Nepal School Education: On the Pathway of Transformation, 2022–2026

Abstract

Nepal's school education system has been on a visible path of transformation since 2022, shaped by the rollout of the School Education Sector Plan (SESP), the deepening of federal governance, and continued efforts to widen access after the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines that transformation by reviewing five years of school education data from the Ministry of Finance's Economic Survey, covering fiscal years 2078/79 to 2082/83 (2022-2026), and reading these trends alongside the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology's SESP 2022-2032. Enrolment and retention show steady improvement, particularly at the secondary level, while learning outcomes measured through the National Assessment of Student Achievement remain low and improve only gradually. The paper also finds a continuing shift of students from community schools to institutional or private schools, a decline in overall teacher numbers alongside a persistent gender gap among secondary school teachers, and public investment in education that remains below international benchmarks despite a gradual increase. When read together with the SESP's baseline analysis and financing framework, these trends suggest that the challenges identified in 2022, including low public investment, continued reliance on household financing, weak coordination following federalisation, and greater spending on access than on quality, remain largely unresolved halfway through the plan period. Rather than treating expanding access as evidence of transformation on its own, the paper argues that Nepal's progress should be judged by how far access, quality, and equity move forward together. It closes by pointing to the upcoming SESP midterm review as a timely opportunity to assess whether these long-standing structural challenges continue to shape outcomes on the ground, and to redirect the next stage of reform toward more balanced and inclusive progress.