and local stakeholders.

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 g) Concerned agencies to be made responsible and accountable for results relating to
financial management, procurement, teacher management and district and school level
management.
h) Schools to undertake regular performance audits and self-evaluation.

Figure 1: SSDP implementation arrangements

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9.3 Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting
The monitoring, evaluation and assessment of school education is crucial for the effective
implementation of educational interventions. The M&E system will document, process and
disseminate information on programme progress at various levels and stages of implementation. It
will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the SSDP programme and identify gaps between
planned and actual activities implemented at the field level. Regular site visits and trimesterly and
annual reviews will be carried out and flash status report and financial monitoring reports will be
produced to document progress. Research including formative research will be carried out and
analytical capacity strengthened. Monitoring and evaluation will be carried out to see if the
programme is functioning as planned and to judge performance. Baseline, mid-term and end line
evaluations will be conducted. In addition, client satisfaction surveys will be administered.

Assessments will be carried out to monitor student learning through central level agency, NASA,
EGRA, community-based EGRA and school audit programmes. Information on out-of-school
children and children with disabilities will be captured through the IEMIS. The IEMIS will be
strengthened and links developed to other relevant databases. SIPs will be used as tools for
assessing student learning and planning improvements, identifying teachers’ support and training
needs and for monitoring teaching and learning. ICT and web-based mechanisms will be developed
and implemented for monitoring, evaluation and assessment.

Programme activities
a) Develop a research-based/oriented monitoring and evaluation system, including the
facilitation of an independent impact evaluation of SSDP through technical inputs of the
NPC that will be conducted simultaneously with programme implementation on a number
of key result areas.
b) Strengthen the institutional capacity of the Education Review Office (ERO) to
independently review and audit the education system including student assessments.
c) Strengthen the policy level EMIS and its links to DoE’s EMIS and other education datasets
as well as the capacity to undertake formative research.
d) Strengthen institutional research and the analysis of education trends at the policy level for
the development of evidence-based policies and plans.
e) Design a mid-term review of SSDP and reflect this in the three-year institutional capacity
roadmap for the reform and restructuring of institutional arrangements to accommodate
the federal structure of the education sector.
f) Support the integration of NASAs, EGRAs, the NFE MIS, grade 10 & 12 exam data and
disaster risk reduction indicators into EMIS to establish a comprehensive dataset for the
school education sector, which is reflected in flash reporting.
g) Strengthen the EMIS and other databases (e.g. the Teacher Information System and
Scholarship Management System) to provide reliable and timely information on key
performance indicators such as the MECs, the availability of subject teachers, scholarships,
the status of schools’ infrastructure and on student learning outcomes.
h) Fully embed the Equity Index within EMIS at all levels to inform the government’s central
and decentralized planning and budgeting processes on reducing disparities.

100
 i) Design and develop a framework for carrying out periodic evaluations of educational
programmes.
j) Carry out client satisfaction surveys and formative research.
k) Strengthen the EMIS to enable it to monitor recovery and reconstruction and DRR
indicators and progress.
l) Strengthen student assessments by improving the implementation of the continuous
assessment system (CAS), classroom-based EGRA and EGRA.
m) Link learning data into the EMIS (e.g. grade 10 exam database and EGR assessment results).
n) Make EMIS web-based and school-based for tracking the progress of individual schools.
o) Enhance transparency by making education system databases available in the public
domain.
p) Develop the automated production of regional, district and school level profile cards using
IEMIS data and prepare tools to support the analysis of district and school profile cards to
inform resource centres, DEOs and SIPs.
q) Categorize and compare districts and schools based on equity index scores at district and
sub-district levels to inform school grant formulas.
r) Pilot and introduce new technologies for data collection and feedback (such as Rapid Pro),
including for monitoring time-on-task and assessing physical maintenance priorities.
s) Verify and validate school level data on out-of-school children in the EMIS through the use
of district, VDC and school profiles.
t) Collect information and standardise public reporting on the languages of students and
languages taught in schools and caste and ethnic groups.

Activities and costing

The roll out of the monitoring, evaluation and assessment activities planned under SSDP
programme (Table 9.1) will require an estimated $7.26 million over five years (Table 9.2).

Table 9.1: Year-wise targets for SSDP programme M&E programme activities
Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Results based monitoring and evaluation system
ERO capacity building on NASA
and EGRA Rounds 1 1
Strengthening of GIS at DoE No. 1 1
Item bank preparation for
grades 5, 8 and 10 (NASA) Rounds 1 1
Formulate standards for grade
and level specific learning
competencies (NASA and EGRA-
based) No. 1
NASA implementation Rounds 1 1 1 1
EMIS strengthening
Feasibility study of IEMIS based
on review of available reports of
IEMIS needs assessments and
software development Study 1

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 Activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Testing and roll out of IEMIS
software Rounds 1 1 1 1
Compliance monitoring by
regional education directorates
(REDs) School 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000
Management and monitoring
District level
District level M&E District 80 80 80 80 80
Salaries of resource person Resource
teachers person 1,053 1,053 1,053 1,053 1,053
Identification, publication and
dissemination of best practices
of REDs and districts District 80 80 80 80 80
Strengthening resource centres
and supervision clusters Centre 1,433 1,433 1,433 1,433 1,433
School level
Studying and reporting status of
financial and social audits
through REDs (on sample basis) Report 1 1 1 1 1
Fund flow tracking survey and
reporting through REDs Survey 1 1 1 1 1
Results based monitoring and evaluation system
Regular ERO capacity building
on undertaking NASAs and
EGRAs basis Round 1 1
Strengthening of DoE’s GIS
capacity Round 1 1
Item bank preparation for
grades 5, 8 and 10 (NASA) Round 1 1
Formulate standards for grade &
level specific learning
competencies (NASA & EGRA
based) No. 1
NASA implementation Round 1 1 1 1

Table 9.2: Costing of SSDP Governance and Management programme activities (in USD million)
Total Total
Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
Programme costs
Compliance monitoring by REDs 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.22 0.12
ERO capacity building for NASA and EGRA
on a regular basis 0.01 0.01 - - - 0.02 0.02
Feasibility study of IEMIS based on
reviewing available reports of IEMIS need
assessment and software development - 0.10 - - - 0.10 0.10
Formulate standards for grade and level
specific learning competencies (NASA and 0.005 - - - - 0.005 0.005

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 Total Total
Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
EGRA based)
Fund flow tracking survey (effectiveness
and management) and reporting through
RED 0.005 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02
Identification, publication and
dissemination of best practices of REDs
and districts 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.45 0.25
Item bank preparation for grades 5, 8 and
10 (NASA) 0.01 - - 0.01 - 0.02 0.01
Monitoring and evaluation at district level 0.21 0.23 0.25 0.27 0.29 1.24 0.69
NASA implementation - - 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.40 0.12
Strengthening GIS at DoE - 0.02 0.02 - - 0.04 0.04
Strengthening resource centres and
supervision clusters 0.68 0.74 0.80 0.86 0.93 4.00 2.22
Studying and reporting the status of
financial and social audit through REDs
(on sample basis) 0.002 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.014 0.008
Testing the IEMIS software and rolling it
out - - 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.01
Salaries and remuneration
Salaries for resource person teachers 3.18 5.25 5.67 6.12 6.61 26.83 14.10
Total 4.22 6.48 7.01 7.56 8.15 33.41 17.71

9.4 Financial Management Arrangements

International economic cooperation and coordination

Over the last couple of decades, MoE and its development partners have established an effective
sector wide approach (SWAp) to developing the education sector that maximises the combined
effectiveness of external resources in line with the principles of aid effectiveness. This cooperation
model involves multilateral, bilateral and United Nation agencies providing pooled and non-pooled
support, jointly steering the sector through the educational gains witnessed during the Basic and
Primary Education Programme (BPEP), EFA and most recently, the SSRP. MoE and its development
partners intend to continue strengthening this partnership under the SSDP, in particular through
joint reviews and monitoring and consultation on the planning and implementation of the sector’s
strategic and annual plans.

The declining trend of the contribution of external resources under the SSRP as a result of the
overall increase of the school sector education budget shows the commitment from the
Government of Nepal to establish education as a priority sector and ensure the sustainability of the
sector. Under the SSDP programme, MoE and its development partners aim to strengthen the
modality of channelling both pooled and non-pooled external resources to further institutionalise
the reforms initiated under the SSRP. The development partners have committed to supporting the
SSDP programme through the Joint Financial Arrangement (JFA) and Joint Direct Financial
Arrangement (JDFA) and a single set of key performance and system indicators (based on the
Programme and Results Framework). The aim is to strengthen the education sector in terms of
quality, access, equity and efficiency while linking resources to obtaining the jointly agreed targets.

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The JFA will channel pooled funds to the sector and the JFDA will identify non-pooled support,
including technical assistance and direct funding (TA/DF) to the SSDP. The JDFA will also serve to
mobilize support to strengthen the SSDP SWAp coordination mechanisms and the joint review,
monitoring and validation of the indicators and overall performance of the programme.

The SSDP programme’s international economic cooperation and coordination objectives are to:
generate adequate financial resources for education development;
provide adequate resources to support education policy directions;
manage available resources effectively; and
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aid available for implementing SSDP.

The SSDP programme’s strategies for improving international economic cooperation and
coordination are as follows:
a) Ensure that all foreign aid and technical assistance from development partners is channelled
through and coordinated by MoE’s Foreign Coordination Section.
b) Provide technical assistance to strengthen the Foreign Coordination Section to coordinate the
joint monitoring, consultation and reporting of the SSDP programme’s planning and
implementation, thus enabling the release of committed pooled resources based on the joint
validation of progress against the disbursement linked indicators.
c) Harmonize development partner funding and technical assistance with the government’s
national and sectoral programmes and priorities by establishing of a single set of system and
performance indicators that are a sub-set of the Programme and Result Framework (Annex 2)
and will serve the result-based support modality required by development partners.
d) Establish a joint coordination mechanism for the planning, management, monitoring and
reporting of direct funding and technical assistance supported by development partners to
ensure alignment with MoE’s ASIPs and AWPBs to reduce administrative costs and improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of direct funding and technical assistance provisions.
e) A JFA will be developed, and a code of conduct agreed by partners to coordinate and
harmonize assistance across the SSDP SWAp. The JFA will include a single set of performance
indicators and targets extracted from the Programme and Results Framework (Annex 2) to
reduce separate arrangements and projects whilst retaining flexibility for the individual
requirements of development partners.
f) Harmonize technical assistance and direct funding facilities by developing a JDFA, including a
framework for a sectoral pool of technical assistance, defined and mobilized by MoE, not
exceeding 10 percent of total partner support.
g) Develop effective networking and build rapport with the NPC, MoF, the FCGO, the Office of the
Auditor General (OAG) and other partner agencies for creating synergy.
h) Promote a positive atmosphere and provide an enabling environment for development
partners (including INGOs) to work together in good faith and to observe the codes of conduct
for inter and intra agency harmonization.
i) Continue the use of thematic working groups as joint platforms for technical discussions. Based
on lessons learned under SSRP, these groups will be formed not only of government and
development partners to optimise the use of the considerable national capacity in education

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 and related areas within Nepal’s universities and research institutes to further contextualise
debates and improve continuity and institutional learning.
j) Establish a technical assistance mechanism to coordinate technical assistance for partnership
with central level agencies for quality reforms.

SSDP budget heads

The transition from SSRP to SSDP provides the opportunity to adjust budget heads and codes to
provide more relevant breakdowns across sub-sectors (ECED/PPE, basic and secondary) and across
components and activity areas. The revised SSDP programme budget heads to be financed by
development partners will be included in the JFA. The budget reclassification under the SSDP is
envisioned to:
a) rationalize budget heads so that it is possible to determine what has been budgeted and spent
under different school education sub sectors;
b) provide a non-overlapping classification of budget items into ECED/PPE, basic, and secondary
education related;
c) rationalize SSDP’s budget heads into separate discretely funded projects that will be financed
by joint financing development partners, including provision for separate budget heads for
central line agencies (across different sub-sectors) and district level budget heads in line with
the objective of results-based financing;
d) as is feasible, reduce the number of budget heads; and
e) exclude teacher pensions from SSDP’s budget.

Financial reporting
Financial statements for the SSDP programme will be prepared on a cash basis in accordance with
the Nepal Public Sector Accounting Standards (NPSAS). The auditing of SSDP programme financial
statements will be carried out by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) in accordance with the
government’s Auditing Standards as supplemented by these financial statement of audit needs.
The auditor will review whether or not funds received from all sources and expenditure incurred
during reporting periods are as per agreed terms and conditions. This will cover all expenditure to
the extent that it relates to the activities of MoE supporting the SSDP programme. Audited financial
statements will be submitted to joint financing partners within nine months of the end of each
fiscal year, including audit opinions and reports on the SSDP programme financial statements, and
specific joint financing partner requirements.

Procurement and financial management monitoring mechanism

The key strategies to strengthen financial management under the SSDP programme are as follows:
a) Implement the Computerized General Accounting System (CGAS) of the FCGO alongside MoE
upgrading its accounting system from the manual system, which causes large delays in the
submission of financial management reports as well as large reconciliation problems.
b) Reclassify budget codes to adequately reflect programme activities under the SSDP.
c) Establish a financial management and supervision unit in MoE.
d) Recruit and deploy adequate financial management and procurement staff at DEOs.
e) Carry out annual fiduciary reviews.

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 10 FINANCING

10.1 Introduction
The financing of education is a shared responsibility of national, provincial and local governments
and communities. The mobilization of resources will entail increased commitments on the part of
government, partnership arrangements with the private sector and cost sharing with local
governments and communities. Such a multi-pronged approach to drive resources is not only
necessary for raising funds but also to ensure that accountability and ownership is shared among
key stakeholders. Strengthening the capacity of local governments on financial management and
reporting and institutionalizing social auditing are other important considerations under the SSDP
programme.

It is necessary to prioritize educational expenditure, ensure equitable access to and participation in

quality and inclusive education by implementing the equity strategy (DoE 2014) and an equity-
based formula to strengthen needs-based allocation.

10.2 Objectives, Policy Directions and Strategies

The objectives related to adequately financing the SSDP programme are as follows:
o Generate adequate financial resources for education development.
o Provide adequate resources to support educational policy directions.
o Manage available resources effectively.

The main policy directions related to financing the SSDP programme are as follows:
a) The government to bear the cost of school education including one year’s PPE/ECED.
b) Cost-sharing by central, provincial and local governments for providing education.
c) Schools as the standard cost unit for government education grants and provisions to ensure
minimum standards of education.
d) Enhancing the roles of the private and public sector to fund educational programmes.
e) External support in education to focus on major impact areas, such as strengthening access and
quality.

The main strategies related to the financing of the SSDP are as follows:
a) Adopt the formula-based allocation of resources such as basic/committed grants, incentive
grants and special package grants.
b) Adopt a results-based resource allocation system.
c) Develop an overall investment framework for education to harmonise the roles and
responsibilities of federal, provincial and local governments.
d) Develop standard types of schools, such as large, residential and special schools, and use
approved minimum standards for these types of schools as standard units for cost estimates
and the disbursement of education block grants. Develop a system for cost-benefit and output
analyses to help ensure value for money.

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e) Maintain financial discipline and good governance by each school by carrying out public
expenditure tracking surveys, service delivery surveys, regular monitoring and public hearings
and by administering district and school level report cards.
f) Strengthen accountability to increase value for money through the adoption of a results-based
financing modality for the external funding of SSDP in which results are tracked using an agreed
set of indicators against which progress is verified annually.
g) The increased use of the government’s public procurement and financial management system.
h) Ensure the predictability of external support, both as part of overall commitments and as
additional non-pooled resources to accommodate the planning budget cycle.
i) The increased subscription to the JFA modality and code of conduct, promoting common
arrangements and procedures.

10.3 Education Expenditure

Policies
a) The cost of school education, including one year’s PPE/ECED, will be shared by central and
provincial governments. The ratio of education budget to GDP will be maintained at 4% in line
with the government's commitment to secure the right to education for all. A minimum of 15%
of the national budget will be allocated for education.
b) Funding to schools will be done by taking schools as the cost unit to ensure the provision of
minimum enabling conditions and the meeting of schools’ essential needs for improved
performance, and through additional grants allocated on an equity basis to schools that do not
meet these standards.
c) Provisions will be made to strengthen private and public partnerships in secondary education,
and to ensure adequate access to education for disadvantaged and excluded populations.
d) Under the framework of the government’s Foreign Aid Policy (MoF 2014), external support for
the education sector will be mobilized through a results-based financing modality to bridge the
gaps in resources to support the government to implement major reforms.

Strategies
a) Develop an overall investment and cost sharing framework and supporting legislation for
education to harmonise the finance responsibilities of federal, provincial and local
governments.
b) Devise and apply a funding formula based on student-teacher ratios, textbook and other
instructional material costs to fund basic schools, enabling them to provide education in line
with minimum centrally-defined standards. Develop a funding formula for secondary schools
based on student–teacher ratios and the subjects offered. Provide extra assistance to schools
serving children in a context of high disparities or children with special needs and schools
serving sparsely populated areas through multi-grade teaching schemes.
c) Expand the focus of the programme from being primarily basic education focussed to basic and
secondary education focussed to cover the full education cycle.
d) Public-private partnerships will focus on secondary and tertiary levels of education. Strengthen
resource sharing with I/NGOs and community based organisations.

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e) Align external support to the education sector through a sector-wide approach (SWAp) to
meeting the funding gap. The forms of foreign assistance include budgetary support,
earmarked funding, direct funding, technical assistance and in-kind support. In all such cases,
government priorities will guide the levels and forms of support.

SSDP budget estimates

The SSDP expenditure framework includes:
o an estimated resource envelope that can be allocated to the sector in the
government’s annual budget (Table 10.1);
o cost estimates to achieve the SSDP targets within the estimated resource envelope
(Table 10.3 and 10.4); and
o a financing plan to meet the cost estimates (Table 10.5).

Resource envelope — The SSDP resource envelope was estimated based on the assumptions in
Table 10.2 regarding the growth of GDP, inflation, share of education in GDP and share of the
school sector in the education budget. Expenditure is estimated for the entire seven-year SSDP
(2016–23), for the five-year SSDP programme (2016–21) and for the first three years (2016–18).

Table 10.1 presents an overview of the projected total resources available for the SSDP and the
education sector as a whole for the three-year, five-year and seven-year implementation periods.
As such, under plausible scenario it is estimated that $3.3 billion, $6.5 billion and $10.66 billion will
be available to implement the SSDP during the three, five and seven years respectively. The share
of capital cost is 9.1 % for the five-year programme and 8.8% for the seven-year programme.

Table 10.1: SSDP resource envelope and cost estimates

7-year programme 5-year programme 3-year programme
Item
(2016–22) (2016–21) (2016–2018)
NPR $ billion NPR $ billion NPR $ billion)
billion billion billion)
Plausible 1378 13.1 840 8.0 430 4.1
Education sector High 1630 15.5 912 8.7 440 4.2
Low 896 8.5 577 5.5 322 3.1
Plausible 1,119 10.655 682 6.498 350 3.33
SSDP envelope High 1,324 12.61 740.36 7.05 357.69 3.43
Low 728 6.93 468.75 4.46 261.53 2.49
16
SSDP expenditure 1,110.58 10.58 678.36 6.46 349.53 3.33
Recurrent 1,012.85 9.65 616.63 5.89 317.72 3.04
Capital costs 97.73 0.93 61.73 0.57 31.81 0.29
% capital costs 8.8 9.1 9.1
Source: MoE estimates

16
Note that SSDP expenditure includes all school related expenditure (supported by pooled development
partners, non-pooled development partners and government) except teacher pensions

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Table 10.2: Plausible GDP growth scenario SSDP financing assumptions
2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Real GDP growth % 2.3 0.8 3.0 4.0 4.2 4.5 4.8 5.0 5.4
Inflation growth % 7.2 10.0 10.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
GDP growth %
current prices 9.5 10.8 13.0 12.0 12.2 12.5 12.8 13.0 13.4
Government %
expenditure share
in GDP 25.1 31.2 41.3 41.3 41.3 41.3 41.3 41.3 41.3
Education share in %
GDP 3.8 3.9 4.6 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.5 5.5 5.5
SSDP share in %
education budget 80.4 80.3 81.2 81.2 81.2 81.2 81.2 81.2 81.2
US$1 = NPR 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105 105
Notes to Table 10.2:
1. Figures for 2014/15 are actual, 2015/16 are revised and 2015/16 to 2022/23 are estimated.
2. MoF has estimated 2015/16 real GDP growth rate at above 6%. Based on the current situation, it is assumed that
the real growth rate will be about 0.8%.
3. NPC estimated the need to achieve 8% annual real GDP growth to graduate to middle income country status by
2022. The real GDP growth rate is projected in view of this and the low economic growth in 2015/16.
4. The inflation rate was 7.2% in 2014/15 and is estimated to be around 10% in 2015/16. It is assumed that this rate
will remain around 8% until 2023.
5. GDP growth at current prices is the combination of real GDP growth and inflation rates.
6. The share of education in the national budget was 14.6% in 2015/16 (including the additional allocation of NPR 2.7
billion). It is assumed that this share will slightly increase in 2022/23.
7. The share of education in GDP has remained around 4% in recent years. In view of commitments made in the new
constitution (e.g. secondary education will be free) and DRR needs, it is estimated that this share will increase
gradually and reach 5.5% by 2022.
8. The school sector, defined as all activities under MoE excluding tertiary education, school teacher pensions and
programmes under the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), accounted for 81.2% of
the total education budget in 2016/17 (including the additional allocation). It is assumed that this share will continue
during the SSDP period.
9. The share to be provided by development partners in the school sector budget is estimated to be 14.5% in
2015/16. It is assumed that this share will decline slightly for the SSDP period.
10. Exchange rate of 1$ = NPR 105 as of 11 November 2015.

Comparing the expected available resource envelope with the currently projected cost of
implementing the SSDP (see Table 10.3) shows that SSDP cost estimate is within the resource
envelope for the plausible scenario.

SSDP expenditure — SSDP expenditure (excluding a part of construction activities) is estimated to

be $10.66 billion for the entire seven-year SSDP (2016–23), $6.5 billion for the five-year SSDP
programme (2016-21) and $3.3 billion for the first three years of the SSDP (2016–18). This estimate
includes both ongoing expenditure and additional programme budget requirements to implement
SSDP. Capital costs account for 9.1% in the first three and five years and decline slightly thereafter.
The cost of the DRR programme that is being implemented under the NRA framework is not
included in this cost. Note that the required amount (including DRR) is higher than the available
resource envelope for all three cycles. However, the cost of SSDP excluding a part of the DRR
programme (about 70% of total DRR costs) falls within the resource envelope under a plausible

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scenario. Note that all DRR expenditure contributes to achieving SSDP results; but that this
allocation falls outside the MoE resource envelope.

SSDP programme will support expenditure from 2016 to 2021 (Table 10.3). Most SSDP programme
expenditure will go for basic education (ECED/PPE to grade 8) followed by secondary education
(grades 9 to 12). However, in comparison to the SSRP period, the share of secondary education is
estimated to increase under the SSDP (25.4%) considering the new secondary education
programmes. These programmes include the provision of separate head teacher positions, the
availability of more qualified maths, science and English teachers, the promotion of science
education, the model school programme and ICT based teaching and learning.

Table 10.3: Summary of SSDP programme expenditure framework by component (2016/17–

2020/21) (current prices)
Amount Amount Share of
Item
(NPR million) ($ million) Total (%)
1 ECED/PPE 25,800 246 3.8
2 Basic education (grades 1-8) 371,289 3,536 54.7
3 Secondary education (grades 9-12) 172,314 1,641 25.4
4 Technical and vocational subjects in school education 9,071 86 1.3
5 NFE and lifelong learning 8,011 76 1.2
6 Teacher management and professional development 13,534 129 1.9
a
7 Disaster risk management 31,364 299 4.6
8 Governance and management (district level) 5,216 50 0.8
9 M&E 3,508 33 0.5
10 Capacity development 7,249 69 1.1
b
11 Organization and management 31,321 298 4.6
SSDP (excluding DRR) 678,361 6,461 100
DRR under NRA 75,099 715
SSDP (Including DRR) 753,459 7,176
a
Excludes disaster risk reduction allocation to National Reconstruction Authority
b
Regular expenditure of MoE institutions (central level agencies [CLAs], district education offices, regional
education directorates) including staff salaries and utilities.
Source: MoE estimates of regular expenditure of MoE institutions (CLAs, DEOs, REDs) including all DRR
activities.

Costs — Most expenditure under the SSDP will go for salaries and remuneration (65.3%), followed
by programme costs (27.2%) and management and administrative cost (7.4%). Under programme
costs civil works (5.3%), textbooks and learning materials (6.7%) and scholarship and incentives
(6.0%) account for an estimated 18% of costs. The budget estimated for training and capacity
development of staff, managers and teachers amounts to only 2.7% of the total (Table 10.4).

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Table 10.4: SSDP expenditure framework by cost categories (2016/17-2020/21) (current prices)
Amount Amount Share of total
Item
(NPR million) ($ million) (%)
A. Salaries and remuneration 443,144 4,220 65.3
B. Programme cost 184,684 1,759 27.2
1. ICT 14,364 137 2.1
2. Textbooks and learning materials 45,283 431 6.7
3. Scholarship and incentives 40,516 386 6.0
a
4. Civil works 36,131 344 5.3
5. Equipment and fixtures 7,325 70 1.1
6.Training and capacity development 18,149 173 2.7
b
7. All other items 22,915 218 3.4
C. Management and administration costs 50,525 481 7.4
School sector total 678,353 6,461 100
a
Excludes civil work activities for disaster risk reduction in the school sector to be implemented through the
National Reconstruction Authority.
b
Includes costs for inclusive education, monitoring, other programme costs, programme/school operation costs,
review and development of policy guidelines
Source: MoE estimates

SSDP financing plan — It is estimated that the Government will finance, about $5,739 million or 89
percent of the total requirement over the first five-year programme period. The required external
resources are expected to be about $700 million during the same period, which is expected to
reduce as a percentage in the last two years as a result of more external resources being needed to
recover from the impact of the 2015 earthquake during the first years of SSDP (Table 10.5). This
amount is slightly higher than partners’ contributions during SSRP of about $138 million per year
on average in the 2011–2016 period (Tables 10.6 and 10.7).

Table 10.5: Tentative SSDP programme financing plan (2016−2021)

Amount
Source ($ million) Share of total (%)
Government 5,739 88.8
JFP financing 429 6.6
Non-JFP financing 14 0.2
Financing gap 279 4.4
Total 6,461 100
Note: Development partner financing is estimated based on the commitments indicated so far: World Bank
$150 million, Asian Development Bank $ 120 million, European Union $72 million, Finland $23 million, Global
Partnership for Education $22 million, Norway $21 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency $15 million
United Nations Children’s Fund $3 million and Australian Aid (DFAT) $3 million.
Source: Source: MoE

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 Table 10.6: Total resource envelope for SSRP for 7 years plus annual average envelope
7-year Average
USD million 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 total annual
SSRP pooled
budget 693.2 721.2 604.5 771.2 826.5 807.8 3731 746
GoN 537.3 549.7 485.8 601 715.6 689.1 3041.2 608.2
Development
partners 155.9 171.5 118.7 170.3 110.9 118.7 690.1 138.0
Development
partner %
share in SSRP 31.22 22.49 23.8 19.6 22.1 13.4 14.7 18.5
Source: Red Book, ASIP (Figures are allocation, not actual expenditure or disbursement)
1 ADB, Australian Aid (DFAT), Denmark, European Union (EU) and DFID, Global Partnership for Education
(GPE), Finland, Norway, UNICEF, World Bank and JICA
2 UNICEF, WFP, JICA and USAID

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 11 CAPACITY AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The capacity of the education system is a critical factor for the effective implementation of SSDP
programme. Capacity development programmes are needed to enable MoE and the agencies and
institutions under it to successfully carry out their roles and responsibilities.

11.1 Programme description

The current transition to a federal structure of governance has significant implications for the
governance and management of education. In line with the new constitution it is envisaged that
provincial and local government units will have greater roles in the governance of education. As a
transitional measure, it is proposed to establish and develop the current five regional education
directorates into provincial level education management directorates and establish two new ones
to meet the needs of all seven proposed federal provinces.

SSDP programme’s capacity development programmes will be identified in a capacity and

institutional development (CID) plan. This plan will be based on (i) the identified needs and capacity
gaps for implementing the SSDP, (ii) building the capacity of all the institutions and agencies under
MoE on developing policies and legal provisions, management and accountability mechanisms and
(iii) developing human resources to carry out their assigned roles and functions. Alongside this the
school infrastructure will be maintained and improved to enable the delivery of services including
through the carrying out of civil works for DEO buildings and the provision of vehicles, equipment
and supplies.

The following related programmes and activities are envisaged under the SSDP programme:
a) Undertake an institutional needs assessment of the arrangements needed to achieve
SSDP’s envisioned results and major interventions and strategies to inform the
development of the SSDP Capacity and Institutional Development (CID) plan and the
priority areas of the common TA framework.
b) Develop a plan for the transition from the current national educational management
system to a new system in line with the new constitution.
c) Create technical structures at the provincial and local levels and develop the capacity of
these structures to carry out their technical functions including curriculum development,
teacher management and development, examination and certification and programme
monitoring.
d) Develop guidelines for streamlining the curriculum, teacher management, student
assessment and teacher competencies and qualifications.
e) Develop human resources at national and lower levels to carry out technical functions
including on curriculum and materials development and for implementing teacher training
in science and maths.

f) Develop human capital, skills and expertise and expand the use of ICT in the management
of the education system through the review and implementation of the ICT Master Plan,
2013–2018 (MoE 2013).

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g) Improve the teaching of science and maths by developing and using ICT based learning
resources in secondary schools through web based resources or CDs/DVDs. These materials
will include videos and interactive ICT learning software, and science and maths kits.
h) Develop training programmes and support materials for improving the school based
assessment of students.
i) Train school heads and SMC chairpersons on improving their schools.
j) Train technical personnel on managing inclusive education and delivering special needs
education.
k) Provide professional development to NEB staff to implement state-of-the art
improvements in examination design, administration and scoring.
l) Provide education managers at all levels of the education sector with regular professional
development opportunities.
m) Develop a costed CID plan that outlines competencies and skillsets of different positions
and levels in the education sector.
n) Establish peer support and mentor/coaching schemes (communities of practice).
o) Carry out GIS-based school mapping (updating and data analysing).
p) Carry out school level talent hunts of exemplary students through extra-curricular
activities.
q) Develop an overall plan and timeline for assimilating ICT in schooling to improve teaching
and learning.
r) Introduce interactive classes and online modules, digital teaching-learning materials, such
as digital libraries and videos for English, science and maths for basic (grade 6-8) levels.
s) Equip schools with ICT packages including internet connections, e-libraries and digital
learning materials.
t) Introduce ICT based learning including videos on difficult science, maths and spoken
English concepts and on science experiments for grades 9–12. Establish ICT enabled
interactive learning and computer literacy labs.
u) Establish at least one model schools equipped with ICT facilities in every constituency.
v) Strengthen a student database with data on disabilities and different learning needs.
w) Roll out the school based IEMIS and student and school profiles in all districts, linked with
the EMIS. Schools, VDCs and municipalities to track out-of-school children.
x) Mobilize and coordinate technical assistance to enable partnerships between the
Curriculum Development Centre and the National Centre for Education Development with
ETCs and LRCs with external professional experts and institutions for strengthening science
and maths teaching,

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To achieve SSDP’s capacity and institutional development targets (Table 11.1) requires an
estimated budget of $69 million for five years (Table 11.2).

Table 11.1: Year-wise targets for institutional capacity programme activities

Programme activities Unit 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
Training education
managers Person 100 100 100 100 100
Formulation of district and
village education plans Districts/
(DEPs and VEPs) regions 80 80 80 80 80
Social auditing &
finalization and updating
of SIPs Schools 29,272 29,272 29,272 29,272 29,272
GIS-based school mapping
(updating and data
analysing) Districts 75 75 75 75 75
School level talent hunts
through extra-curricular District/
activities region 80 80 80 80 80
Management costs for
school construction
activities District 75 75 75 75 75
Media mobilization for District/
educational improvement region 80 80 80 80 80
Educational exhibitions District/
and learning fairs region 80 80 80 80 80
Action research,
evaluations and report District/
preparation region 80 80 80 80 80
Capacity building training
for district and school
level staff Person 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200
Capacity development of
federal, state & local
educational institutions Person - - 400 400 800

Table 11.2: Cost of institutional capacity programme activities (in USD million)
Cost Total Total
categories Activities 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 20/21 5 yrs 3 yrs
SIP
development & 2.09 6.97 6.97 6.97 11.15 34.15 16.03
Programme social auditing
costs Training and
capacity 0.90 0.90 1.28 1.28 1.66 6.01 3.07
building
Procurement,
Physical
renovation and 3.28 3.28 3.28 3.28 3.28 16.38 9.83
facilities
repairs
Total 6.27 11.15 11.53 11.53 16.09 56.54 28.93

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11.2 Technical assistance coordination, management and needs for the SSDP
Considerable TA support was provided across the pillars and reform areas of the SSRP and also to
help service the needs of the SWAp itself. Based on the lessons learned of the TA facility that was
operational during the Basic and Primary Education Programme (BPEP) and the first phase of the
SSRP, a wide buy-in from development partners is crucial to prevent ‘ad hoc’ TA negotiated on a
case-by case basis. The establishment of the TSU and the common TA framework will ensure that
there is adequate capacity at all levels of the system to effectively implement SSDP strategies to
achieve the objectives. Furthermore, the technical assistance coordination arrangements will
support the strengthening of capacity to ensure that both ‘pooled’ and parallel TA and direct
funding is used effectively and accountably and that capacity is institutionalised thus reducing
dependence on external assistance over the medium term. Finally, TA coordination will be
undertaken as part of the overall SWAp coordination to ensure that sector coordination
mechanisms work effectively, thereby ensuring clarity on shared priorities, effective policy
dialogue, shared learning and improved institutional memory and improved aid effectiveness.

The MoE’s Foreign Coordination Section (FCS) will continue as the government’s focal point for
foreign aid and development partner coordination. It will handle all associated requirements for
external partnerships, including budgeting, financing, programme monitoring and DLI reports,
including the financial management and audit reports that are critical for the smooth functioning of
external partnerships. As described under the management and implementation arrangements in
Chapter 9, TA (financed both through ‘pooling’ and ‘parallel’ modalities) by development partners
will be managed through the Programme Coordination Secretariat. The TSU will be established in
line with the common TA framework and will have the three priority areas of (i) supporting
programme management, (ii) supporting technical areas and (iii) strengthening knowledge
management. The consulting services package will be designed accordingly and approved by the
steering committee, which will serve as the policy body for ensuring a joint and coordinated
approach to technical support by the external financiers.

The planning and review of the SSDP will be done through the Planning Division and the Monitoring
and Evaluation Division. Technical assistance on planning and review of the SSDP will be mobilized
through the TSU.

On the verification of the DLIs, DoE will develop reports on progress and status against the DLI
targets. In case this requires additional monitoring and verification activities, DoE can request
technical assistance to be mobilized through the TSU.

The TSU will enable the FCS to support the MoE, development partners and other stakeholders to
develop an SSDP capacity and institutional development plan as well as a common framework for
TA linked to this plan. The TA framework will be developed and agreed by MoE and all contributing
partners, and will include operational guidelines to ensure that all provision of TA, whether
supported by pooling partners or other partners, is in line with this framework in providing TA
support to identified capacity and institutional development priorities. This will be done by
developing a common framework for TA that is linked to a capacity and institutional development
plan. The TA framework will aim to align the deployment of TA to strengthen programme
management, technical expertise and knowledge management. The framework will include (i)
definitions of the types and purposes of TA, (ii) priority areas, (iii) MoE’s role in ToR development,
(iv) the selection and management of TA, (v) criteria to identity when external TA is necessary, (vi)

116
expectations of mentoring approaches, and (vii) the expected capacity and institutional
development outcomes of TA. The TA framework will be developed and agreed by both MoE and
contributing development partners, and will include operational guidelines to ensure that all TA
provision, whether supported by pooling partners or other partners, is coherent with this
framework.

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 ANNEXES

Annex 1: School Education Sector Institutions in Nepal ........................................................ 123

Annex 2: SSDP Programme and Results Framework.............................................................. 125

Annex 3: SSDP Theory of Change Model ............................................................................... 144

Annex 4: Languages of Education Strategic Framework ........................................................ 145

Annex 5: Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Sector in Nepal ................................... 150

Annex 6: Joint Financial Arrangement .................................................................................. 162

Annex 7: Post Disaster Recovery Framework Education Sector Action Plan ........................... 162

Nepal Post-disaster Recovery Framework .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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 Annex 1: School Education Sector Institutions in Nepal

Basic education schools: Basic education schools cover ECED/PPE to grade 8 as defined by the Education
Act. All government schools do not have all these grades as some only cover ECED/PPE to grades 3 and 5.

Community learning centres: These centres are the community owned centres that are registered with
district administration offices. They are established through the initiative of the Ministry of Education
although their mandate goes beyond that of the education ministry. They can conduct a variety of activities
mainly for lifelong learning and non-formal education under MoE.

Community schools: Community schools are Nepalese schools that have been established on the request
of local communities with their establishment and operations partly funded in kind and in cash by local
communities. Such contributions mostly come from individual and community donations including from
trusts and local bodies. This does not include tuition fees. These schools still mainly rely on central
government grants for their operation.

ECED/PPE (community-based): Early childhood education and development (ECED/PPE) centres deliver
early childhood education development services. Community run ECED/PPE centres are DEO-approved and
are supported for the costs of teachers and educational materials.

ECED/PPE (school-based): All schools will have established ECED/PPE and will receive human resources and
material support from the Government.

Education training centres: ETCs are sub-regional centres for teacher training and the development of
other school human resources. They come under the National Centre for Educational Development (NCED).

Inclusive schools: In inclusive schools, children with disabilities are enrolled in regular classes and peer-
exchange between students is encouraged by teachers. Additional educational resources are provided to
support the learning of children with disabilities.

Integrated schools: These are schools with resource teachers that apply different levels of inclusion of
children with disabilities in mainstream classes. These schools are the bridge between resource schools,
where the needs of children with disabilities are catered for in separate learning environments (resource
classes) and inclusive schools where children with disabilities are mainstreamed in general education.

Institutional schools: These schools are owned and operated by the private sector under the Companies
Act and are profit oriented entities. They are regulated by the Ministry of Education.

Mobile schools: Mobile schools are operated for migratory communities of Himalayan districts where
extreme climatic conditions do not permit people to live in the same place throughout the year.

Model schools: Model schools are well resourced and performing schools that provide technical support in
terms of professional development and administrative needs to nearby schools. Schools that are supported
to become model schools will be selected on the basis of (a) geographical and demographical spread, (b)
size of school-going population in catchment areas, (c) electricity and internet accessibility, and (d)
educational achievements of the school.

Model schools have to have the following infrastructure:

the minimum number of classrooms to maintain the student-teacher ratio within government norms;
toilets connected to water and with sanitation facilities, with separate toilets for girls;

123
 a library and a science laboratory; and
have been built or retrofitted in line with approved disaster risk reduction norms.

Model schools also have to have the following teaching and learning resources:
sufficient subject-wise teachers (English, maths, science) in line with student-teacher ratio norms;
separate head teacher positions;
digital teaching-learning resources, including a digital library and internet access; and
science and maths resources (kits) for grades 6–8.

Resource centres: Resource centres provide technical backstopping to clusters of schools and report to
DEOs.

Resource classes and schools: Some selected schools run resource classes for students with disabilities, but
not necessarily in the same classes for students without disabilities.

Secondary education schools: Secondary schools provide education from grades 9 to 12. There are four
types of secondary schools:
Community schools: Schools that receive government support and are operated by communities
Model schools: community schools can be changed to model schools once they achieve certain
minimum facilities and criteria. They will be encouraged and supported to achieve this.

Special schools: Special schools have residential facilities for students with disabilities and provide
education that is otherwise would difficult to provide by distributing scare resources to many
locations.

Traditional schools: Traditional schools are the traditional and religious schools run by religious
institutions. These schools are gradually being mainstreamed into the national education system
with Government support. They include gurukuls, gumbas and madrasahs.

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 Annex 2: SSDP Programme and Results Framework

Vision: Develop self-sustainable, competitive, innovative and value-oriented citizens for socioeconomic transformation of the nation
Intervention logic Verifiable indicators Sources of verification Assumptions

Goal: Trends in average, median, Population census Children and adults make use of what they
To contribute to socioeconomic development and reduce maximum and minimum living Sample surveys (NLSS, learn to improve their economic activity
disparities in the country through the continuous development of standards NDHS) (productivity) and standard of living
its human resources capacity. Trends in productivity in economic Subject specific studies Nepal is highly diverse in terms of
sub-sectors geography, culture, socioeconomic status,
Economic surveys needs and opportunities
Trends in unemployment rates
Education management Federal state restructuring is undertaken in
Purpose: Literacy and numeracy rates information system the first two years of SSDP implementation
To facilitate all citizens to have the opportunity to become Average years of education per Labour force surveys
functionally literate, numerate, and to develop the basic life skills citizen
and knowledge required to enjoy a productive life, taking into Disparity of SSDP key performance
account the diversity of context and needs and with regards to the indicators between provinces
forthcoming federalization of the country
Annual work plans and budgets

Objective 1: Basic Education (estimated five-year budget USD 3,782 million)

To promote a rights-based approach to ECED/PPE programmes for developing the physical, socio-emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral potential of children below five years, and ensure
school readiness.
To ensure universal access to quality basic education for all 4-12-year-old children
To ensure student readiness for secondary education with required learning competencies
To promote life skills and value-based education and impart early orientation on the national economy and harmony in socio-cultural diversity
Complement formal education’ by providing alternative and flexible modes of education

Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator

Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
1.1. Improved equitable GER in ECED/PPE T 81 82.6 84.3 86.0 87.7 89.4
access to basic education B 81.2 82.8 84.5 86.2 87.9 89.7
Needs-based G 80.9 82.5 84.2 85.9 87.6 89.3
expansion/rationalization of
% of out of school children T 10.6 9.6 8.6 7.6 6.6 5.0 DLI 8
school-based
in basic education B 10.8 9.3 8.0 6.9 5.9 5.1

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 Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
PPE/ECED/PPE G 10.4 9.0 7.7 6.7 5.7 4.9
Reduced disparities in GIR in grade 1 T 136.7 134.7 132.7 130.7 128.8 126.9
school readiness
B 129.8 127.9 126.0 124.1 122.3 120.5
Free textbooks
G 144.3 142.2 140.1 138.0 135.9 133.9
Revised scholarship
schemes (targeting and NIR in grade 1 T 93.9 100 100 100 100 100
amount)
B 94 100 100 100 100 100
Targeted provision of
midday meals G 93.9 100 100 100 100 100
Provision of appropriate NER in grade 1-5 T 96.6 96.9 97.3 97.6 97.9 98.3
learning environment for
B 96.9 97.2 97.6 97.9 98.2 98.6
CwDs
G 96.3 96.6 97.0 97.3 97.6 97.9
NER in grade 1-8 T 89.4 91.0 92.5 94.0 95.5 97.0
B 89.2
G 89.6
GER in grade 1-5 T 135.4 134.8 130 125 120 115
B 130.2
G 140.8
GER in grade 1-8 T 120.1 120.1 118.0 115.0 113.5 112.0
B 116.3
G 124.1
Survival rate to grade 8 T 76.6 79.5 82.4 86.0 88.7 92.0
B 75.9 78.7 81.7 84.7 87.9 91.2
G 77.4 80.3 83.3 86.4 89.6 93.0
Basic education cycle T 69.6 72.4 75.4 78.5 81.7 85.0
completion rate B 68.8 71.6 74.5 77.6 80.8 84.1
G 70.5 73.4 76.4 79.5 82.8 86.1

No. of districts with targeted District with 5 10 10 10 10 DLI 8

interventions for reducing targeted
disparities in learning interventions.
outcomes

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 Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
No. of children who T 454,757 473,206 492,404 512,381 533,169 554,799
receive at least one year B 233,417 242,887 252,741 262,994 273,664 284,767
ECED/PPE learning by age
four G 221,340 230,320 239,664 249,387 259,505 270,033
No. of ECED/PPE centres 30,448 30,448 30,948 31,448 32,000 32,000
established
No. of disadvantaged T 194,000 204,094 214,712 225,884 237,636 250,000
group children receiving B 96,806 101,843 107,141 112,716 118,580 124,750
scholarships and other
targeted interventions G 97,194 102,251 107,571 113,168 119,056 125,250
No. of districts with targeted NA Targeted Scheme Scheme Scheme DLI 9
scholarship scheme scholarship implemented in implemented in implemented
scheme 15 districts 50 districts nationwide
developed
No. of children receiving T 648,190 653,115 658,077 663077 668,114 673,190
midday meal B 323,447 325,904 328,381 330,875 333,389 335,922
G 324,743 327,210 329696 332201 334,725 337,268
No. of integrated schools with 380 380 380 380 380 380
resource classes for CwDs
Strategies including major interventions
Establishment of ECED/PPE in basic education schools
o Revised guidelines for the establishment of new and rationalization of existing ECED/PPE centres, together with minimum standards for establishment and
operation
Establishment of early childhood education and development services where school based ECED/PPE is not available
o Development of guidelines and criteria for establishment of community based ECED/PPE and dissemination of orientation materials/packages for local
bodies and parents
Reduction of schools not meeting minimum enabling conditions
o Need and criteria-based (based on regular survey of DEO technical personnel), construction of classroom blocks and WASH facilities
o Timely printing and distribution of textbooks
Development and implementation of targeted programmes packages to address equity
o Development and use of Equity Index to identify most disadvantaged districts and provide them with additional block grants to mainstream out-of-school
children and to reduce inequities
o Revised scholarship schemes (targeting and amount)
o Development of poverty targeting guidelines and provision of block grants through districts to schools, based on student numbers and poverty levels.

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 Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
Schools to select needy students based on guidelines
o Support programs and incentives to strengthen access and participation of targeted groups based on disparities in learning outcomes linked to gender,
caste/ethnicity, ability and location
o Targeted provision of mid-day meals
o Establishment of gender network and focal points at district and school level
o Remedial support to weaker students in basic (grade 6-8) level
Provision of appropriate learning environment for children with special needs
o Establishment of resource classes in integrated schools with facilities for children with disabilities
o Special schools for disabled, mainly for deaf students, including grants to partner organizations for operation of schools
o Appropriate use of ICT to provide need based educational materials to children with visual and hearing impairment
o Training of ECED/PPE personnel and parents on early detection and basic screening of common disabilities among children
Provision of grants to establish quality enabling learning environment within traditional schools
o Grants for operating traditional schools
o Training for teachers of basic level traditional schools
Ensuring access to quality education in remote and scarcely populated areas
o Establishment/operation of mobile schools and multi-grade multi-level (MGML) schools
Identification and tracking of out of school children to inform targeted programs
o Establishment of database on out-of-school children as part of EMIS
o Target identified out-of-school children at school catchment area level during welcome to school campaign for their (re)entry into basic education
Provision of non-formal education programmes for bridging and alternative education to out-of-school children
o Development of diverse non-formal education packages for out-of-school children aged 7-12 (including special packages for CwDs), and working youths,
including bridging courses for re-entry into formal education
o Standard setting and licensing for non-formal education programme operators
o Professional development training to non-formal education facilitators

1.2. Improved quality of % of grade 1 new T 62.4 64.4 66.5 68.6 70.8 73.0
basic education entrants with ECED/PPE B 62.5 64.5 66.6 68.7 70.9 73.2
experience
Review and update norms
G 62.3
and operation guidelines 64.3 66.4 68.5 70.7 72.9
for ECED/PPE centres T
% of grade 3 students 27.2 29.2 31.2 33.2 35.2 37.2
Development and reading grade level text
distribution of appropriate with fluency and
learning materials for comprehension.

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 Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
ECED/PPE children Student learning T Maths: 48.0 49.0 51.0 52.0 54.0 56.0
Enhanced parental achievement scores (%) Nepali: 46.0 48.5 50.5 54.0 56.5 59.0
awareness and engagement in grade 5
English: 47.0 50.0 51.5 53.0 54.5 57.0
in ECED/PPE
Student learning T Maths: 35 39.0 43.5 48.0 53.5 55.0
Provision of minimum
enabling conditions in achievement scores (%) Nepali: 48 51.0 54.0 57.0 60.0 62.0
schools in grade 8
Science: 41 43.5 46.5 49.0 52.5 55.0
Implementation of EGRP
and community-based No. of school ECED/PPE - 1,500 3,200 5,100 6,500 8,000
EGRA meeting minimum standards
Increased % of grade 3 No. of schools implementing 0 2,600 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
students reading grade CB-EGRA
level text with fluency and
No. districts in which NEGRP 20 32 60 DLI 1
comprehension
minimum package is defined
Curriculum revision, and implemented
including reduction of
subjects, and covering ICT, Integrated curriculum (Grades - - - 1 - -
language, and soft skills 1-3) and textbooks
No. of basic schools with access - Science, maths 1,000 3,000 6,000 10,000 DLI 6
Development and
distribution of science, to science, maths and language and language
maths and language kits for kits learning kits and
teacher guides
basic (grade 6-8) levels
developed for
Need and criteria-based grades 6-8
(based on regular survey of
Revision of National Curriculum NCF revision Revised NCF Revised NCF DLI 2
DEO technical personnel)
Framework (NCF) prepared approved completed
construction of classroom
blocks and WASH facilities Strategies including major interventions
Development of minimum standards for ECED/PPE
o Review and update norms and operation guidelines for ECED/PPE centres, including guidelines for preliminary identification of types of disabilities and
special needs
Provision of qualified and trained ECED/PPE teachers
o Revised qualifications for ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers: All new ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers to have at least grade 10 pass qualification
o Induction and in-service training: Mandatory one-month training for all ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers, including on the development of Nepali and mother
tongue language skills
o Appointment of ECED/PPE facilitators/teachers (as vacancies arise) and assistant facilitators where needed to match the languages of children in the classes
Availability of ECED/PPE teaching-learning materials

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 Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
Outcomes Indicators (2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
o Development and distribution of appropriate learning materials for ECED/PPE children
Adequate provision of teachers across basic education schools and subjects
o Development of new norms for teacher allocation, and teacher deployment and redeployment to be based on revised norms
Development of National Curriculum Framework, curricular revisions and textbooks and materials
o Integrated curriculum and textbooks for early grades
o curriculum revision, including reduction of subject, and covering ICT, language, and soft skills
o Textbook revision in line with new NCF and curriculum
o Development and distribution of science and maths kits for basic (grade 6-8) levels
Implementation of the national early grade reading programme in grades 1-3
o Printing/procurement and distribution of the early grade reading teaching learning materials for students
o Printing/procurement and distribution of materials to undertake classroom based early grade reading assessments
o Implementation of CB-EGRA
Approval and implementation of Strategic Framework for Languages in Education
o Development of a strategic framework for languages in education, and classification through Flash of each school by type of languages spoken by students
upon entry.
o Materials support to existing multilingual schools
Development of professional development packages and qualifications for teachers
o Development and implementation of National Teacher Competency Framework and National Framework for Teacher Preparation
o Revised and additional teacher professional development packages that include early grade reading, Nepali as second language, medium of instruction, multi
lingual education, interactive English, soft skills, maths and science, classroom based assessment and remedial support
o Capacity development for teachers to use technology based curricular materials development
Provision of teaching-learning materials to strengthen interactive approach in teaching
o Targeted programme to improve acquisition of English including use of interactive methods and equipment
o Development and distribution of subject-wise interactive, digital learning materials (including e-resources, digital libraries and videos)
o Equipment support for technology based curricular materials development.
Assessment and examination reforms
o Implement national assessment of student achievements in grade 5 & 8
o Develop standardized test items for grade 5 and 8 annual exams, standardized district level examination at end of grade 8
o Simplification of continuous assessment system

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Objective 2: Secondary Education (estimated five-year budget USD 1,727 million)
To make students ready for the world of work by developing skilled human resources.
To focus on access to education without compromising quality.
To provide options and accredited learning pathways for students between technical and general secondary education
To strengthen institutional links and transition to higher education
To prepare students to uphold and fulfil their civic duties.
To introduce programmes to enhance employability
To produce skilled and semi-skilled human resource capable of earning decent incomes
To produce the human resources required to meet the developmental needs

Outcome: Indicators: Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator

(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
2.1. Improved access and equity GER in secondary T 56.7 61.5 66.7 72.3 78.4 85.0
in secondary education education (9-12) B 56.8 61.6 66.8 72.4 78.5 85.2
Increased number of higher value G 56.6 61.4 66.6 72.2 78.3 84.9
scholarships for poor and
NER in secondary T 37.7 40.3 43.1 45.1 49.3 53.0
marginalized students
(residential and non-residential) education (9-12) B 37.8 40.4 43.2 46.2 49.4 52.9
Free textbooks (up to grade 12) G 37.6 40.2 43.0 46.0 49.2 52.6
for targeted students Survival rate to grade T 37.9 41 45 50 57 65
Upgrading of secondary schools 10 by cohort B 37 41.2 45.9 51.1 57 63.5
to secondary schools based on
mapping and need G 38.9 43.3 48.3 53.8 59.9 66.7

Provision of at least one Survival rate to grade T 11.5 13 15 18 21 25

secondary school in each 12 by cohort
constituency providing science % students enrolled T 3.5 4.3 5.3 6.6 8.1 10.0
subject at grade 11 in science subjects in B 5 6.2 7.6 9.4 11.6 14.3
Need and criteria -based (based grade 11 in
community schools G 2.1 2.6 3.2 3.9 4.9 6.0
on regular survey of DEO
technical personnel) construction Strategies including major interventions
of classroom blocks and WASH
facilities Develop more targeted programme packages to address disparities in access, participation and learning outcomes in secondary education
o Establish schools in line with eligibility criteria as verified through comprehensive mapping against identified demand
o Increase the number of higher value scholarships for poor and marginalized students (residential and non-residential)
o Provide special schools with facilities (residential) to provide access to children with hearing impairment
o Incentive support to poorest students promoted from grade 8 to grade 9 to continue with secondary education.
o Free textbooks (up to grade 12) for targeted students

131
 Outcome: Indicators: Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
o Remedial support to weaker students (including grade 10 exam coaching)
Provision of appropriate learning environment for children with special needs
o Grants for operating open schools
Increased access to secondary education through expansion of services
o Upgrading of secondary schools to secondary schools based on mapping and need
o Provision of at least one secondary school providing science subject in grade 11 in each constituency
o Support for under-achieving schools from subject experts' pool mobilized at district level focusing on science, English and maths subjects

2.2. Improved quality of % of students T 0.7 1.1 1.7 2.5 3.9 6.0
secondary education enrolled in technical
subjects in grade 9 B 0.9 1.4 2.1 3.3 5.0 7.7
Upgrading existing community
schools to model schools G 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.8 2.8 4.3

Reforms in examination and Number of students T

assessment system enrolled in technical
subjects in grades 9-
Strengthened TVE subjects in
12 9,750 72,540 102,600
secondary education
No of model schools - 240 290 340 440 540 DLI
No. of community schools 240 240 290 340 440 500
offering science subjects
in grades 11−12
No. of schools with access - Science, maths & 1,000 1,000
to Science, maths and language learning
language kits kits and teacher
guides developed
for grades 6-8
No. of schools receiving NA 1,000 2,000 3,000 DLI
activity-based kits for
mathematics, science and
English language for
grades 6−8
No. schools establishing NA 1,000 1,000 1,000
Internet facilities

Strategies including major interventions

Reduction of secondary schools not meeting the Minimum Enabling Conditions
o PCF non-salary grants for book corners and secondary learning material for schools to achieve the MEC (including targeted students)

132
Outcome: Indicators: Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
o Need and criteria -based (based on regular survey of DEO technical personnel) construction of classroom blocks and WASH facilities
o Timely printing and distribution of free textbooks (up to secondary level for targeted groups)
o Approval of new secondary teacher positions: phased placement of qualified subject teachers (maths, science and English)
Strengthening of enabling learning environment for science and maths at secondary level
o Construction of libraries and science labs
o Install science maths/English lab and equipment and library books
o Develop and distribute textbooks and student learning materials including science/maths kits and video films for secondary level (grade 9 and 10)
Revised curriculum, textbooks and teacher guides
Develop professional development packages and qualifications for teachers
o Development and implementation of National Teacher Competency Framework and National Framework for Teacher Preparation
o Induction training for all new teacher recruits
o Revised and additional teacher professional development packages that include science, maths and English, head teacher leadership and
management, ICT, and remedial support
o Capacity development for teachers to use technology based curricular materials development
Transformation of community secondary schools into model schools
o No of model schools with separate head teachers, full complement of subject teachers, DRR infrastructure, science lab, ICT learning centre, extra
curricula activities, remediation, and enhanced teaching-learning processes
Strengthened quality and learning outcomes through competency based revision of curriculum and qualifications
o Revision of curriculum and textbooks in line with NQF/NVQF, Language, ICT, entrepreneurial skills, competency
o National Qualification (Vocational) Framework developed and implemented
Strengthened TVE subjects in secondary schools
o Revise curriculum and textbooks for TVE subjects and develop teachers guides and reference materials
o Training for technical and vocational subject (subjects) teachers
o Review and development policy guidelines on instructional design to foster entrepreneurial skills and on the job training including apprenticeships
Provision of ICT infrastructure and teaching-learning materials for pedagogy
o Development and distribution of subject-wise e-learning resources (including repositories) for students and teachers
o ICT pedagogy teaching learning materials preparation with focus on science, math and English
o Development of portals and websites including e-library
o Support for computer education to secondary deaf schools
o Teacher training on the use of ICT in teaching-learning
o Development of online/offline training courses and materials (focusing on Science, Mathematics and English)

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Objective 3: Literacy and Lifelong Learning (estimated five-year budget USD 69 million)
Outcome Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type

3. Increased functional Literacy T KPI

literacy and reading and rate 6
learning habits cultivated years+ 78d 85 87
among youths and adults Literacy T KPI
rate 15-24
years 88.6e 92 95
Literacy T KPI
15+ years 57f 70 75

Strategies including major interventions

Increase access to continuous education and literacy programmes
o Implement tailored programme packages for working youth and adolescents
o Strengthen the transition to formal education through accreditation and equivalence of lifelong learning programmes.
Increased quality of literacy and lifelong learning programmes
o Professional development training for literacy and lifelong learning facilitators.

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Objective 4. Teacher professional development (estimated five-year budget USD 129 million)
To enhance teachers' qualifications and professional competencies to better facilitate student learning processes
The provision of qualified competent teachers
Ensure teaching-learning days and that teachers’ time on task is in line with government directives and guidelines.
Maintain high morale and motivation for teaching and learning among teachers and students.

Outcome Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator

(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type

4.1. Increased provision of % of trained ECED/PPE T NA 10 20 30 50 65

qualified and trained teachers
teachers % of ECED/PPE teachers T 93.7 94.4 95.0 95.7 96.4 97.0
with required qualification M 92.3 92.9 93.6 94.3 94.9 95.6
F 95.1 95.8 96.4 97.1 97.8 98.5
No of trained subject T NA 4,500 9,000 13,500 DLI
teachers for maths, science,
and English
No. schools with Basic T NA 1,000 2,000 3,000 DLI
complete set of (gr. 6-8)
subject teachers Secondary T NA 500 1,000 1,500
Certification Basic T NA Revised 9,500 10,700 10,700 7,400
training for NA certification
M 6,116 6,888 6,888 4,764
basic teachers training modules
F NA for subject 3,384 2,454 2,454 1,697
NA teachers in
Secondary T 1,500 3,000 1,500 1,500
grades 6-8 & 9-
M NA 12 developed 1,293 2,586 1,293 1,293
F NA 178 357 178 178
No. of teachers trained in T NA 0 0 1,000 1,000 1,000
ICT and e-resources M NA 0 0 770 770 770
F NA 0 0 230 230 230
% female Basic 38.8 40 41 42 43.5 45
teachers Secondary 15.1 16 17 18 19 20

Strategies including major interventions:

Develop new frameworks for teacher preparation
o National teacher competency framework and National Framework for Teacher education: all teacher recruitments to be done against these frameworks

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 Outcome Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
o Direct entry for outstanding graduates from non-education streams
Development of professional development packages and qualifications for teachers
o One-month certification/induction training for all newly recruited/redeployed teachers
o Revised and additional teacher professional development (TPD) packages for basic school teachers (EGR, Nepali as second language MOI, MTB-MLE,
interactive English, ICT, soft skills, maths and science kits, CAS and remediation)
o Revised TPD for secondary school teachers implemented in various ways (induction, science, maths, English, head teacher leadership & management, ICT)
o At least two rounds of training for all math, science and English teachers
Strengthen capacity for continuous professional development of teachers

4.2. Strengthened teacher No. of schools with separate - 6,165 6,165 6,165 6,165 6,165
management and fulltime head teacher positions
accountability Teacher rationalization Rationalization Teacher All
plan for each rationalization operationally
district & district implementation feasible schools
incentive scheme plan completed have full set of
approved teachers at
basic level
Number of districts in which Teacher 20 40 75
teacher performance incentive incentives
scheme is rolled out scheme
approved
Strategies including major interventions:
Revised norms for teacher deployment
o Development of new norms for teacher allocation by levels and subjects, and teacher deployment and redeployment to be based on revised norm
o Conversion of excess primary teacher positions into lower secondary positions
o Creation of new teacher positions at secondary level
o Phased deployment of subject teachers in maths, science and English subjects
Improve teacher attendance and performance
o Beneficiary/student monitoring of teacher attendance and time-on-task
o Biannual performance appraisals of all teachers by head teacher against annual contractual agreement

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Objective 5: Governance and management (estimated five-year budget $50 million)
Effective and efficient delivery of public education services within the decentralized governance and management structure
Budget allocation for education sector compliant with SSDP budget codes and consistent increase in budget allocation
Effective implementation of the SSDP through the sector wide approach mechanism

Outcome: Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator

(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
5.1. Adequate resources % of students receiving text 86.5 89.0 91.0 94.0 98.0 100
and infrastructure are books within first two weeks of
being efficiently used academic year at basic level
Strengthened financial - 13 30 30 20 29
management information
systems in line with FCGO
system (CLAs, RED, ETCs, DEOs)
Number of days from trimester 45 45 45 45 45 DLI
end within that trimester FMR is
submitted
No. months OAG Annual Audit 9 9 9 9 9 DLI
Report for previous fiscal year
submitted is submitted
Reduction of % of audit 5.8% 5.7 5.5 5.3 5.1 5% DLI
observations
Implementation of performance Earmarked Review of Implemented in Implemented in DLI
based school grant system grants existing grants 25 DEOs all 75 DEOs
system system
% community schools with 50 100
school financing linked to SIP
% head teachers and SMCs that NA 30 100
receive capacity development
No. districts with performance 10 40 75
based incentive scheme for head
teachers and SMCs
Strategies including major interventions
Better alignment of MoE system for SSDP implementation
o Review and development of policy guidelines to develop and implement models of partnership for free secondary education
o Costed Capacity Development Plan prepared and implemented to accommodate federalization at all levels

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o Education regulation revised and action plan prepared, CLAs reporting arrangement and budget release mechanism reviewed in line with results-based
financing
o Roadmap for restructuring and realignment of MoE in relation to state restructuring and O&M survey completed
o National Examination Board established and functional and that its functions are aligned with existing examining bodies (OCE, HSEB)
o Strengthen institutional capacity of the ERO to independently review and audit the education system including student assessments
o SSDP programme support, monitoring and coordination (PSMC) mechanism established within MoE
o Review and development of policy guidelines to develop accountability and performance audit system to award and regulate secondary schools
Strengthened planning and financial management at central and district levels
o Implementation of unified accounting software (CGAS) in MoE system
o Introduction of school based integrated EMIS, including equity index, school profiles and unique student identification numbers
o Financial management and procurement support ensured
o District education committees strengthened and/or functionalized.
o Education managers trained in formulation of DEPs, VEPs, SIPs, social accountability and transparency through social auditing
o Development of Financial Management Action Plan (FMAP)
Overall grant management mechanism prepared and implemented at central and district levels
o Improve school financing (needs-based and performance based grant in addition to PCF, etc.)
o School performance audits, with incentives and support mechanisms in place
o Fund flow tracking surveys conducted
Strengthen financial management and governance at school level
o Separate head teacher positions created and filled — head teachers to conduct mandatory biannual performance appraisals of all their teachers
o Development and dissemination of financial management guidelines and other mechanisms to strengthen financial management at school level
o Train schools on simplified accounting and reporting format

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Objective 6: Disaster risk reduction and school safety (estimated five-year budget $1,014 million)
To ensure all children can access safe enabling learning environments.
To mainstream comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the education sector by strengthening school level disaster management and resilience among communities
Outcome: Indicators: Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
Number of new classrooms Need for 17,000 21,000 18,000 12,000 8,000 DLI 10
constructed in disaster-affected 4,400 safe
areas in line with revised schools to be
technical standards reconstructe
d in affected
Number of schools retrofitted in areas (PDRF) 80 80 80 80 80 DLI 10
non-affected areas in line with & 36,540
revised technical standards classrooms to
Number of schools currently be retrofitted (I) SDM Thematic study Review of SDM DLI 10
meeting DRR criteria for safe in non- guidelines on DRR guidelines
affected approved, (ii) commissioned as
learning environments
areas DRR year-wise part of SSDP mid-
implementation term review
plan approved,
(iii)
Comprehensive
School Safety
Master plan
finalized
Strategies including major interventions
Ensure that all new construction/reconstruction is safe
o Develop new technical standards for school construction
o Post-earthquake reconstruction of school buildings with four classrooms
o Post-earthquake minor maintenance and retrofitting
o Retrofitting of schools
Disaster risk management planning
o Develop and monitor a standard set of key messages for comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction in schools and standard operating
procedures for different types of disasters.
o Preparation of DEO emergency preparedness plans
o Enhance responsiveness of teachers, students, and other school stakeholders towards DRR and emergency preparedness
o Incorporate DRR/school safety in SIPs and train head teachers and teachers on these subjects

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Objective 7: Monitoring, evaluation and assessment (estimated five-year budget $33 million)
To monitor programme inputs, processes, and outputs and evaluate the impact of programmes
To inform policy making bodies about the status of the education system in general and learning achievements in particular.
The provision of regular feedback to implementing agencies about the status of programmes and activities
To ensure that data is accessible for duty bearers and stakeholders to inform planning at local level
Outcome: Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type

Independent verification of - First round of Verification of Second round of Annual sector DLI
EMIS data sample-based data through sample-based performance
independent corrective actions independent report prepared
verification of verification of with EMIS data
EMIS completed EMIS completed and analysis
Introduction of school profile District and District & school District and
cards school profile profile card school profile
cards piloted and implemented in cards used in
used in social all schools by social audits in all
audits in 25% linking with schools by linking
schools school with school
performance performance
grants grants
Implementation of individual 56 65 75 75 75 75
student & teacher ID in EMIS
Strategies including major interventions
EMIS strengthened
o Develop automated production of regional, district, school profile cards using IEMIS data and prepare tools to support analysis of district and school
profile cards
o Independent verification of EMIS data and agreed corrective measures implemented
Strengthen monitoring and evaluation at all levels
o Result based monitoring at resource centre and school levels
o Monitoring of time-on-task of all teachers
Carry out studies /assessment in addition, like impact evaluations and client satisfaction surveys

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Objective 8: Examination and accreditation (budget included under M&E)
A credible system of certification of educational qualifications
Accreditation and acceptance of certification across the country
Outcome Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
Implementation of single Letter Implementation Single subject Single subject DLI
subject certification in grade 10 grading & of single subject certification certification
exams single certification in policy approved policy
subject grade 10 exams for secondary implemented for
certification school exams secondary school
introduced exams
for grade 10
Institutionalization of NASA Education NASA Implementation Examinations for NASA survey Examinations DLI
Review institutionalized of agreed grade 8 carried out for for grade 8, 10
Office (ERO) at ERO with ERO corrective actions administered grades 8 and and 12
to become granted based on 2014 with standardized analysis of results implemented
fully autonomy grade 5 NASA test items for NASA Grade 5 with
independent results (carried out in standardized
2018) test items
disseminated
Strategies including major interventions
Provisions for strengthening examination and assessment in secondary education:
o As part of curriculum framework, introduce assessment framework for grades 8, 10 and 12
o Develop standardized test items
o Comprehensive reform of grade 10 & 12 examinations
o Carry out NASA in grades 5, 8 and 10 (Introducing NASA in grade 10)
o Grade 10 exam and other public examination administration support
o Establishment of NEB, development of high quality test items, improved examination administration, scoring and grading and data analysis, standardized
board exams in grades 10, 11 & 12

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Objective 9: Capacity and Institutional Development (estimated five-year budget $69 million)
Outcome Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type
9.1. Sufficient institutional Development & CID plan CID plan CID plan CID plan CID plan
capacity at all levels to implementation of capacity developed implemented implemented implemented implemented
implement the SSDP and institutional development
(CID) plan
Strategies including major interventions:
Develop a Capacity and Institutional Development (CID) plan with annual targets
o Undertake institutional analysis and capacity needs assessment
o Develop a costed capacity development plan that outlines competencies and skills sets of different position and levels in the education sector
Develop a common framework for technical assistance and direct funding to support priority areas identified in the CID plan
Develop a transition plan for the transition from the current national educational management system to a new system in line with the new constitution.
o Create technical structures at provincial and local levels and develop the capacity of these structures to carry out their technical functions (e.g., curriculum
development, teacher management and development, examination and certification and monitoring standards).
Strengthen capacity at the school level:
o Provide education managers at all levels of the education sector with regular professional development opportunities
o Establish peer support and mentor/coaching schemes (Community of Practices-COP).
o Develop guidelines for streamlining the curriculum, teacher management, assessment and relevant standard setting functions.
o Develop human resources at national and other levels to carry out technical functions including on curriculum and materials development and for
implementing teacher training in science and maths.
o Develop training programmes and support materials for improving school-based assessment of students.
o Train school heads and SMC chairpersons on improving their schools.
Strengthen institutional capacity on inclusive education at all levels:
o Train technical personnel on managing inclusive education and delivering special needs education.
Provide professional development to NEB staff to implement state-of-the art improvements in examination design, administration and scoring.
Carry out GIS based school mapping (updating and data analyse).
Develop an overall plan and timeline for assimilating ICT in schooling to improve teaching and learning:
o Introduce interactive classes and online modules, digital teaching-learning materials, such as digital libraries and videos for English, science and maths for
basic (grade 6-8) levels.
o Equip schools with ICT packages (internet, e-library, digital learning materials).
o Introduce ICT based learning including videos on difficult science, maths and spoken English concepts and on science experiments for grades 9-12.
Establish ICT enabled interactive learning and computer literacy labs.
o Establish at least one model schools equipped with ICT facilities in every constituency.

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 o Pilot the use of ICT for tracking student attendance in six districts. strengthen a student database with data on disabilities and different learning needs.
Roll out school based IEMIS and student and school profiles in all districts, linked with EMIS. Schools, VDCs and municipalities to track out-of-school children.
Mobilize and coordinate technical assistance to enable partnerships between the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) and National Centre for Education
Development (NCED) with ETCs and LRCs with external professional experts and institutions for strengthening science and maths teaching,

Objective 10: Finance

Generate adequate financial resources for education development.
Provide adequate resources to support educational policy directions
To manage available resources effectively
To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aid available for SSDP implementation
Outcome: Indicators Baseline Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Indicator
(2015/16) (2016/17) (2017/18) (2018/19) (2019/20) (2020/21) type

10.1. Sufficient and Education sector budget as %

predictable budget allocated of national budget 12.04% 15% 17%
at national level to % of growth in real terms of Increase from Increase from Increase from Increase from Increase from DLI
implement the SSDP budget allocation for education previous year previous year previous year previous year previous year
sector compared to previous
year

143
Annex 3: SSDP Theory of Change Model

144
 17
Annex 4: Languages of Education Strategic Framework

Purpose and Goal

The purpose of the Languages of Education policy of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Department
of Education (DoE) is to provide a framework for the effective teaching of languages in school as subjects
and for their appropriate use as the medium of instruction. The goal is for all students to develop their
linguistic skills over time in their mother tongue, in Nepali and in English and to use those skills for their
academic, social and economic advancement and for the building of a socially and economically vibrant
society. The trilingual approach links the languages of the home, the provinces, the nation and the world.
All language groups are valued and promoted. It is envisioned that in many classrooms bilingualism, or in
some cases multilingualism, will be the norm, combining the children’s mother tongue and Nepali in the
early grades and using Nepali and English in the upper grades.

Objectives

The trilingual approach has an objective for each of the languages which students know upon entry into
school or acquire in the course of their schooling, as follows:
1) To build upon and develop all children’s oral skills in mother tongue as the basis for all other learning
and to develop children’s literacy skills and learning in other subjects through their mother tongue
(for children who do not have Nepali as their mother tongue this will be in accordance with the wishes
of the children’s parents and their language community to the extent feasible for the school);
2) To develop all children’s literacy skills in Nepali and to ensure their learning in other subjects through
Nepali (providing additional assistance to children who do not know Nepali when entering school);
and
3) To develop all children’s oral skills and literacy skills in English, assisting them to progressively become
capable users of English over the course of their schooling.

Rationale

Nepal is a multilingual nation. The 2011 Census lists 123 officially recognised languages. Approximately
96% of the population speaks one of 19 major languages as their mother tongue, and Nepali is spoken as
the mother tongue by 45% of the population and as a second language by 33%. Approximately 41% of
Nepal’s population is bilingual or multilingual. Currently only a relatively small number of people are
fluent speakers of English and most of them live in Kathmandu Valley or in other urban areas. However,
there is a strong demand from within society and a recognition by policy makers of the need to increase
the use of English in order for Nepal to progress within the global economy.

The right to education is enshrined in Nepal’s Constitution of 2014. The Constitution also provides that
every Nepali community living in Nepal shall have the right to acquire education in its mother tongue up

17
Draft (30 April 2016) for finalisation and approval

145
to the secondary level. There is also provision within the Constitution to establish a Language Commission
ensuring representation of the provinces within a year from the commencement of the Constitution.

International research confirms the value of bilingualism and multilingualism for individuals and societies.
Educational research has shown that children achieve skills most efficiently when learning in a language
they understand and can speak. However, there are also proven strategies which help a child to acquire
the necessary language skills in additional languages so that their overall learning is enhanced rather than
constrained.

The Languages of Education policy framework accordingly values and builds upon the languages that
children speak when they enter school and seeks to develop those skills. At the same time children are
assisted to acquire Nepali, if it is not their mother tongue, in an efficient manner so that they can fully
engage in the national education system. English is added as a second or third language to prepare
students to use an international language for their social and economic advancement in the future.

Progressive Implementation

Many schools will not have the necessary resources to implement all aspects of the policy in the short
term. Implementation will be determined by the community’s aspirations, the school’s capacity and the
resources available. At a minimum, schools have to ensure the following:
The value of each child’s mother tongue is recognised and children are supported to use and develop
their oral skills in mother tongue.
Children who do not speak Nepali upon entry to school where Nepali is the medium of instruction are
provided with additional assistance to learn Nepali as a language while at the same time learning
other subjects through Nepali.
English is taught as a subject from grade 1 and supported through multimedia to reduce the
dependence on the English language skills of the teacher.
Schools will only use a language as the medium of instruction (partially or fully) when they have the
requisite capacity in terms of teachers’ capabilities and teaching-learning materials.

Schools will include in their school planning how languages will be used and language provision developed
both in the short and the long term. The District Education Office (DEO) will assess each school’s plans and
assist schools to further develop their language provision over time.

Implementation of national policies and initiatives may become factors in a school’s use of languages.
Policies related to federalism may influence the use of mother tongue and Nepali, as well possibly for
other languages of wider communication, in some schools. As the National Early Grades Reading
Programme is expanded some schools will be given new opportunities to use children’s mother tongues in
their literacy development.

Sequence of Language Use

146
The sequence in which the various languages are used for instruction and/or introduced as subjects will
depend in part on the type of communities served by the school. School catchment communities are
generally of three types and the use of languages is to be adapted accordingly.
1) Learners that are homogeneously Nepali-speaking on entry to Early Childhood Education and
Development (ECED/PPE) classes or grade 1: For these schools Nepali is used as the medium of
instruction throughout primary. English is introduced as a subject from grade 1 and the learning of
English is assisted by multimedia. In cases where there is sufficient capacity in terms of teachers’
capabilities and teaching-learning materials teachers may teach bilingually from the basic grades using
Nepali and English. This may continue throughout the secondary cycle with increasing use of English
as the students’ competencies in English develop. English may be used as the medium of instruction,
for some subjects or fully, from grade 9 in cases where the students’ skills in English have been
sufficiently developed through the bilingual approach and where the teachers using English as
medium of instruction are fully competent in spoken and written English. It is expected however that
in most cases Nepali will continue as the main medium of instruction and English will be taught
effectively as a subject.
Learners that homogeneously speak a language other than Nepali as their mother tongue on entry to
ECED/PPE or grade 1: For these schools mother tongue plays a prominent role in the children’s
learning in ECED/PPE through grade 3. The mother tongue is supported and developed as well as used
to assist children to transition to learning in Nepali as the medium of instruction. Each school, with the
support of the parents and the community and assisted by the DEO, may follow one of three options
for all the children of the school:
a) Full use of mother tongue for oral language development and literacy as the medium of
instruction with the gradual introduction of Nepali and English as subjects from grade 1 and
transitioning to Nepali as the medium from grade 4 with the mother tongue and English
continuing as subjects. English is taught effectively from grade 1 and may be developed in the
same way as for the homogeneously Nepali speaking schools above. This approach is
encouraged but is possible only where there is community support as well as teachers
proficient in the language and suitable teaching-learning materials in the language.
b) Use of mother tongue for oral language development and transitioning to Nepali with classes
taught bilingually. Textbooks and other learning materials are in Nepali but learners are
assisted to use the textbooks through explanations in their mother tongue. Teaching may
continue bilingually throughout the primary grades with Nepali progressively becoming the
medium of instruction. Special assistance is provided for children to learn Nepali as a second
language building on their mother tongue. English is taught effectively from grade 1 and may
be developed in the same way as for the homogeneously Nepali speaking schools above.
c) Nepali as the main medium of instruction from ECED/PPE or grade 1 but with some use of
mother tongue orally and with additional assistance for children to learn Nepali as a second
language. English is taught effectively from grade 1 and may be developed in the same way as
for the homogeneously Nepali speaking schools above.
3) Learners that come from diverse language backgrounds with no common mother tongue on entry
to ECED/PPE or grade 1. For these schools Nepali is used as the medium of instruction throughout

147
 primary and usually throughout secondary. Children who do not speak Nepali upon entry are given
additional support to learn Nepali as a second language and to develop their skills in Nepali for the
medium of instruction. Where resources are available teaching from ECED/PPE through grade 3 may
be in Nepali and the children’s mother tongues. Mother tongues may be offered as subjects
thereafter. English is taught effectively as a subject from grade 1 and may be developed in the same
way as for the homogeneously Nepali speaking schools above.

Provision and Support

In order for schools to implement the most appropriate option from the above for their use of languages
in education MoE and DoE through the DEOs will progressively make available the necessary provision
and support. Schools may adapt their implementation models as additional resources become available.
The following initiatives will be undertaken to enhance the teaching and use of languages in schools and
for schools, districts, provinces and the nation to progressively implement in the Languages of Education
policy effectively:
Major improvement in the teaching of English as a subject: Special initiatives will be taken to support
the teaching of English in schools through widespread use of the multimedia, the development of
learner friendly and attractive teaching-learning materials, the recruitment of capable users of English
as English subject teachers and the professional development of English teachers in modern
technologies and the use of multimedia.
Expansion of the National Early Grades Reading Programme (NEGRP): Through this programme
materials are being developed for the effective teaching of literacy skills in Nepali and in some of
Nepal’s other languages. As literacy materials are developed in various languages they will provide the
basis for the use of mother tongue as a full or partial medium of instruction in ECED/PPE and grades
1-3
Development of teaching and learning materials in children’s mother tongues: Making use of the
materials developed through the NEGRP and textbooks already developed, the CDC will work with
provinces and language communities to develop appropriate teaching and learning materials in the
major languages of Nepal.
Professional development of teachers: Special training programmes will be provided for mother
tongue teachers on how to develop children’s language skills in the specific language and to transition
to Nepali. Training on bilingual teaching will be provided for teachers and bilingual assistants working
in classrooms in which more than one language is used. Training on the teaching of Nepali as a second
language will be provided for teachers with children who had limited or no skills in Nepali upon entry
to school. There will be a large-scale programme for the training of teachers of English.
Provision of bilingual support: Provision will be made for schools to engage bilingual teachers and/or
assistants to ensure that children who speak limited or no Nepali upon entry to school receive the
necessary language support in their mother tongues.
Provision for sign language and Braille: Special initiatives will be taken to ensure that children with
hearing impairments are taught by teachers knowing sign language and that children with visual

148
impairments have access to teaching and learning materials in Braille taking into account the specific
language needs.
Assessment and monitoring system of Languages of Education policy in schools: A system will be put
in place for the District Education Office (DEO) to assess each school’s language provision, to work
with the schools to ensure that the most appropriate option is being implemented and to monitor
progress in language use over time. Information on language use in schools will be collected through
the system for reporting, monitoring and support.
MoE and DoE will perform a coordination role with other line Ministries. The involvement of other
Ministries and Departments, such as local government, is crucial and will be coordinated by MoE and
DoE.

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 Annex 5: Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Sector in Nepal

I. Background

Education has been widely recognized as one of the main strategies to enable and empower people in
achieving quality of life outcomes. The Education For All (EFA) agenda brought about a global movement
to ensure the opportunities that are provided through good education could become accessible for all and
that schools become inclusive learning environments, providing quality education. This is all the more
relevant with the realization that education has a strong correlation with life outcomes such as health and
socio economic status. As such, education is the key for countries to reach their Millennium Development
Goals18. In the case of Nepal, there has been significant progress in strengthening equity, yet equally there
is much ground left to be covered. National averages show strong progress in educational access and
gender parity at the basic and secondary education level, a second look reveals that large differences
remain - between children of different gender, social economic status, children with different abilities,
castes and ethnicities. Certain groups remain highly marginalized in term of their access and participation
in education and their learning and life outcomes as a result of this.

Educational successes and ‘failures are not evenly distributed amongst the society, when looking at who is
not accessing, not participating and not sufficiently learning, certain groups are disproportionally
represented. As such, the need for a consolidated equity strategy for the education sector emerged.
While Nepal has come a long way in exposing and addressing inequalities within its society, stark
discrepancies remain with regards to the effect that people’s socio economic status, gender, caste,
ethnicity, language, geographical location and ability on their life and learning opportunities. As Nepal’s
population is in several ways highly diverse and is still in the transition phase from a country with deeply
rooted foundations for inequitable participation of its citizens to public life to a democracy that values
and embraces this diversity, it seems crucial to intensify efforts to strengthen equity with education being
the obvious medium for this.

The population census 2011 reported 26.5 million people19 of 126 different caste/ethnic groups who
speak 123 different languages20. This diversity could be a developmental resource but because of
historical and structural reasons has resulted in a highly hierarchic structure of the society with
differential access to economic, political, and socio-cultural resources. This situation has resulted in
marginalization of some groups of people creating high inequity in the society. Nepal’s Gini Coefficient of
0.33 as reported for the country also illustrates the intensity of inequity in Nepal21. Furthermore, the 2011
Human Development report of Nepal illustrated the impact of this inequality stating that if the return on

18
World Bank 2012; Sectoral perspectives on gender and social inclusion
19
The Human Development Report 2014 estimates Nepal’s population currently at 27 million
20
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2012
21
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2012

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economic progress made over the previous years had been equally spread across the Nepalese society,
the country’s HDI would have currently been one third higher than it is22.
II. Rationale for the strategy

The progress that has been observed with regards to access and quality of the education system has been
disproportionally distributed across the population. Certain groups of children, such as those from
indigenous minorities, low caste groups, children from poverty stricken household, living in remote areas
of Nepal, remain unable to access or participate in education in a way that enables them educational
attainment that is meaningful for them to achieving quality life outcomes and establishing an acceptable
level of well-being23. In response to this, the Government of Nepal developed the Consolidated Equity
Strategy for the School Education Sector, which was launched in December 2014. The main objectives of
this strategy are to reduce the current disparities in (i) access & participation and (ii) learning outcomes
for children in basic and secondary public education in Nepal. The strategy presents a two-fold approach
in meeting these objectives:
The development of equity in Education Index (Equity Index), at least at district level, using both
school sector data and population data.
A consolidation and further targeting of current strategies deployed by the Government and
Development Partners (including I/NGOs and CSOs) to strengthen an equity/need based approach.
III. Design

The SSRP aims to strengthen equity in the education sector, and through that within the Nepalese society,
as ‘the reform will focus on girls and women and children from educationally deprived groups so that they
will participate equally and attain equitable results24’. Thereby there is a need for developing a broader
framework of equity and inclusion in the education. In order to ‘participate equally’ and ‘attain equitable
results’ all children should have equitable access to education, equitable participation in education,
leading to equitable attainments. As such, education is taken both as a means in terms of education
enabling children to develop capabilities in order to achieve quality life outcomes and overall well-being,
as well as an end in terms of producing people that have been educated through meaningful access,
participation and learning outcomes, who will be equipped with skills to engage in a cohesive and
inclusive society. Education as such is seen as the main enabler in providing children with sufficient
agency for developing these capabilities and the school has to function as a mini society. Schools, both
explicitly and implicitly address and reinforce social and cultural norms and perceptions, with the result
either of fostering increased future segregation and inequity, or instead preparing children to be an active
part of a society that values diversity. Education is a process that reaches beyond the school premises into
the household and communities that children live. As such, in order to strengthen equal quality of life

22
UNDP 2011
23
Government of Nepal, 2012; SSRP joint Mid Term review
24
School Sector Reform Programme Core document, Ministry of Education 2009

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outcomes, differential treatment may need to be provided, to address the differential circumstances that
children experience.
a. Equity areas

In regards to strengthening equity, the strategic framework focuses on three equity areas; (i) equity in
meaningful access, (ii) equity in meaningful/functional participation and (iii) equity in meaningful learning
outcomes. Meaningful has been added to avoid confusion that the strategy’s focus areas are seen in a
superficial and physical sense. Access within the strategic framework does not mean merely enrolment,
which specified an administrative action, but a child entering education (both basic and secondary level)
and being welcomed in doing so without any fear or punishment. Participation goes beyond for example
retention or attendance, it specifies a child physically being within the school, being engaged in the social
and educational processes within the education system and feeling safe and accepted while doing so.
Finally, learning outcomes, not just in the sense of being sufficient to pass tests, but aligned with the
potential and the needs and context of the child’s livelihood and life skills.
b. Equity dimensions

In order to strengthen equity within the education system and at the three levels as specified above, the
strategic framework identifies 8 dimensions of (in) equity, them being (i) gender, (ii) socio economic status
(SES), (iii) geographical location, (iv) health and nutrition status, (v) disabilities, (vi) caste & ethnicity, (vii)
language and (viii) children of vulnerable groups. The status that children and their families have within
these dimensions (for example urban or rural, rich or poor, boy or girl, etc.) has a direct link to their life
outcomes in terms of physical health, mental well-being, nutrition, bodily integrity, safety and protection,
social relations, political empowerment and participation, etc. Education is seen both as and means, in
relation to enabling children to strengthen these life outcomes, and as an end with regard to meaningful
access, participation and learning outcomes being one of these outcomes.
Gender refers to the socially constructed differences between girls, boys, women, men and others25 in
ECED/PPE, basic education and secondary education level age (3-16 years). Due to the socially and
culturally defined roles and perceptions towards them, inequalities in education exist in term of
meaningful access, meaningful participation and meaningful learning outcomes. A gender equality
focus is at times confused with a strategy to support girls and women. The strategy does not consider
girls and women a vulnerable or disadvantaged group; they are 50% of the school going population
with specific gendered rights and needs. In addition, gender specific barriers faced by girls and
women, such as girls dropping out of school due to child marriage or do not have a safe space to learn
and develop due to harassment or abuse, will be taken into account within this dimension. In
addition, child marriage can also have a negative impact on their children’s nutrition. Teenage
pregnancy is more likely to lead to low birth weight of new-borns, which in turn increases their risk of
being stunted by the age of 2. Boys and men may also face gender-specific pressures and challenges
that impact on their right to education, and these must also be analysed and addressed as needed.

25
Such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex (LGBTI).

152
 Hence, this strategy considers gender inequities in cases of children from all genders that face barriers
in access, participation and learning outcomes based on their specific needs.
The Socio-Economic Status equity dimension considers poverty beyond merely income but rather an
overall absence of access to fulfilment of basic needs (including education) such as health, housing,
empowerment, employment, personal security, etc.26 Limitations of available data in this regard will
however narrow the focus to children that belong to the lowest wealth quintile.
Health and Nutrition Status in the equity strategy takes into account the multiple barriers children
face for survival, development and learning. Growth stunting is associated with a range of problems
later in life including reduced mental ability. Under nutrition during early childhood represents a
critical obstacle for the long-term learning capacity of individuals. From conception up to age two, the
brain develops, both in terms of structure and size: without adequate nutrition, the development can
be irreversibly damaged with regards to obtaining learning outcomes at a later age. In Nepal, 41% of
children under five, almost half of the total number of future citizens, are stunted: their physical and
mental development is impaired with long term irreversible effects. For school-aged children, under
nutrition hinders the ability to learn, negatively impacting school attendance and attention spans.
Furthermore, nutrition has a strong correlation with socio economic status; when economic resources
are limited, dietary diversity declines, leaving children with a lack of sufficient nutrition. However,
other dimensions, such as gender, also have strong correlations as a result of cultural restrictions;
maternal education is the most significant predictor of nutritional outcomes of children and children
whose mothers have no education are more likely to face infections as they are less likely to use soap,
appropriately dispose of their babies’ faeces, etc. Besides this, health status of children, for example
in the case of communicable diseases or HIV infection, disproportionally affect children with low
economic status or in remote locations in terms of access to healthcare.
Geographical location is being seen within this strategy as the presence/access to services that
address basic needs (schools, health facilities, employment, etc.) or the geographical features of the
children’s livelihood and physical surroundings. Furthermore, location also includes specific
characteristics of urban versus non-urban/rural/remote areas and the effect they have on the equity
areas, such as availability or distance to public services and level of potential utilization of the
surroundings for sustaining livelihoods, for example through agriculture or forestry. As Nepal’s
geographical features vary from snow-capped mountains to subtropical areas in the Terai, the
livelihood educational opportunities for people living in different parts of the country vary widely as
well. An equitable education system is flexible and context-specific, responding to these varying needs
and opportunities, and ensures not only equity in access but also equity in relevance for children living
in all parts of the country.
Disabilities as an equity dimension considers the deprivation that children who have long-term
physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment experience with regard to access to and
participation in education on an equal base with others, as well as in obtaining learning outcomes.

26
Definition of Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

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 Disabilities27 in this strategy, is recognized as ‘resulting from the interaction between persons with
impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective
participation in society on an equal base with others’28. Within the Nepal education sector, the
following categories are adapted with regard to disabilities: physical (affecting mobility), intellectually
impaired, hearing impaired, visually impaired, low vision, hearing & visually impaired, vocal and
speech related disabilities29. In addition to these more technical definitions, the conceptual
framework of the strategy specifies disabilities both as the barriers that children experience with
regard to meaningful access, participation and learning outcomes in education caused by their
physical, sensory and/ or cognitive limitations30, as well as by the social/cultural perceptions and
stigmas that are present within their family/ household/ community and school related to those
limitations.
Ethnic group and or caste is the sixth equity dimension, which focuses on the inequities that children
experience with regard to their interactions with others that are influenced by the societal, cultural
and social norms, values and habits, relating to the ethnic group they belong to. This includes both
interactions with people or groups from other ethnic groups or castes, as well as interactions with
people within their own ethnic group or caste. In Nepal, there are over a 100 castes and ethnic
groups. As religious groups have similar structures and face similar interactions and classifications as
castes, they are considered under this dimension as well, including religious minorities, such as the
Muslim communities, that face high levels of deprivation in terms of education and broader life
outcomes.
It is recognized that caste is a socially constructed classification to categorize people and ethnicity is a
biological/genetic classification. However, the large overlap in ethnic groups being identified as
different castes, as well as the similarities in terms of social economic and cultural implications this
classification are taken as a justification for combining these two means of identification under a
common indicator.
Language as an equity dimension can be directly linked with specific ethnic groups. In this regard, sign
language needs to be recognized under this dimension as it is the first language for people with
hearing impairments. Language presents specific barriers with regards to access, participation and
learning outcomes based on the presence or absence of mother tongue education and the perception
of the value of these languages with regard to the child’s development and learning outcomes by its
parents
Children of vulnerable groups refer to various groups of children that are exposed to specific treats,
which increases their vulnerability and can hinder access to school. Protection concerns includes:
violence, exploitation and abuse, cultural practices and child labour. Children separated from their

27
Adapted from the Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities.
28
UNCRPD
29
Department of Education, Education Management Information System (EMIS)
30
Including children with learning disabilities

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 biological parents or unaccompanied as well as children affected by (seasonal) migration and children
living and working in the streets present higher levels of vulnerability with reduced opportunities for
learning. Children affected by HIV, thereby considering the wider range of social, cultural and
environmental barriers that these children face, are also considered to be part of this dimension.
Children in vulnerable life situations refer to children that are exposed to violence, exploitation and
abuse. As such, these are children that are more vulnerable than other children in being affected by
harmful cultural and societal practices, such as child marriage and chauppadi, child labour, trafficking
and treatment of children that are in conflict with the law. Additionally, these are children that will be
disproportionally affected by deprivations in the other dimensions due to a weak agency, such as
children separated from their parents (including children affected by HIV) as well as children affected
by (seasonal) migration and children living and working in the streets present higher levels of
vulnerability with reduced opportunities for learning.

As such, the Education Deprivation Index will incorporate these components31 areas and dimensions,
displaying correlations between the dimensions and the different levels of severity and the relation that
these levels have with children’s access, participation and learning outcomes.
IV. Equity Index Outline

As part of the Consolidated Equity Strategy for the School Education Sector, the Government of Nepal has
developed an Equity in Education Index (Equity Index), to be embedded within the Education Sector
Information System (EMIS) at national, district level and school, using both school sector data and
population data. The application of the Equity Index is envisioned to inform the consolidation and further
targeting of current strategies deployed by the Government and Development Partners (including I/NGOs
and CSOs) to strengthen an equity/need based approach. The Equity Index has been developed by the
Government with support from the education sector Development Partners.
The purpose of the Equity Index is to account for children’s opportunity for school education as well as
the equality of opportunity across children facing different circumstances/contexts. The equity index is
intended to be the core planning and monitoring tool for the implementation of the Consolidated Equity
Strategy and is planned to be used to target the most disadvantaged districts for specific interventions.
The aim is to ultimately provide tools that can be used at district, sub district (Village Development
Committee) and school level.
The Equity Index will be embedded within the Education Management Information System (EMIS)/Flash
System, in the Department of Education and to support the Government in targeting equity based
allocations within the Annual Strategic Implementation Plans/Annual Work Plans and Budgets
(ASIPs/AWPBs) under the new education sector plan (the School Sector Development Plan) which will
commence on July 2016 up to July 2023.
a. Developing and interpreting the equity index

31
It was observed that the dimension of ‘health and nutrition’ is absent in the presented framework, however health and
nutrition is observed to be directly linked to the SES and geographic location dimensions and has been considered in the
development of the different levels of severity.

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 i. Understanding outcomes in light of context and resources
In order to understand children’s outcomes, it is important to consider both i) the socio-demographic
factors that are potential drivers of inequity across children, schools or districts and ii) human, material
and financial resources allocated to schools and children.
ii. Components of the outcome equity index
In order to reflect both children’s opportunity for school education as well as the equality of opportunity
across children facing different circumstances/context, the equity index is designed to consist of a
component reflecting average education outcomes, and another component reflecting disparities
between different categories of children, in line with the methodological design of the index of the
Human Opportunity Index (HOI). Where C is the “Coverage” i.e. the average level of access to the
opportunity and D is a dissimilarity index measuring inequality of opportunity.
The index follows the formula below:

The index above captures average outcomes as well as discrepancies according to context. It does not
capture, however, resources, which will be assessed through a separate “resource index” reflecting the
level of resources within the district, VDC or school. Inequity relates to disparities along all or a set of the
following equity dimensions and drivers of inequity that were defined in the Consolidated Equity Strategy:
The data selected to populate the Equity Index has been selected based on (i) consistency with the
Consolidated Equity Strategy and the education sector planning, (ii) relevance for decision making, (iii)
availability and quality of data, (iv) supported by econometric analysis, (v) comparability across districts
and over time, (vi) frequency of measurement, (vii) balance between analytical strength and ease of
communication, and (viii) comprehensiveness vs. use of proxies for the drivers of inequity. Based on this,
the following indicators were considered as possible indicators/components of education outcomes:
Percentage of out of school children (or NER): this indicator requires information on the population of
school-age children in and out of school. As such, it cannot be computed based on EMIS data only.
Household surveys (e.g. the 2014 MICS) are by nature sample based. The MICS was rejected as a possible
source of information because it does not include representative samples at district level for all Nepal
districts. The census does not have these disadvantages, but is (like MICS) not undertaken regularly. In
addition, detailed census data is not presently available to DoE. What is therefore suggested is:
i) Population projections by district, age, and gender are available and can be combined with EMIS
data to compute an estimated out of school children rate for different years, and account for
disparities along the gender dimension (making an HOI-type of computation using only
gender as a driver of inequity). Despite the limitation regarding drivers of inequity, it is felt
useful to capture out of school children in addition to information on flows within schools
(e.g. survival rates) to capture children who never access school. This information can be used
for regular monitoring.
ii) If fuller census data become available, then a once-a-decade computation of an HOI based on out
of school children rates and using different drivers of inequity (gender, location,
caste/ethnicity, disability, wealth and mother’s education) can be made. It would not be
possible to update this HOI (as population projections by district, age, and for all population
subgroups e.g. female rural Dalit poorest quintile disabled cannot be made in a reliable

156
 fashion), but the computation may be used to drill down more into drivers of disparities at
district level at the baseline year. This indicator would not be used for regular monitoring.
Repetition, dropout and survival: these indicators can be computed using EMIS data only (enrolment and
repeaters for two successive years), hence they can be updated yearly. The computation of survival
combines information on repetition and dropout per grade, hence computing survival rates would be
enough to capture flows within schools. Full information on gender, location and caste/ethnicity is
available in the EMIS, so an HOI accounting for disparities along these 3 dimensions may be computed.
Partial information is available regarding children with disabilities (no information on repeaters) but it is
proposed to add this dimension, making assumptions regarding repetition rates for these students. There
is no information regarding wealth in the EMIS, however, even in the absence of an index based on
wealth, income disparities may still be captured as long as existing dimensions (gender, location,
caste/ethnicity and disability) are strongly correlated with wealth. Initial computations at the regional
level using MICS data have shown that available information on: location (rural/urban), region, and caste
were sufficient to predict around 60% of the variation in the wealth index. Further computations can be
made, particularly if census data become available. Survival rate data complements the use of census
data. Survival data will provide detailed, updated information on children who are out of school because
they dropped out along the different dimensions (ethnicity, location, gender, disability). In a context such
as Nepal, where most children access school (but do not necessarily complete it), these represent the
largest share of out of school children. Census data, in the other hand, helps with the calculation of Out of
School numbers – including children who never accessed school and those that dropped out, but
information cannot be updated and may only be available along the gender dimension.
Learning outcomes: grade 10 exam results are currently available by district and gender. Results by school
and gender could also be available. In this context, grade 10 exam results can be used for an HOI-type of
computation at the district level. This computation would reflect average outcomes and gender disparities
and could be updated every year. There are some concerns that grade 10 exam results may vary from
year to year. However, even though they vary from year to year, it seems that rankings would be stable
even when pass rates change: the rank correlation between districts in different years is 63%. 8th grade
district exam results may also be used if they are made available. These exams are only comparable within
districts, so they would be used to compare VDCs or schools within districts but not to compare different
districts.
Levels of education: it was felt important to differentiate between basic (1-8) and secondary (9--12)
education, so indices would be computed for each of these levels.

It is proposed that the outcome equity index would include the following indicators:
Level of Levels of
Indicator Source of data Dimensions of equity Frequency
disaggregation education
Gender, additional dimensions Every year for
EMIS and
Out of school (location, caste/ethnicity, Basic education gender, once for
population District only
rate disability, wealth, mother’s (1-8) additional
census
education) if dataset is made dimensions if

157
 available to DoE. they become
available

Gender, location, caste/ethnic

groups using exact figures.
Disability using available data
on enrolment and estimates District, VDC, school
for repetition. for average, district Basic education
Survival rates EMIS Disability may be computed only for disparities (1-8), secondary Every year
exactly once individual student along dimensions of (9-12)
information (or more equity
disaggregated information)
becomes available at central
level.

District, VDC, school 10th grade for

grade 10 exams
for grade 10 exams. regional/state
Learning VDC and school only exam
8th grade Gender th Every year
outcomes for 8 grade exams
district exam 8th grade for
(no comparability
data district exam
between districts).

Note on caste groupings: The Government of Nepal recognizes multiple castes and ethnic groupings in
various official data. In the Census, the government identifies 1,250 caste and ethnic groups32. In EMIS,
grouping has been made, simplifying to: Dalit, Janajati, Brahmin/Chhetri, and Other. When considering
which groupings to use for the Equity Index, an approach is needed that allows for large enough groupings
to perform the calculations without losing the ability to identify the group (or groups) at most
disadvantage. Using MICS data, a statistical analysis was done to compare wealth scores of Dalits,
Janajatis and Other, which found that Dalit were gross under-performers, while Janajati and Other did not
statistically differ significantly in terms of wealth33 . The literature on educational outcomes, in particular
the NASA (2015) findings, also find that Janajati do not under perform in any of the tested subjects in
comparison to Brahmin/Chhetri or Other. Dalits perform worse than both Janajati, Other and
Brahmin/Chhetri. “Madhesi” and “Minorities” in the NASA results perform worse than Dalit, but these are
currently not caste/ethnic groupings captured in EMIS, so are not available to include in the Index. When
Census data is made available, further analysis of the Out of School indicator would be possible along
more refined caste/ethnic groupings.

Resources index

To better interpret the outcome equity index, it is important to contrast it with resources available at
district (or VDC or school) level. Information available on resources at school level include the agreed
Primary Minimum Enabling Conditions (PMECs) which relate to teachers, textbooks, book corner,
classrooms and latrines at the Basic Education level. Minimum enabling conditions have not been defined
at secondary level yet. In addition to PMEC-related data, further information includes: trained/qualified

32
Population Monograph of Nepal Vol. II, (CBS 2014), p. 1.
33
Dalits (wealth score = -0.423); Janajati (0.055) and Other (0.064) – UNICEF MICS (2014)

158
teachers, per pupil funding, scholarships, transitional language support, and desks, chairs, computers,
electricity, internet and playground.

At primary level, an analysis was made of the correlation between different PMEC. Correlations appear
very high hence an index reflecting the average number of PMEC available in school – something that is
already computed by the DoE, would probably be a good reflexion of the availability of any PMEC.

Further strengthening of the index in the coming time and be done through exploring Ways of better
capturing nuances in the availability of resources, beyond having vs. not having the minimum enabling
condition e.g. regarding teachers. This will however require to go beyond pupil to teacher ratios (that do
not account for the fact that a very small school needs to have at least one teacher or for schools that
have a number of teachers far higher than their expected needs) to define a more refined indicator.
Furthermore, capturing additional resource elements beyond PMEC, and considering how the difference
between private schools (for which PMEC has not been computed though they are included in the HOI)
and public schools may be accounted for. Finally considering how PMEC apply beyond the basic education
level e.g. teacher availability is calculated differently at the secondary level due to subject-wise teaching.
Furthermore, the relevance of other resources may increase (e.g. science laboratory more relevant than
book corners at the secondary level).
V. Application of the Equity Index

The outcome equity index and related resource index will be used in different ways at national, district,
VDC and school levels.

The first use of the equity index will be to identify district performance on the equity index in light of their
level of resources to inform government and development partners’ support (in terms of resources
and/or pedagogical support) to districts. This may be done by:
Ranking the districts according to their outcome equity index then identifying those that have the
lowest outcome equity index – considering which of those have the lowest average resource levels vs
which ones have high resources and low performance. A number of target districts may be identified
for specific support. The work may also help define an equity-focused allocation formulation which
may account for:
o Numbers of students or classes to get a flat “financing per student/class” amount of funding.
o Districts/VDCs/schools in difficult contexts and/or with particularly low resources which may
be given extra funding.
o Districts that have been progressing on their HOI (through higher average results / lower
dissimilarity index) who may be “rewarded” through additional funding.
For the districts with the lowest amounts of resources at least, there may be a need to drill down into
what resources are missing – as support needed will not be the same if teachers are missing or if
classrooms are. In addition, there may be a need for separate treatment of earthquake affected
districts.

159
 Districts that have higher than average resources, but lower than average HOI who might need
support to ensure resources are utilized and monitored or further pedagogical or technical support to
improve the efficiency and use of the resources available.
Looking separately at the two components of the index (coverage and dissimilarity index) to identify
the origin of the low performance – overall low results, high inequity in outcomes (and along which
dimension).

While the Equity Index attempts to utilize and synthesize the most representative and informative
indicators and data sets to determine educational equity, in order to guide specific interventions, further
analysis of the data of specific districts will be necessary to ensure the policies are properly targeted.
Firstly, as explained above, it will be important to look into the components of the equity index, to better
identify for example whether the largest disparities relate to caste, gender, or location. It may also be
important to undertake further data analysis e.g. there may be a need to analyse where within a given
education level disparities are created for different categories or children or even to further decompose
the caste and ethnicity groupings to bring more nuancing to the analysis and better target interventions.

The equity and resource indices will be utilized to contrast VDC and school performance and resources to
identify targets for support at sub-district level. As such, they will inform planning and decentralized levels
(district, VDC, school) including School Improvement Plans, District Education Plans, and District-level
Annual Strategic Implementation Plans and district budgeting, and when viable Village Education Plans.

The equity index and resource index will also be used to monitor progress at district, VDC and school
level. Progress may be monitored along two dimensions:
Progress in the outcome equity index, which will measure progress both on average results and
with regard to the reduction of disparities.
Progress in targeting resources to the lowest performing districts, VDC or schools.
The equity and resource indices will also be reflected in the school and district education profiles that
are being developed under the GPE-GRA ‘Data Must Speak’ initiative with the Department of Education.

Finally, the equity index can be used as a tool for advocacy and to gather financial and political support at
country level.
VI. Details on Index Computations

Outcome Index:

Where,

= average survival rate in a district

, h = 2k

160
 average survival rate in a group i.
= number of demographic groups.

= number of dichotomous dimensions of inequity (e.g. gender, disability, location)

= total number of students enrolled.

number of students enrolled in a group i.

Resource Index:

Where, RI = resource index;

Ni = number of schools who have i number of PMEC.

N= is total number of schools in a district.

Survival Rate

where, is a survival rate from class 1 to class 2,

is promotion rate from class 1 to class 2,

is a repetition rate in class 1,

- is number of promoted students,

is a number of repeaters in class 1 in year 2071,

Average survival rate from class 1 to class 8 is computed as follows

=

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 Annex 6: Post Disaster Recovery Framework Education Sector Action Plan

Background
The PDRF will build on the PDNA findings and will include the analysis of data that has become
available since the PDNA was published. The PDRF details the programmatic recovery and
reconstruction needs within a period of 60 months (five years) from April 2016. Each sector will
prioritize its recovery programs over the (i) immediate and short-term (18 months/1.5 years) (ii)
medium term (36 months/3 years) and (iii) longer term (60 months/5 years). In addition, the
PDRF will identify appropriate programmatic investment requirements beyond this period linked
to the long-term development plans of Nepal. In the case of the education sector, there has been
a strong policy direction that all affected schools will be engaged in the recovery within the first 3
years of the PDRF timeline. Although the impact of the 2015 earthquake(s) has been devastating,
the loss of life would have been far greater had the disaster taken place during a school day, as
over 1 million children would have been inside school buildings that were severely damaged and
collapsed. The recovery in education has built on the PDNA findings and recommendations in
terms of recovery from the initial impact, and developing the necessary human resources to
ensure overall recovery from long term impact, for example through prioritizing the recovery of
higher education facilities for engineers and health workers, and technical education facilities
training skilled masons and carpenters. The school education sector comprises basic level
(ECED/PPE to grade 8), and secondary (grade 9 to grade 12) level and makes up around 85% of
the total education sector, supported by a comprehensive Education Management Information
System (EMIS).

Strategic Vision of recovery for the sector

The recovery vision within the Nepal education sector is to ensure that all children, adolescents
and youth including those with disabilities can access safe enabling learning environments and
that comprehensive school safety and disaster risk reduction is mainstreamed in the education
sector through strengthened disaster management and resilience among communities. For this,
the following objectives have been identified:
a) Ensure provision of education during the recovery period through the establishment of
semi-permanent child, adolescent and youth friendly education facilities including gender
friendly sanitation facilities across all sub sectors.
o Ensure sustained monitoring of school attendance rates for boys and girls for
taking corrective measures to stem the incidence of children dropping out of
school.
o Ensure that schools promote gender sensitive, child friendly environment and
develop linkages with appropriate services as required. Reconstruction of
adequate and segregated school toilets should be prioritized to provide access
to hygienic and private sanitation facilities for adolescent girls.

162
 b) Ensure the recovery of education facilities in line with the three pillars of comprehensive
school safety, across all sub sectors.

c) Ensure that all learning facilities, including institutional, private, religious, higher
education, technical education and non-formal education, are disaster-resilient and
provide safe learning spaces for children, adolescents and youth to receive a quality
education. This entails safe site selection, building codes, disaster resilient designs,
retrofitting, construction supervision and quality control.
o Identify a minimum package for schools on comprehensive school safety and
disaster risk reduction (CSS-DRR) to reach children, adolescents, teachers,
head teachers, SMCs, parents, communities, education authorities and officials
at all levels through existing government mechanisms.
o Ensure an equitable participation of women and men, girls and boys planning
and decision-making in community education committees
d) Strengthen the preparedness and risk reduction capacity of the education system from
national to school level through multi-hazard risk assessment and mapping for disaster
management (structural and non-structural), action planning to reduce risks at the school
level, the incorporation of school safety into school improvement plans (SIPs), planning
for educational continuity, building response and preparedness capacities, and reaching
out to communities.

e) Mainstream risk reduction and resilience into formal and non-formal education through
national and local curricula and teachers’ professional development.

Guiding principles
Overall, a holistic approach of recovery in the school will be the main principle, in line with the
education sector recovery vision that all children and youth will have access to quality and safe
learning environments including resilient infrastructure, strong disaster resilient management at
the school level and ensuring the preparedness and disaster risk reduction awareness of
communities, parents, school management, teachers and students. As part of this, the following
principles to guide the recovery have been identified:

- Guarantee education as a right through safeguarding a minimum level of quality and

access to education, including access to alternative, transitional and non-formal
education and providing children, parents and teachers with the necessary psychosocial,
physical, and emotional support to mitigate the impact of the disaster;

- Ensure smooth transition between the emergency response, recovery needs and
regular planning and implementation within the education sector. Ensuring a needs
based response to allocate resources to ensure equal outcomes in line with Nepal’s 2022
vision;

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 - Recovery of education facilities through a holistic recovery approach, which goes beyond
the physical infrastructure needs and includes the three pillars (DRR infrastructure, DRM
at schools and community resilience) of the comprehensive framework for safe schools;

- Inclusive and equity based intervention, ensuring that the context and availability of
resources are taken into account when identifying and responding to disparities in
education. This will include adopting needs based prioritization and planning through
targeted interventions and inclusive (gender, disabilities, marginalized groups) responsive
budgeting and informed assessment of social impact and vulnerability;
- Advocate for education to play a central role in natural disaster management by teaching
children, and through them their parents and communities, risk reduction and
preparedness;

- Ensuring broad collaboration and participation of all stakeholders including Government,

Development Partners, NGOs/CSOs, communities, and parents, through inclusive and
broad consultation, communication and coordination under strong Government
leadership.

- Ensure realistic and efficient sequencing of recovery through alignment with other
sectors (such as community infrastructure reconstruction) and clear policy directions and
guidelines for non-government contributions and through a decentralized
implementation modality, conforming to central quality assurance criteria and norms
with regard to reconstruction of education infrastructure.

- Ensure environmental safeguards are maintained throughout the recovery period in

terms of sustainable use of natural and local resources, recycling of materials used in
temporary and semi-permanent learning facilities and by minimizing ecological and
health hazard.

Current status
Response; as projected as part of the short-term needs identified by the Post Disaster Needs
Assessment (PDNA) in July 2015; 15,000 Temporary Learning Centres (TLCs) were needed to
ensure access to education within the school education sector. Several TLC type designs were
developed and approved to adapt to geographical context within the affected areas, including
temporary WASH facilities and post disaster adapted teaching and learning materials, including
teacher guidelines on strengthening awareness and provision of psycho-social support. Up to
date, around 8,000 of these TLCs have been established, of which 3,561 were provided through
the Nepal education cluster.

Reconstruction; with regard to the reconstruction activities under the PIU, the criteria have
finalized for the first phase school construction and are being finalized for the next phase(s).
School verification and preparation of DPR of school sub-projects is ongoing and the Tender
Notice for construction of some of schools for first batch has been published. The reconstruction

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of the first batch of 489 schools has been initiated in the most affected areas. Tender
announcement for five schools in a valley district34 has been published, with actual construction
starting in April, followed by other 5 districts. Selected schools are being visited by DEO engineers
beforehand to make sure that details of the reconstruction process, e.g. a site plan, schedule and
their roles are fully agreed and understood. A kick-off Meeting for school reconstruction will be
organized by DEO/DIU in every district to sign MOU with SMCs as well as explaining schedule and
modality of school construction. 215 schools have been retrofitted and retro-maintenance. In
addition, the Department of Education has undertaken a rapid assessment of all basic and
secondary schools in the 14 most affected districts and is currently undertaking a detailed
damage and vulnerability assessment in these districts. Currently, 8 districts have completed the
detailed vulnerability and school environment assessment and an additional 120 Schools in six
districts35 were assessed in detail. The first package of 3 school buildings from Kavre has been
tendered and within the next month 14 more schools of Kavre will be tendered, with schools in
each district being selected based on the extent of damage, geographical proximity, and the
catchment area of the school. In addition, school rehabilitation was initiated in three districts 36
under Grant Assistance of Japanese Government in support of SSRP is under progress. The
project covers 91 school blocks in these districts that will be completed by June 2016.

Financial resources; the government has allocated NPR 150.25 million to undertake retro-
maintenance in 601 schools, maintenance in an additional NPR 14.1 million for maintenance in
141 schools and NPR 111.42 was allocated to retrofit 89 schools within the affected districts. Nrs.
15 million was allocated to repair two District Education Offices37, as well as NPR o.4 million to
recover a lead resource Centre (LRC)38. With regard to reconstruction of schools, NPR 42.2 million
was allocated to construct 4 room blocks in 53 schools and NRs: 3,110 million was committed
through 88 MoUs with humanitarian partners for the establishment of semi-permanent learning
spaces and the construction of 3,867 classrooms in 652 schools. Finally, the Department
allocated Nrs 317.68 million within to the affected districts for the removal of debris and rubble
and to support schools in creating school environment.

Human resources; at the central level 2 infrastructure engineers have been deployed within the
Department to support detail damage assessment and preparation of guidelines, design, review
of designs. At the district level, site officers have been deployed within the 14 affected districts to
support the Government district focal points in their coordination. To ensure capacity for the
recovery, 184 engineers and a 1095 masons and contractors have been trained in the most
affected 11 districts. Finally, 1,52,929 students and 5,732 teachers across affected and non-
affected districts have received training on DRR awareness. In addition to this, DRR instruction

34
Lalitpur
35
Dhading, Nuwakot, Gorkha, Lalitpur, Makwanpur, and Rasuwa
36
Dhading, Gorkha and Nuwakot
37
Rasuwa and Okhaldhunga
38
Gorkha

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was incorporated within the school sector curriculum and pre-service teacher professional
development.

Resilient school design; in order to address the needs for reconstruction in the diverse context
within the affected districts; a number of typical seismic resilient designs of the school buildings
is required. The designs are being designed by categories, such as ECED/PPE to grade 3, 5, 8 and
12. All designs have been developed in line with the ‘Build Back Better’ principles and objectives
in terms of earthquake resilience and based on proven technical know-hows. Key features of the
designs will be child friendly facilities, WASH, and where possible sustainable features such as
solar energy and rainwater harvesting. For this, guidelines for development of type designs of
primary school buildings have been completed. Retro-maintenance guidelines and designs for
secondary schools including some block designs are under development. Furthermore, a
supervision manual for both technical supervisors and SMCs is being drafted. The Manual will be
in the form of pictorial guidelines illustrating step-by-step method of supervising different
typology of school buildings. It will also have SMCs guidelines depicted to support DIUs in
supervising reconstruction work.

Procurement; the Procurement process will be made innovative to quicken the entire
construction activities. To achieve this, the construction procurement package will be selected in
a cluster basis - grouping the schools based on the common geographical proximity. During the re
- construction phase, Initiatives will be taken to impart the ownership of school reconstruction to
the SMCs. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed between DEO and SMC to
clarify the roles and responsibilities to be taken by SMCs in order to facilitate the reconstruction
work. SMCs will link the activities related to monitoring of construction work into their School
Improvement Plans (SIPs).

Without absence of any field level damage assessment of schools, the information from DoE list
has to be relied upon. The list may support the initial screening, but to begin the actual
reconstruction, the detail survey, site-specific design, estimation of cost and preparing of Bill of
Quantities require detailed site investigation. It is advisable to undertake on site verification of
schools before actual commencement of survey, design procedures. The preliminary screening
will be helpful once the SIDA data become available to the concerned DPs.

Regarding the higher education sector, there is no EMIS established but all 8 universities have
updated the assessments of their recovery needs and have provided these through the
University Grant Commission (UGC). Regarding the non-school based technical education, the
Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training has updated the recovery needs.

As the education sector PDNA also projected the social impacts, the Non-Formal Education
Centre is currently providing estimates of the recovery needs of the existing NFE facilities and
programs, as well as projecting the expansion of NFE programs needed to cater to the needs of
children not expected to return to formal school education, and the disaster related additional
needs of youth and women enrolled in NFE programs., The recovery needs of more than 400

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private schools have been reported across 11 most affected districts39, at a total value exceeding
900 million NPR.

Damaged and semi- destroyed school buildings have created large mounds of rubble and debris
impeding accessibility to affected areas and restoration work. Unattended damaged school
structures are a high risk to the lives of children and communities. This concern has been strongly
raised by school management committee and communities. The size of damaged school
structures varies, enhancing the complexity of demolition and debris clearance. Safe demolition
of these risky structures requires specialized expertise.

Finally, As the Ministry of Education will support the private sector through the provision of soft
loans; these needs have not been included in the recovery needs estimate reflected in the PDRF
worksheets. Likewise, in the case of the recovery need for administrative and governance
buildings, as these will be reflected under public buildings in the PDRF.

Needs and Priorities

Short term recovery needs (<1 year)

In the school subsector, the short-term recovery needs include:
❖ Continuation of education services: based on the expected timeline for affected school
education sector facilities to complete the (re)construction of permanent infrastructure, the
current temporary arrangement (temporary learning centres) will need to be upgraded to
semi-permanent structures with teaching-learning and co-curricular and WASH facilities
(including separate facilities for girls) to ensure continuous access to education in the
affected districts. Given that school reconstruction will require up to 3 years, these structures
will be constructed or upgraded to withstand monsoon, storms, snow, hail and rain to ensure
uninterrupted education in a safe environment.

❖ Debris removal and site clearance of damaged schools to prepare the sites for set up of
transitional classrooms and permanent buildings.

In the TVET and higher education subsectors, the short-term needs include:
❖ Provision of temporary spaces to resume classes and training programs that were being
delivered prior to the disaster will be ensured. For this purpose, it is necessary that individual
institutions are instructed and provided with the requisite resources by UGC, the respective
universities, and the CTEVT.

Medium term needs (1-2 years)

Medium term needs will be dominated by the reconstruction and retrofitting of school/college
buildings, and allied structures (DEOs, Resource Centres, administrative buildings, libraries,

39
Bhaktapur, Dolakha, Gorkha, Kathmandu, Kavre, Lalipur, Nuwakot, Dhading, Ramechhap, Rasuwa and Sidhupalchowk

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laboratories, etc.). This will require reviewing and revising existing legal and oversight
mechanisms for strengthening and ensuring safety in all types of educational facilities. In the
school subsector, the medium-term needs include:
❖ Reconstruction of safe school facilities; construction in line with approved designs and with
technical oversight, retro maintenance for damaged schools and retrofitting for all schools
with priority to those in disaster-prone areas, ensuring schools are constructed in line with
the comprehensive safe school model (Hyogo Framework for Action standards), including
relocation of schools from unsafe locations and provision of water and sanitation facilities
with gender responsive design.

• Ensure safe debris clearance and demolition of damaged school buildings to enable the
reconstruction work, while identifying and using landfills and management of debris in an
environmental friendly manner to minimize ecological and health hazard.

• Reconstruction of fully destroyed schools using principles of ‘building back better’ with
disaster resilient technology and better learning environment and selective additional
features such as solar lighting, water harvesting structures, internet connectivity etc.
Integrated school designs will be developed to replace fragmented, block wise approach
to buildings.

• Review and rationalization of school locations (including school mergers), teacher

deployment, unit costs, and incentive schemes to ensure limited resources are redirected
to the most needed areas and communities.

• Relocation of schools from unsafe locations: It is estimated that around 5% of the schools
in the most affected districts need to be relocated. It is essential that provision for
adequate land in a safe location be made for such relocation.

• Retrofitting and repair of damaged or partially destroyed schools through a detailed

building assessment.

• Identify the minimum acceptable requirements for schools on comprehensive school

safety and disaster risk reduction (CSS-DRR) to reach children, teachers, head teachers,
SMCs, parents, communities, education authorities and officials at all levels through
existing government mechanisms.

❖ Disaster Risk Management, conducting risk assessment and strengthening DRR responsive
planning at district and school level

• Improving policies, guidelines and systems for new school buildings to meet higher
standards and levels of safety than residential buildings. Existing school building
guidelines need to be reviewed to meet ‘immediate occupancy’ criteria. School buildings
will function as evacuation shelters during disasters. It is important to establish effective
independent quality control and inspection requirements and processes for the

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 construction of school buildings. Policies, guidelines and building codes will be introduced
to regulate safety standards for private schools through certification, technical and
administrative support.

• Provisioning additional skilled human resources and technical inputs (including third
party monitoring) at the national, district and school levels to ensure compliance and
quality assurance at all phases of building construction and rehabilitation.

• Strengthening the education management information system (EMIS) to incorporate a

module on school safety and DRR.

❖ Resilient education, strengthening awareness of DRR, among community, management,

teachers, parents and students, and building a culture of safety through DRR in curriculum
and teaching learning through training and drills. Strengthening capacity of affected people
and responsive needs-based planning to reach out to children at risk or who have dropped
out due to the impact of the disaster, through strengthening of school catchment area
monitoring and school based support schemes.

• Strengthening disaster preparedness and response at the school and community level
through school-based DRM and community based DRM training and planning by
enhancing the capacity and preparedness of SMCs/PTAs, child clubs, communities, and
other in disaster risk management. An emergency response plan needs to be developed
to supplement the curriculum on disaster risk education and reduction to further raise
the students’ and teachers’ awareness of key hazards such as earthquake, floods,
landslides, and to guide them in response and evacuation in the event of disasters.
MOE/DOE and DEOs need to prepare school continuity plans in case of disruptions to
school calendar caused by disasters.

• Carrying out curriculum and textbook reforms with DRR and resilience perspective and
teacher training on the new curriculum and textbooks through existing teacher training
institutes.

In the technical education sector, the medium-term needs include:

❖ Reconstruction of TVET facilities and institutions using principles of ‘building back better’.
❖ Training for technical and skilled workers: As reconstruction will lead to high demand for
technical and skilled workers such as skilled masons, carpenters, bar benders and
construction supervisors familiar with earthquake safety techniques, the government will
effectively utilize, and if necessary extend its ongoing training programs to help meet this
additional demand. CTEVT will also reorganize its schools to meet the current/anticipated
demand for relevant technical grade 10 exam and diploma level training and increase the
batches of training, which will require hiring of additional trainers.
❖ Incorporation of DRR in TVET programs and training in DRR for instructors/facilitators.

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In higher education, the medium-term needs include:
❖ Reconstruction of damaged facilities and institutions using principles of ‘building back
better’. This would include provision to build residential colleges.
❖ Extension of courses on DRM and earthquake resistant engineering to all engineering
colleges affiliated to various universities.
❖ Strengthening of the higher education EMIS to enhance its capacity to collect, analyse and
disseminate information on all higher education institutions in the country.
❖ Offering subsidized credit/loans for affected students to ensure continuity of their education.

Long term needs (beyond 3-5 years)

This phase will focus on long-term development issues beyond the response to the earthquake
and reconstruction, and will include developing a nation-wide policy and implementation plan for
education safety across the country. Adequate policies and measures will be established for the
multi-hazard preparedness of education institutions and making buildings resilient to different
kinds of disasters. In the long term, all education institutions need to be built on the principle of
‘build back better’ following international best practice for school safety. Furthermore, it is
necessary that all physical construction is extensively supported measures to increase the quality
of education and enhance the learning environment. Major long-term needs include:
❖ School area-wide planning and risk assessment to identify any schools that need to be
relocated to safer location. Decision making to replace seismically vulnerable school buildings
or retrofitting requires building-by-building information on risk levels. The assessment will
capture each school’s exposure to all hazards such as floods, landslides, fires, windstorms,
avalanches, rock falls and availability of drinking water source, accessibility to communities,
etc.

❖ Strengthening the capacity of higher education for DRR/DRM research: This could be done
through the establishment of dedicated research centres in universities or by enhancing the
capacity of existing centres within and outside of universities, as also recommended by the
proposed Higher Education Policy. This needs to be linked to the provision of research grants
for the faculty to conduct research on related topics.

❖ Institutionalization of mechanisms to ensure that all education institutions/facilities are

disaster resilient: This includes restructuring/realignment of units within the MOE system to
ensure continued safety in the entire education sector, including private institutions that are
affiliated to the CTEVT and various universities.

❖ Strengthened disaster preparedness and response at the school and community level
through school-based DRM and community based DRM training and planning. An emergency
response plan needs to be developed for each school, supplemented by improvement in the
curriculum on disaster risk education and reduction to further raise the students’ and
teachers’ awareness on earthquake, floods, landslides and other key hazards and to guide

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 them properly in response and evacuation in the event of disasters. MOE/DOE and DEOs will
prepare education continuity plans in case of disruptions to school calendar by disasters.

Needs for addressing Social Impacts of Disasters

In addition to the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure and physical assets, it is
necessary to ensure that human recovery needs are addressed. For this, the implementation of
the Consolidated Equity Strategy for schools (including the development and use of equity index
for needs-based targeting of resources to address emerging post-disaster needs as well as
historical causal factors of disparities in educational outcomes) is crucial. It is also essential to
adapt the following existing strategies to accommodate emerging needs:
❖ Incentive schemes: scholarships present an opportunity to enhance access and retention in
schools. Needs-based redirection of scholarship funding (in place of the current ‘blanket’
provision) would meet the needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

❖ Health and nutrition programs: The midday meals programme supported by the government
has demonstrated significant success in increasing access and retention, especially among
disadvantaged groups living in highly food insecure areas. This scheme needs to be extended
to the most affected districts for a limited time to address the nutritional needs of the
children attending schools. There is also a need to also extend the Multi Sector Nutrition
Strategy to affected areas, under which iron folic acid and deworming tablets are offered for
students.

❖ Advocacy and campaigns: The ‘Welcome to School Campaign’ has been institutionalized as
an annual reoccurring event to convince parents to enrol their children and ensure that
children come to school from the start of the academic year. The Government needs to
continue the partnerships with national and local media that were established after the
disaster to ensure that the campaign encourages children to return to school in the affected
areas, as well as to alert schools and communities in non-affected areas to cater to the
additional needs of children that have migrated from the affected areas.

❖ Alternative education: In order to address the needs of those who are expected to drop out
of formal education, the non-formal education and skill development programs will have to
adapt to a possible increase in the numbers of children unlikely to return to formal
education. This will require targeted expansion of school outreach programs, flexible
schooling programs, and open schooling programs in the affected areas as well as areas with
in-migration.

❖ Gender Equality and Social Inclusion: The Government’s Gender Responsive Budgeting
(GRB) principles will be applied throughout all recovery and reconstruction programs within
the sector.

❖ Inclusion of Children with Disabilities: Existing EMIS includes limited data on children with
disabilities, who are amongst the most marginalized groups in terms of access, retention and

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 learning outcomes. Further, the number of children with disabilities and severe injuries is
likely to increase after a disaster. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen the collection of data
on children with disabilities in the community and introduce diagnostic and referral
mechanisms in the affected areas. Inclusion will be a core component of building back better
to ensure that safe schools are accessible to children with disabilities.

Rationale for prioritization

The recovery of administrative and governance facilities in the education sector will be provided
first priority as the expected timeline is relatively short and recovery of administration and
governance is needed to facilitate school recovery, particularly in the 14 most affected districts.
Prioritization will aim to provide equitable educational outcomes to disadvantaged and remote
groups and will be based on needs. Basic education is mandatory and access to basic and
secondary education is a right declared in the Constitution. The resumption of education across
all affected districts need to be initiated as simultaneously as possible, with recovery within the
first three years of the PDRF timeline. Within the higher education sector, the community
campuses under the Tribhuvan University will receive the highest priority. Finally, within the non-
formal education sector, priority will be given to the areas with large disparities and pre-disaster
identified at-risk school aged children populations, aligned with the priorities provided within the
basic education sub sector. Within the school sector, priority for recovery is provided within the
14 most affected districts. Within those, priority will be given to (i) schools that need
reconstruction and/or repair works due to the earthquakes in April and May, 2015 40, (ii) HSS, SS,
LSS and PS241, (iii) school sites where a “one-bag concrete mixer” can be delivered42, (iv) schools
where student density is relatively high, (v) schools where there is no need for land acquisition,
involuntary resettlement and/or social risks, (vi) schools where no school buildings have been
constructed by partners, and (vi) schools where no merger or consolidation has been/will be
made with other schools after the earthquake.

Justification of financial resource allocation

Of the identified recovery need within the education sector, around 95% (NPR 106 billion) has
been within the school sector with the need to reconstruct and retro-maintenance over 8,000
schools. Of this, 65% (NPR 69 billion) is identified within the 14 most affected districts. In line
with the high urgency to ensure ECED/PPE, basic and secondary education as a right, the
recovery within the school sector has been planned within the first three years of the recovery
period. This is in line with the health and community infrastructure timelines and where possible
will be aligned with the deployment of institutional capacity and human resources, as well with
the high presence of (I)NGOs and humanitarian partners. Within the higher education sector,
around 90% of the recovery needs are within the programs of the Tribhuvan University in various

40 nd rd
Schools that need damage assessment by WB and/or retrofit shall be considered in 2 and 3 batch
41
Primary school with 60-120 students
School site where a “one-bag concrete mixer “cannot be delivered shall be considered in the 2 and 3 batch
42 nd rd

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districts, which concurs with the percentage of students enrolled in higher education being
catered by this university. In the technical education sector, the highest need (NPR 730 million)
has been identified in Dolakha (the Giri technical institute), however, this recovery need has been
met with an equal commitment by SDC.

Key implementing partners:

Government, Nepal education cluster, PIU, ADB, Australia, DFID, EU, Finland, JICA, Norway, SDC,
UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, USAID, WFP, World Bank, AIN.

Implementation and coordination arrangements and mechanisms

The reconstruction work within the education sector will be done through the PIU within the
affected districts. In addition, regular coordination of recovery will be supported by the Nepal
Education Cluster, which will ensure strong information management, partner coordination, and
support to implementation of activities including provision of safe school facilities, training,
community engagement, Disaster Risk Reduction, etc. Planning of the recovery work will be
coordinated through the SSDP Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) under the Ministry of Education
and will be monitored through the regular joint consultations and reviews in terms of progress
and outcomes as part of the SSDP SWAp. MoUs for establishment of semi-permanent and
permanent reconstruction within the school education sector that have been done under the
response period at district level will be reviewed through a fast track mechanism to be accredited
at central level (Department of Education). At the Department of Education, a focal desk has
been established to coordinate off budget support to reconstruction and the NEC has set up a
coordination mechanism through the placement of focal persons within the most affected
districts. The current scope of the PIU’s support for the recovery in the school education sector is
to the 14 most affected districts with the initial commitment by Development Partners for the
support of 1500 schools. Under the PIU, designs for DRR and resilient school structures have
been approved and made accessible to non-state partners, which have currently committed
support to semi-permanent and permanent reconstruction through 88 MoUs between
Government and (I)NGOs, including those with private sector, for construction of permanent and
semi-permanent education facilities. Apart from the NRA as PMU, the key Implementing
Agencies will be the PIU and DIUs in affected districts. In addition to existing skilled human
resource (Engineers / Sub- Engineers), more will be needed across all affected districts. Technical
expertise is being recruited to support capacity development and orientation of DoE engineers
and stakeholders in safe school reconstruction practices with regard to contractual work, design
and supervision.

Integration of cross cutting issues

Social Protection; social support will be extended to those children and teachers that have become
disabled or developed additional needs as a result of the disaster through prioritizing expansion of
diagnostic and referral services within the affected areas, the establishment of special and inclusive
education facilities and need based support schemes, including school based feeding schemes, known

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 as ‘mid-day meals, will be expanded at primary school level (grade 1-5) within areas that have become
food deficient as a result of the disaster.
Employment & Livelihoods; support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the technical education
facilities to strengthen economic development. These services could include agricultural extension,
business advisory services, and space for start. Provision of mobile skills training at the affected areas
and on-the-job training on basic skills required for rehabilitation and construction work with special
families for women with children or elderly people.
Disaster Risk Management; undertaking of nationwide comprehensive multi hazard and
environmental assessment and retrofitting of schools, including strengthened awareness and
resilience of communities.
Gender and Social Inclusion; Ensure sustained monitoring of school attendance rates for boys and
girls for taking corrective measures to stem the incidence of children dropping out of school.
Reconstruction of adequate and segregated school toilets will be prioritized to provide access to
hygienic and private sanitation facilities for adolescent girls. Ensure an equitable participation of
women and men planning and decision-making in community education committees. Apply the
Government’s Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) principles to all recovery and reconstruction
programs. Develop training and information materials based on the education level and knowledge of
different socio-economic groups.

Outstanding issues that are key to the implementation of sector recovery

Relocation of schools and safe land availability causing delay
Delayed initiation of reconstruction adds pressure.
Extensive amounts of rubbles and unsafe damaged structures restricting construction of schools and
posing threats on safety of children and educators
Earthquake safety school building design and costing (different type) yet to be approved.
Media report reconstruction has been initiated on case by case base
Updating status and progress of reconstruction initiated by I/NGOs as per MoUs with MOE/DOE
Reconstruction of school to be implemented through partnership directly to SMCs with technical
support of Engineers or partnership directly with the private contractors/firms.
MoU – procedures of getting MoU is long and not clear- Simplify the process and document
Multiple donors in the same schools- avoiding duplication and changes in the interest of schools to
select the donor/s- Clear directive for approval process to the district and department (DoE) level and
will be shared with partners.
Lack of district level planning and not clear on who is responsible to do district level planning- Clarify
roles and responsibilities at the district level required.
Communication gap between national and district level- Needs to improve information management

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 Clarity is required at the national level- it’s PIU or planning division- who is responsible? Clarity on
the roles of DoE and NRA in the strategic document of cluster.
Access to get the information on who is working where, which schools are left, - Develop district level
mapping and update regularly;
Clear guidelines including, policy, strategy and roadmap required on how development partners can
contribute/support to government
Harmonize identification and response to capacity building and training needs of school management
committees, PIU and engineers in developing polices and guidelines, safer demolition, landfill
management and disaster resilience reconstruction through regular coordination among
stakeholders, standardize training package development and follow up and monitoring of training and
its implementation for effectiveness
Regarding DRR and School safety, there remains a lack of data on Safe Schools in EMIS, awareness of
School Safety at different stages, resource availability and allocation, coordination/ Collaboration and
institutional Capacity at different levels.

Recommendations
Considering these issues, MOE and DOE can work closely together with District Education Offices and
also facilitate to implementing partners (including I/NGOs) for their greater involvement in recovery
and reconstruction. Implementing partners can support recovery or reconstruction work (software
and hard ware) to the respective district education offices to reconstruct safe school building through
active participation of community people – SMC and PTA members.
DRR/SS: Robust information system, link with EMIS, Campaign/ dissemination, raise level of
awareness among the key stakeholders, Resource priority, Strong coordination mechanism, Build
systemic Capacity
Equity Index for Education in Emergencies to support prioritization of construction across three years
in the school sector
The CLAs will have minimum consensus for school reconstruction and recovery work mainly
partnership at field level. The school itself as a community sub-system that demands maximum
participation and ownership while constructing or reconstructing school infrastructure. Their
community people mainly SMC / PTA members’ role is crucial for quality of work, follow up use of
construction fund and minimize the corruption of construction fund. Thus, for reconstruction of
school will have tri-party agreement among the District Education Office, School Management
Committee and I/NGOs for managing the construction fund at field.
Strengthen community engagement through capacity building of community, ownership and
Involvement in SIP, more autonomy in receiving funds to local bodies and by reducing the local
approval process time. Develop transition strategy/action plan including winterization and monsoon
readiness of TLCs and clarify terminology of Temporary and Transitional learning spaces.

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 Appendix 7.1: List of Recovery Projects with Committed Resources
Total Source(s)
Implementing
SN Project Name District Start Date End Date Programme of
Agency
Cost Funding
Million Million
Name and/or short description Menu dd/mm/yyyy dd/mm/yyyy Text Agency
NPR NPR
14 most affected
68,582.98 6,651.95
1 Recovery of school education districts 42461 N/A GON/NEC GON/ADB/JICA
Relocation of schools to safer 14 most affected
192.00
2 locations districts 42461 24 DoE GON/ADB/JICA/EU/Australia/Finland/Norway/GPE/UNICEF
Reconstruction of damaged 14 most affected
4.37
3 administrative buildings districts 42461 12 DoE GON/ADB/JICA/EU/Australia/Finland/Norway/GPE/UNICEF
4 Recovery of school education 17 affected districts 42461 N/A GON/NEC 37,329.23 4,351.70 GON/ADB/JICA/EU/Australia/Finland/Norway/GPE/UNICEF
Recovery of higher education
27.00 0.00
5 administration Bhaktapur 42461 12 UGC
6 Recovery of higher education 31 affected districts 42461 36 UGC 11,143.69 60.00 Tribhuvan University, KU
14 most affected
46.00 0.00
7 Recovery of Technical Institutes districts N/A 36 CTEVT
8 Recovery of Technical Institutes 17 affected districts N/A 36 CTEVT 1,012.50 1,000.00 SDC
Livelihood support and Skill
based training programme to 120.75 0.00
affected community through 14 most affected
9 CLCs districts 42461 38 NFEC
Expansion of NFE programme
(SOP/FSP/OSP) within the 14 most affected 14.00 0.00
10 affected areas districts 42461 38 NFEC
14 most affected
20.50 0.00
11 Recovery of NFE facilities (CLCs) districts 42461 38 NFEC
Expand engineering unit at the
DOE and DEO levels to meet 14 most affected 259.74 0.00
12 reconstruction needs districts 42461 24 DoE
Integration of DRR in NFE
5.00 0.00
13 programs National 42461 38 NFEC
Strengthening DRM and DRR of
CLCs, NFE facilitators and 45.00 0.00
14 communities National 42461 38 NFEC
Strengthening NFE-MIS
especially with regard to DRR at 7.25 0.00
15 all levels National 42461 38 NFEC
Monitor disparities in education
at (sub) district level in the 14 most affected 2.10 0.00
16 affected areas districts 42461 36 DoE
17 Expansion of school/TLC based 14 most affected 42461 12 DoE 90.00 0.00

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 Total Source(s)
Implementing
SN Project Name District Start Date End Date Programme of
Agency
Cost Funding
Million Million
Name and/or short description Menu dd/mm/yyyy dd/mm/yyyy Text Agency
NPR NPR
peer support programs districts
Social impact and vulnerability
analysis for informing DRR 14 most affected 1.50 0.00
18 strategies in SSDP districts 42461 2 MoE
Strengthen the DRM capacity
and preparedness of
262.00 0.00
SMCs/PTAs, child clubs and 14 most affected
19 communities districts 42461 36 DoE
14 most affected
22.00 0.00
20 Establish DRM research centre districts N/A 6 UGC
Conducting mobile skills related
literacy programs to the
7.46 0.00
affected VDCs and 14 most affected
21 municipalities districts 42461 24 NFEC
Carrying out nationwide
comprehensive school safety 14 most affected 98.00 98.00
22 assessment at all levels districts 42826 24 DoE World Bank/Australia
Retrofitting of school sector
6,117.12 0.00
23 infrastructure 31 affected districts 42826 36 DoE ADB/JICA/EU
24 Recovery of NFE programs 17 affected districts 42461 60 NFEC 158.21 0.00
Prioritized recovery of public 14 most affected
18.90 0.00
25 libraries districts 42826 48 DoE
Recovery of school education
28,567.87 0.00
26 28 least affected districts 28 least affected N/A 60 DoE
Recovery of technical education
sector in 11 least affected 11 least affected 16.54 0.00
27 districts districts N/A 60 CTEVT
28 Full recovery of public Libraries national N/A 60 MOFALD 1,005.00 18.90 Department of Education
Total 125,410.19 12,161.65

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Appendix 7.2: Projected Annual Cost for Recovery Programme in the 31 Affected Districts

16 APR 16 -15 JUL 16 JULY 17 -15 16 JULY 18 -15 16 JULY 19 -15 16 JULY 20 -
Sources of Funding
17 JUL 18 JUL 19 JUL 20 15 JUL 21
Total
Start On-budget Off-budget
FY 2017 + FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 Programme Unknown
date sources sources
Cost
[From
Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR Million NPR
WS #2]
55807.72755 41956.87715 41943.40215 1656.380929 1647.522 143011.9 0 0 143011.91
Apr-16 38,041.97 28,531.48 28,531.48 95,105 95,105
Apr-16 4,480.48 3,340.11 3,340.11 11,161 11,161
Apr-16 47.60 17.40 6.00 71 71
Apr-16 5.13 8.20 7.18 21 21
Apr-16 259.74 260 260
Apr-16 5.00 5 5
Apr-16 2.42 2.42 2.42 7 7
Apr-16 1.05 1.05 2 2
Apr-16 9.00 9.00 9.00 31.50 31.50 90 90
Apr-16 1.50 2 2
Apr-16 140.00 105.00 105.00 350 350
Apr-16 22.00 22 22
Apr-16 2.98 2.24 2.24 7 7
Apr-17 1,223.42 1,223.42 1,223.42 1,223.42 1,223.42 6,117 6,117
Apr-16 15.82 23.73 23.73 47.46 47.46 158
Apr-16 4.73 4.73 4.73 4.73 19
Apr-16 15.00 15.00 15.00 45 45
Apr-16 11,427.15 8,570.36 8,570.36 28,568 28,568
Apr-16 4.13 4.13 4.13 4.13 17 17
Apr-16 98.61 98.61 98.61 345.14 345.14 986 986

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