Pokhara University

Ace Institute of Management

Report on

Education Industry of Nepal

Faculty

Mr. Narayan Pradhan

Managerial Communication & Communication Skills Practicum

Submitted by:

Mr. Madhu Sudan Koirala

MBAe “B”

Batch: 2011-13

20th November, 2011

1

SIGNATURE PAGE

I certify that I have read this document and in my opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality. This

report is partial fulfillment of Managerial communication and Practicum for MBA Course at Ace Institute

of Management, Pokhara University during the Term II of 2011.

(Signature)

Project Evaluator

Ace Institute of Management

2

DECLARATION

I declare that this project entitled is a result of my own study and research carried out in the year 2011. It

has not been previously submitted to any other Universities or Examination.

Signature:

Mr. Madhu Sudan Koirala

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to thank Ace Institute of Management (AIM) for having Managerial

communication as a part of M.B.A Trimester II pedagogy. Many people have influenced the shape and

content of this term paper, and many supported us through it.

I express my sincere gratitude to Mr.Narayan Pradhan for assigning me a Report on “Education Industry

of Nepal”. This is an interesting and burning subject. He has been an inspiration and role model for this

topic. His guidance and active support has made it possible to complete the assignment. I also thank our

friends who have helped and encouraged me throughout the working of the report.

Last but not the least I would like to thank the Almighty for always helping me.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Education is vital to human development. Nepal recognizes this fact and is committed to making

education universal. Despite substantial progress made in this direction, much still remains to be done.

The country is still caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, lethargy of illiteracy, and tradition. Three-fifths

of the country is still illiterate, with three-fourths of women population illiterate.

In the 1990s, the country moved toward democratization; however, the unstable governments and tenuous

leadership have not yet yielded clear benefits for the masses. The education system is plagued by a lack of

financial support, deficiency of trained human resources, inadequate physical infrastructure, and

managerial inefficiency. As a consequence, the country is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

Although more people than ever are moving for higher education to India and other European countries,

Nepalese education industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Accredited academic as

well as technical Higher Degrees are being offered by colleges and schools affiliated with renowned

universities, which is positive and promising. Besides witnessing growth of domestic institutions,

Nepalese Education Industry is proving fertile for foreign universities and colleges as well. Overall

education system is being revivified with increased Government expenditure, and foreign investment.

Illiteracy rate has declined and number of PhD holders (Appx. 2000) has increased.

With people being more aware about the importance of education, gender is no longer a strong

determinant of access to education. Now we can see female leaders, entrepreneurs and employees in

many corporate houses, government organizations, NGOs and INGOs. Development in education sector

has created ample opportunities for female and has helped in society’s effort to eliminate gender

discrimination.

Being an MBA student we must know the present situation and be able to predict future. Thorough

environmental scanning, in-depth analysis and apprehension can pave way for overcoming challenges and

for tapping lucrative opportunities present in the Education sector, which is one of the growing industries.

While making this report we have done various secondary researches via online, articles, publication,

journals, report and related books. It’s been difficult for us to find material in context of Nepal but with

our effort, interesting subject matter and your coordination makes it possible.

5

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AIM – Ace Institute of Management

PU – Pokhara University

SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

NGOs – Non Governmental Organizations

GoN – Government of Nepal

MoE – Ministry of Education

MDGs – Millennium Development Goals

FY – Fiscal Year

6

Table of Contents

Part One

INTRODUCTION

Page No.

1. Background

2. Goals/Objectives of Report

3. Roles/Jobs Performed

Part Two

INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRY

1. Introduction of Topic

2. Importance

3. Objectives

4. History

5. Administration

6. Structure

7. List of Universities of Nepal

8. Statistics (Source)

9. SWOT Analysis

Part Three

RESEARCH PART & CONCLUSION

1. Methodology

2. Major Findings

3. Future Direction

4. Challenges

5. Conclusion

7

6. Recommendations

REFERENCES

List of Tables Page no.

Table 1: Education Budget

Table 2: Total Schools by Level and Development Region

Table 3: Total Institutions by Development Region and Types

Table 4: Total Colleges, Students and Teachers

Table 5: Students Studying Abroad on Self- Financing

Table 6: Resources for Education

Table 7: MDG in Nepal- Key Indicators

List of Figures

Figure 1: Ranges of Disciplines

Figure 2: Enrollment at different Educational Levels

8

Part One

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND

Ace Institute of Management has set up an Interactive Program under which the students are required to

research on scope, problems and challenges of a specific industry and prepare a report consisting possible

suggestions. This intensive program, as a blend of real world experience and classroom lectures, gives the

students an opportunity to identify the present situation of that industry, its future prospects and gain

handful of information.

In addition, it helps the students learn:

to prepare formal reports,

to use proper research methodologies and

to interpret the data for further use

This report is based on a research of education industry in Nepal. Education industry is a growing

industry and knowing about it is obviously an advantage to the researcher. Access to basic education is

the right of every individual. Education is the driving force of growth and progress in an increasingly

interconnected and globalized world. Developing countries, where majority of the world’s population

reside, need to maximize on productivity and capabilities of advanced human capital. At the country

level, education means strong economic growth due to productive and skilled labor force. At individual

level education strongly co-relates to higher returns in earning, and more informed and aware existence.

Education empowers people to defend and pursue their rights. Education is the most effective tool used to

empower women and promote tolerance within a society.

9

2. GOALS/OBJECTIVES OF REPORT

Conducting a research and preparing a report provides ample learning opportunities to students and

valuable information and insight to the readers. Looking towards industry’s market, its growth, revenue

and cost, economic and social contribution, employment generation, investment opportunities and other

aspects is beneficial and is the main objective of this project. This report aims:

To analyze the current situation, problems, challenges and its solutions.

To know future prospects and its investment opportunities.

To use the theoretical knowledge from the coursework to conduct survey and analyze the result.

3. ROLES/JOBS PERFORMEDI have spent majority of time searching the information related to education. My research is

mainly based on secondary research (internet, books, magazine, articles, and prospectus).

Besides this, other tasks such as researching websites, taking faculty suggestion, discussing and

interpreting data have also taken major time while preparing this report.

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Part Two

INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRY

1. INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC

Nepali education service industry has been gaining economic boom for a decade. The sudden and rapid

mushrooming of educational institutions is a proof of how broad a scope this industry is subjected to

have. Today discourses are taking place in view of the educational needs of Nepal in the new millennium.

The start of new millennium embodies remarkable outcomes of the modernization trend, particularly of

the last five to six decades. During these five decades some countries have achieved tremendous

technological advancement, industrialization of work and productions, expansion of market access and

military capabilities. The developments have direct implications globally on all aspects of life including

social, economic, and political. Keeping these things constant, education is only the factor which can

make them possible and help achieve a prosperous life for all.

Nepal has crossed over 5 decades of changes that have been influenced by the post-colonial world trend

of modernization. Organized development of education is one of the important aspects of this trend.

However the dilemmas and the tensions that the countries like Nepal have to live trying to cope with the

changes are tremendous: there are social and economic limitations, geographic and political limitations,

and the inertia of the past ways and means impeding desire for new momentum. These limitations and

dilemmas arise because of the modern perspective of development. Whereas, on other the hand, it is in

these very social and geographical circumstances and the cultural and historical roots that the countries

like Nepal should search for prospects of better changes. This report has been prepared with these points

in view, analyzing the contexts, problems and prospects of education for new millennium in Nepal.

2. IMPORTANCE

Importance of education in the coming years is recognized as a necessary ingredient for sustainable

economic growth. Education is seen as the key to better quality of life as well as means of providing a

new set of skills required for the future years. Investment in human capital prepares the critical mass of

educated man power on the one hand and on the other hand prepares future leaders in various fields to

11

steer successfully the country through thick and thin. Education enables individual to make informed

choices broaden their horizons and opportunities and to have a voice in public decision making.

Education is one of the most important factors that act as a counter weight to social and economical

mobility imposed by culture and historical biases. Education shifts economy from primary industry to

secondary industry and then further to tertiary Industry.

3. OBJECTIVES

Individual Development

• Developing physical and mental faculties

• Acquiring the capacities of understanding, appreciation and expression through word and act, are

the fundamental aims of education

• Aim of education should be to make children self- confident and self dependent, and to make them

strong physically and mentally

• Education is meant to develop every child's character, personality and culture and as much

knowledge as the child can assimilate not merely memorize.

Social and National Development

• Social, aim of education in equally important because an individual lives in society and has his

obligations towards nation.

• There is a realization that, "The present education system does riot yield required results mainly

because it is divorced from the real social content and social goals".

Social Transformation

• Education should not merely equip an individual to adjust with society to its customs and

conventions, but it should enable him to bring desirable changes in the society.

• It has been, therefore, suggested that, "Every educational institution from secondary school to

university college should be developed to become an agency of change...."

• However, it is essential that we should be quite clear about the purpose of change.

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Value Education

• Education is a methodical effort towards learning basic facts about humanity. And the core idea

behind value education is to cultivate essential values in the students so that the civilization that

teaches us to manage complexities can be sustained and further developed.

• It begins at home and it is continued in schools. Everyone accepts certain things in his/her life

through various mediums like society or government.

• Help everyone in improving the value system that he/she holds and put them to use.

• Everyone has understood their values in life they can examine and control the various choices they

make in their life.

• One has to frequently uphold the various types of values in his life such as cultural values, universal

values, personal values and social values.

• Thus, value education is always essential to shape one's life and to give him an opportunity of

performing himself on the global stage.

• The need for value education among the parents, children, teachers etc, is constantly increasing as

we continue to witness increasing violent activities, behavioral disorder, lack of unity in the society

etc.

• The family system in Nepal has a long tradition of imparting value education. But with the progress

of modernity and fast changing role of the parents it has not been very easy for the parents to impart

relevant values in their wards.

• Therefore many institutes today conduct various value education programs that are addressed to

rising problems of the modern society.

• These programs concentrate on the development of the children, young adults etc. focusing on areas

like happiness, humility, cooperation, honesty, simplicity, love, unity, peace etc.

• Impart need-based education and create an ethos for research of relevance.

• Contribute to social & industrial development of the region.

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4. HISTORY

Nepalese Education has only recently started to develop. The Rana regime in Nepal has suppressed

education in Nepal so much that it had inflicted a blow to Nepalese Education. Rana regime feared

educated public so education was never encouraged there. There were only few English middle and high

schools and a girls' high school in Kathmandu prior to Second World War. After end of this regime in

1951, education in Nepal was given importance. Though an education System was established in Nepal,

thousands of poverty - stricken people could not send their children to school.

During 1975, free primary education was offered to children by the then government. Caste problem was

a major deterrent in development of Education of Nepal then. Some of the schools were set in town, so

children staying in village cannot attend there. Moreover the cost of living in town was so high that

people could not afford to stay there. English education and its supremacy spread in 1991.

Illiteracy rate in Nepal is about 58%, 72% being women. The Education System of Nepal is based on that

of United States. Nepal has received assistance from various NGOs. Several International Organizations

also helped Nepal with its education system and in giving primary education to rural children. Nepal

Government has realized that education is the only way to curb poverty in Nepal and is trying hard to

develop education. Now there are about 26 thousand schools, 415 colleges and five universities and two

academics of higher studies.

5. ADMINISTRATION

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is the apex body responsible for initiating and managing education

activities in the country. The Minister of Education, assisted by the State/Assistant Minister, provides

political leadership to the Ministry. The Ministry, as a part of the government bureaucracy, is headed by

the Secretary of Education and consists of the central office, various functional offices, and offices

14

located at the regional and district levels. The Central Office or the Ministry is mainly responsible for

policy development, planning and monitoring, and evaluation regarding different aspects of education.

With a purpose of bringing education administration nearer to the people, the Ministry has established

five Regional Directorates and 75 District Education Offices in five development regions and 75 districts

respectively. These decentralized offices are responsible for overseeing nonformal and school-level

education activities in their respective areas. Regional Directorates are mainly responsible for

coordinating and monitoring and evaluation of education activities and the District Education Offices are

the main implementing agencies.

6. STRUCTURE

Education in Nepal is structured as school education and higher education. School education includes

primary level of grades 1–5, lower secondary and secondary levels of grades 6–8 and 9–10 respectively.

Pre-primary level of education is available in some areas. Six years old is the prescribed age for

admission into grade one. A national level School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination is conducted at

the end of grade 10.

Grades 11 and 12 are considered as higher secondary level. Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB)

supervises higher secondary schools which are mostly under private management. Previously these grades

were under the university system and were run as proficiency certificate level. Though some universities

still offer these programs, the policy now is to integrate these grades into the school system.

Higher education consists of bachelor, masters, and PhD levels. Depending upon the stream and subject,

bachelors’ level may be of three to five years' duration. The duration of masters’ level is generally two

years. Some universities offer programs like M.Phil and post-graduate diplomas.

Legally, there are two types of school in the country: community and institutional. Community schools

receive regular government grants whereas institutional schools are funded by school's own or other non-

15

governmental sources. Institutional schools are organized either as a non-profit trust or as a company.

However, in practical terms, schools are mainly of two types: public (community) and private

(institutional).

A third type of school is the kind run by the local people enthusiastic toward having a school in their

locality. They do not receive regular government grants and most of them do not have any other

sustainable financial source. Supported and managed by the local people, they can be thus identified as

the real community schools.

Except one, all universities/academies are publicly managed and are supported by public source fund.

However, public universities also provide affiliation to private colleges. Two academies of higher

education are single college institutes whereas other universities have constituent and affiliated colleges

across the country.

In terms of subjects, these colleges covered a wide range of disciplines which is shown in Fig.1.

Figure 1: Range of Discipline

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7. LIST OF UNIVERSITIES OF NEPAL

This is a list of universities in Nepal. Prior to the establishment of the first college in the country, Tri-

Chandra College in 1918, higher education in Nepal was nonexistent. Until 1985, Tribhuvan University

had remained the one and the only university in Nepal. In the early 80s, His Majesty's Government

developed the concept of a multi-university system for the country. One important assumption behind the

concept was that each new university should have a distinctive nature, content and function of its own.

The first new university that was established was Mahendra Sanskrit University. The inception of this

university was soon followed by Kathmandu University in 1990, Purbanchal and Pokhara Universities in

1995 and 1996 respectively. Many schools and colleges are run by private initiatives but none of the

universities in Nepal are private.

B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences is the first and foremost Health and Medical University of

Nepal, established in 1994 and upgraded to university in 1999.

Currently there are six universities in Nepal, and two institutions recognized as universities:

Tribhuvan University

Kathmandu University

Pokhara University

Purbanchal University

Mahendra Sanskrit University

Lumbini Bouddha University

Mid-Western University, Birendranagar

Far-Western University, Kanchanpur

Nepal Agriculture and Forestry University Rampur, Bharatpur

At present there are only five accredited universities operating in Nepal. Other four universities have been

proposed for establishment but the government has not allocated the funds for universities and the issue

has not been decided yet. Along with the four new universities, one more are supposed to be established

in Nepalgunj.

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8. STATISTICS (SOURCE)

I. Enrolments of Different Education Levels

Basically we have five level of education i.e. primary (1-5), lower secondary (6-8), secondary (8-10),

higher secondary (11-12) and higher education (bachelors, masters and PhD). As of 2011 report of MoE

in all level of education male percentage is higher than female but one interesting fact is that in present

context in primary level there is almost equal in male and female in education which means that in past

there is difference in education, inequality among male and female going school but in recent years due to

various projects, policies and program from both local and international level this differences is becoming

narrow.

II. Education Budget (Total) In NRs. '000'

F Y National Budget

Education Budget

% of Edu. Bud.

AGR of Edu. Bud.

% of FA

in Edu.

AGR of FA in Edu.

2056/57 77238226 10176074 13.17 - 1527980 1120288 26.02 -

2057/58 91621335 11749579 12.82 15.5 1701399 884696 22.01 -2.3

2058/59 99792219 14072847 14.1 19.8 2097512 365194 17.5 -4.8

2059/60 96124796 14402421 14.98 2.3 2115136 779830 20.1 17.6

2060/61 102400000 15613274 15.25 8.4 2173055 1055263 20.68 11.5

2061/62 111689900 18059654 16.17 15.7 3071930 2366147 30.11 68.4

18

Foreign Aids (FA)

Grant Loan

Fig 2: Enrolments of Different Education Levels

Table 1: Education Budget

2062/63 126885100 21250447 16.75 17.7 3731185 2052960 27.22 6.4

2063/64 143912300 23005525 15.99 8.3 4025694 2560801 28.63 13.9

2064/65 168995600 28390000 16.8 23.4 5548501 2205589 27.31 17.7

2065/66 236015897 39086407 16.56 37.7 8141081 2869242 28.17 42.0

2066/67 285930000 46616672 16.30 19.3 11162397 3391426 31.22 18.2

2067/68 337900000 57827542 17.11 24.0 12484411 521929 22.49 -10.6

(Ministry of Finance, various years of Red Books) Note: AGR= Annual Growth Rate

Looking to the data of a decade education budget is increasing. Growth rate of Government budget is

increasing but in 2059- 61 growth rate has diminished this might be due to political instability and proper

implementation of policies. Not only Government budget but also there is much to do with foreign aid in

education sector of Nepal. Although there is decrease of growth rate in recent years it is again taking

pace from 2059 we have maximum growth rate in FY 2061/62. Now looking at recent data foreign aid is

diminishing and reason behind it might be due to delay in peace and constitution writing process.

III. TOTAL SCHOOL BY LEVEL AND DEVELOPMENT REGION

P. LS S. HS. Basic Sec

G 1-5 G 6-8 G 9-10 G 11-12 G 1-8 G 9-12

TOTAL 31089 33160 32684 11939 7266 2564 32865 7559

East 6979 7148 7056 2418 1427 489 7094 1481

Cent 9137 9683 9478 3868 2580 921 9510 2751

KV 1790 2213 2076 1507 1170 365 2093 1288

West 6583 7458 7366 2561 1642 626 7413 1687

MW 4715 5120 5067 1662 867 266 5110 877

FW 3675 3751 3717 1430 750 262 3738 763

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Dev. Region

ECD/

PPCs

Total School

Existing Structure New structure

Note: P=Primary, LS=Lower Secondary, S=Secondary, HS=Higher Secondary (+2), G=Grade, East=Eastern, Cent=Central, KV= Kathmandu Valley, West=Western, MW=Mid Western, FW=Far Western

IV. HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION 2067 (2010/11)

(Total Institutions by Development Region and Types)

Dev. Region Public Private Private +2 Campus Total

TOTAL 2243 530 160 134 3067

In % 73.1 17.3 5.2 4.4 100.0

Eastern 490 91 31 23 635

Central 632 252 106 65 1055

Kath V. 95 175 79 39 388

Western 557 126 12 33 728

Mid Western 278 34 5 6 323

Far Western 286 27 6 7 326

Table 3: Total Institution by Development Region & Types

V. HIGHER EDUCATION 2009 (2066/67)

(Total Colleges, Student and Teacher)

Teacher

Female Male Total

TOTAL 982 166042 420728 14684

TU 792 148932 374706 13411

NSU 21 931 3624 423

KU 21 3910 9282 341

PurU 95 7373 18490 49

PoKU 50 4220 13171 50

20

University/

Institution

Campus Student

BPKIHS 1 564 1192 183

NAMS 1 94 203 142

PAHS 1 18 60 85

Note: In previous years’ MoE publications (2063-65), student data were reported on the basis of enrolment records. However, this year, student data is taken from the exam appeared records to make the students’ data more realistic and to cover all the private campus data also.

TU=Tribhuvan University, NSU=Nepal Sanskrit University, KU=Kathmandu University, PU=Purbanchal University, PoKU=Pokhara University, BPKIHS=BP Koirala Institute of Health and Science, NAMS=National Academy of Medical Science, PAHS=Patan Academy of Health Science

Talking about higher education data of 2009 there is around 70% male and 30% female. As we have

already mentioned about this differences. This is because in past there is difference in male and female

education. Female are not given to join school and colleges so there is huge differences but when we look

on the present data of primary enrolment there is equal in percentage.

Looking at universities and there enrolment TU is at the top because before privatization almost all

resources are handled by government and education sector too so the public is more in this university.

Other reason might be the cost, accessibility, history and faculty related to education TU is pioneer in

education sector. After TU, higher education according to its enrolment is followed by PurU, PoKU, KU

and so on…

Faculties and number of college are also more in TU comparing to other Universities. This might be due

to financial support of government. Although TU is owned and operated by government but other

universities are not solely owned by government. There is coordination between universities and

government body for the functioning of universities.

VI. ABROAD STUDY

Students Studying Abroad in Self Finance (Based on Issue of No Objection Letter (NOL))21

Table 4: Total Colleges, Students & Teachers

Dev.

Reg.

UnG Diploma

Bachelor

Master PoG PhD Lang-

uage

Training

Other Total Female Male

Total 686 2168 4452 1490 336 75 1159 410 616 11392 3584 7808

East 85 293 676 257 66 24 129 56 121 1707 471 1236

Cent 463 1112 2524 821 156 24 604 218 275 6197 2237 3960

KV 352 584 1586 556 83 17 283 128 107 3696 1538 2158

West 107 662 1031 318 93 24 385 122 174 2916 742 2174

MW. 13 54 140 63 14 3 27 11 15 340 93 247

FW 18 47 81 31 7 0 14 3 31 232 41 191

22

Table 5: Students Studying Abroad in Self-finance

Note: UnG=Under Graduate, PoG=Post Graduate. Other category covers the records of students who went for entrance exams, professional courses, etc.

Source: GoN, MoE, Monitoring, Evaluation and Supervision Division Research and Education Information Management Section (REMIS) report of Nepalese Education in Figures 2011.

It is very much important issue regarding education industry that around 10,000 Nepalese students

annually go abroad for higher studies in their self finance regardless of government funding. Why are

students moving abroad for job and studies despite huge investment from government as well as private

and international aid? This is the burning issue of which very less people have sufficient view to answer.

Above data shows the number of students from various development regions going abroad for studying at

different education level. Central development region, which also includes Kathmandu valley, has the

highest student outflow.

VII. RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION

23

9. SWOT ANALYSIS

24

  RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Education Profile, Nepal, 2009.

As per the report of UNESCO (2009), total public expenditure on education from government side is only

19.5% within it 2% goes to pre-primary level, 60%, 25% and 13% goes to primary, secondary and tertiary

level respectively.

So we can conclude that there is no so much investment from government side towards pre-primary,

secondary and higher level of education. So this is the point where we can think of and make some

contribution. Contribution in a sense that we can make investment in those levels and grab the

opportunities.

2009

Pupil / teacher ratio (primary)   33

Public expenditure on education :

as % of GDP   4.7

as % of total government expenditure

  19.5

Distribution of public expenditure per level (%) - 2009 :

pre-primary   2

primary   60

secondary   25

tertiary   13

unknown   -

19.5% of government spending goes to education 

SWOT is short for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Ideally, the analysis helps a company

build on its strengths, find a cure for its weaknesses, identify and grasp its opportunities, and keep it safe

from threats. In response to this educational industry SWOT analysis is one of the important tool to

measure the industry strength and upgrading it, minimizing weakness, grabbing opportunity timely and

responding the possible threats in a professional way.

An overview of the SWOT confronting the education industry is as follows:

Strengths

Strong academic reputation with well -developed public education system

English is language of instruction and communication, which means a large addressable market

Cost-competitive

Already a regional magnet for students seeking quality education

We have that potential to grow our society (population), potential investment opportunity

Nepal have good universities

Awareness of government and private sector

Students wants to be educated

Large talent pool of educated students

Importance given to spoken and written English makes us a better fit in the globalized world.

Growth in supporting sectors like the stationeries, educational aids etc

Foreign universities affiliated colleges, well experienced and diverse faculties,

WEAKNESS

Less importance for education25

Gross & net enrolment

Different standards

Inequality in Quality of education

Poor wage for teachers

Regulatory hurdles, e.g. private commercial schools can only operate as middlemen of foreign

universities’ programs

Lack critical mass of quality professors &teachers

High land costs, which would translate into higher course fees for institutions that require their

own campuses

Shortage of affordable accommodation

Student quotas at local universities, e.g. law, medicine

Local institutions’ efforts to attract international students are fragmented and uncoordinated

Lack of quality assurance and accreditation agencies, which results in uneven quality among

service providers, especially the private commercial schools

Difficulty in securing student passes for international students, especially for the private

commercial schools

Quality of the students passing higher education need to be improved to make them employable

Lack of concentration on the primary education

Lack of infrastructure to educate the economically backward class

Less acceptance of distance education in the industry

Lack of teaching faculty

More Importance given to Rotting than inquisitive learning

Inadequate number of universities. 5 universities for 2.5 crore people

26

OPPURTUNITIES

The demands of the youth of the country for more enhanced and participatory education.

The cost of studying abroad is too high for an average Nepali; hence we can deliver it at a lower

cost.

The ease and comfort of attaining a sound academic back in the comfort of our own country.

The improved curriculum and participatory approach to teaching and learning.

The availability of enough funds and executing bodies that are required to execute this vision.

Education contributes 16% of GDP which indicates that education can be a significant and

sustainable contributor to the economy

Globalization Impact where foreign universities willing to set up in India and it has effect in

Nepal too.

Use of latest technological aids for education.

Foreign aid could be a great opportunity to enhance our education industry

Scholarships

About 10,000 peoples are going abroad for higher study each year. If we can hold them it will be

beneficial for both institution and government.

THREATS

The political instability

The rigid and unaccommodating law

27

The nominal competition for international affiliations

The poor economy of the country.

The reluctant attitude to change and innovation.

Inclination of Nepali youth to foreign lands.

Excess concentration on English might cause losing out some of our local languages in the long

run.

Rising costs of the education

Brain drain due to the lack of importance for research and development

Reluctance of educated people to take up the traditional jobs like the ones in small scale

industries.

Availability of internship and post-graduation job opportunities for international students in other

countries.

Concerted marketing efforts of other host countries to attract international students and funded by

the government, e.g. British Council, IDP Australia, US Department of State

Human resource of Nepal is not competitive.

The development programme is not so effective

28

Part Three

1. METHODOLOGY

There might be various methods while doing research i.e. Primary research (observation and adaptation

research, exploratory research, descriptive research) and Secondary research.

Primary research basically deals with first hand material like making data by ourselves, interviewing,

questioning, original literary or theatrical works whereas when we use the already published material for

our further research then we are doing secondary research.

Talking about my report and research methodology I follow secondary research. In this report I have done

various researches via online. I even go through educational industry related articles, publication,

journals, report and books.

2. MAJOR FINDINGS

There still is a considerable gap between male and female literacy rates. A gulf also existed in

literacy rates between rural and urban areas.

Nepal launched a twelve-year literacy program in 1990, targeting 8 million people between the

ages of six and forty-five.

Educational opportunity by members of only the wealthier and higher caste groups is gradually

diminishing and the long-standing prejudice against the education of women is slowly breaking

down.

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Education remains largely urban-biased. In rural areas where schools were set up, the quality of

instruction is inferior, facilities are very poor, and educational materials are either difficult to find

or virtually unavailable.

Although there has been a remarkable numerical growth in the literacy rates, as well as the

number of education institutions over the years, the quality of education has not necessarily

improved.

The large majority of schools and colleges are run by poorly prepared and poorly trained teachers

and professors.

Though the government allocation of funds to education has increased from 13.9% of the total

government budget in 2000/01 to around 16.4% in 2008/09, most of the budget is spent to finance

salaries of increasing number of teachers and to some extent to the implement of development

project.

Gap in policies versus commitment.

Countries like India and China are becoming educational hub where Nepal is still fighting with

illiteracy i.e. 34%.

NEPAL EDUCATION ACHIVEMENT

Nepal has made significant improvements in terms of enrolment at all levels of education, according to

the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011. For example, the number of children enrolled in

primary education increased by 1.2 million between 1999 and 2008. However, the report also states that

the high dropout rate of 38 per cent affects the gains in enrolment.

As far as adult literacy is concerned, the report warns that Nepal is among those countries that are likely

to miss the goal of halving the number of women and men who cannot read and write by 2015. Although

Nepal achieved an adult literacy rate of 58 per cent in 2008, which represents a 25 point increase since

1994, the country had nearly 7.6 million illiterate adults in 2008 and needs to intensify its efforts to

ensure universal literacy.

In addition to providing a detailed account of the progress towards achieving Education for All goals

worldwide, the report examines widespread human rights abuses keeping children out- of-school. The

report highlights perceptions of unfairness related to education as a powerful source of grievance. Many 30

parents see education as a route out of poverty and into employment. If children are denied an equal

opportunity because of ethnicity, language, religion or location, it intensifies group-based grievance.

The report documents the damaging consequences of conflict, especially in the poorest countries, which

is destroying educational opportunities for millions of children.

3. FUTURE DIRECTION

The Education industry is crucial to the workforce capability of all other industries, but it also faces

unique workforce development challenges of its own. With its responsibility for skilling the current

workforce and preparing future generations for work and life, the Education industry is subject to intense

public and political scrutiny and to frequent waves of policy change and review.

4. CHALLENGES

Despite few examples of success, there are much problems and challenges. Education management,

quality, relevance, and access are some of the critical issues of education in Nepal. Societal disparities

based on gender, ethnicity, location, economic class, etc. are yet to be eliminated. Resource crunch has

always been a problem in education. These problems have made the goal of education for all a challenge

for the country.

The very mountains that give Nepal its grandeur provide a physical and economic challenge to building a

sustainable infrastructure. Most of the population lives in rural areas where no phones, roads, clean water,

or schools exist. A child growing up in Nepal faces some of the worst living conditions in the world.

Roughly 50% of Nepalese live in poverty - on less than US$1 a day. Of every 100 children in Nepal, 84

live in villages, 47 are malnourished, and 40 belong to extremely poor families.

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While the country's educational system has made a great deal of progress in a very short time, there is

still much to be done. Many government schools are in bad physical shape while those that exist are

extremely underfunded, especially in the countryside. Although primary education is free, government

schools are often inadequate and overcrowded. Many schools in remote areas are very basic and even

sometimes unsafe. Often these schools have no blackboard and very little furniture. Even supplementary

materials like libraries, children's books, and computer labs are rare.

Although all government schools receive some financial support from the government for teachers'

salaries, villages must pay for other expenses themselves. As a result, most schools do not have a library

nor do they provide books other than textbooks. The few books that they have are usually in black and

white - no color - and are not children's books. Schools often provide books left by travelers that are

written in English or other foreign languages rather than in Nepali. In many cases, the few books that

schools have are so valuable that teachers lock them up, unavailable to curious children. Without creative,

colorful books, children do not learn to love reading or explore the world through a book. Many

government schools also want to provide computer education, yet very few can afford computer labs.

Most Nepalese children in rural areas have never seen a computer. Yet, adequate computer knowledge

and skills are major factors in determining potential future employment opportunities.

Individual family situations and cultural bias further complicate the effort to educate students. Typically,

young children walk several miles every day just to attend school. Students are unable to make the trip

regularly because of poor weather such as the rains of the monsoon season and because they are needed at

home. Girls often have less access to education than boys. While 35% of males are illiterate, 57% of

females cannot read or write. There is a saying in Nepal that educating your daughter is like fertilizing

your neighbor's crops. Because the Nepalese culture considers females as tradable assets, parents have

difficulty rationalizing their personal development. While girls suffer the most, all the children of Nepal

suffer from the many obstacles to their learning.

MDG GOALS AND ITS CHALLENGES

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the

world's main development challenges. Education sector is one of the important goals among 8 goals that

are identified by MDG and there is both opportunity and challenges for achieving it.

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The 2010 report suggests that despite the decade-long conflict and political instability, Nepal's progress

has been remarkable in a number of areas, for example, net enrollment rate has increased to 93.7%,

gender parity has achieved in enrolment for primary education. While the progress has not been sufficient

to meet the targets on achieving universal primary education, eliminating gender disparity in secondary

education and tertiary level of education.

Millennium Development Goals in Nepal - Progress on key indicators

Millennium Development Goals and Key Indicators Baseline 1990 1995 2000 2005 Latest Figure Target 2015

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education [6]

Target: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete primary schooling

Net enrolment rate in primary education (%) 

64 69 81 87 89 100

Survival rate to grade 5 (% of cohort)  na 38 63 79 81 100

Literacy rate 15-24 year olds  50 56 70 73 Na 100

Source: Nepal Millennium Development Goals Progress Report, UNDP 2011.

Table 7: MDG in Nepal-Key Indicators

According to MDG progress report 2011; its aim is to be 100% by 2015 in achieving universal primary

education which guidelines are also followed in Nepal. In past decade enrolment rate has increase in

tremendous way from 64% in 1990s to 90% by 2011 and there is still the challenging factor that primary

education must meet 100%. This is the quite tough task but nothing is impossible so public as well as

private investment should go hand by hand.

5. CONCLUSION

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In short education Industry of Nepal has the potential to grow by means of increase in literacy equality of

education standards. We need to convert our foreign aids into work which will results in producing future

leaders. We have the Potential to grow as a Great Nation, and education is the best tool to polish our

youth. In order to meet the international standard of education, we need to contribute a-lot towards this

sector, which will later meet the international standard demand for skilled labors and technology. There is

a huge investment opportunity in this sector and need to take advantage of India and China.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

Gender gap can be removed by providing backward families regarding the importance of

education. Early age marriages and poverty is the major cause of gender gap

Educational institutes should be more responsible on imparting quality education than cultivating

images as profit making organizations having nothing to do with value education and knowledge

Infrastructure is in the worst condition in some rural areas and needs to be developed.

Teachers in our nation are considered as after parents but are not fully dedicated to students.

Colleges are getting empty but coaching centers are over populated and private tuitions have

become been blooming. Trainings should be provided to teachers and college administration

should ensure that teachers are duly discharging their duty.

Family can play a positive role in promoting educational industry by letting their children to get

knowledge

Government can play a mass role, in fact it is already playing a good role but not up to the mark.

Political parties use illiterate younger to market their party and forgotten their need for education.

Political parties should aware its cadres about importance of education and should stop exploiting

illiterate mass for their political benefits.

Need for creation of skill development. More emphasis should also be given to developing skill

sets which can make students employable.

Special reorientation for school drop-outs. School dropout should not be discriminated. Their

other talents need to be discovered and circumstances to enhance the talent should be provided.

E-learning and Online Tutoring. More E-Learning and Online tutoring centres are to be created to

spread the education.

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Hike in salaries of teachers and professors, especially in public sector schools the competency

level of the teachers are to be improved and the pay packages are to be aligned with that.

Hiring of teaching faculty should be more stringent.

Rules and regulations surrounding “not for profit” need to be reviewed.

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