Accelerating public education financing in Nepal

Investing in public education is not an expense but a crucial return for Nepal, especially as the nation strives to meet its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Government data reveals that without a deliberate and substantial increase in education financing across federal, provincial, and local levels, Nepal will fall short of these targets.

The country faces stark regional disparities in poverty, with the national rate at 20.27% but soaring to 24.66% in rural areas. The Sudurpaschim province bears the heaviest burden at 34.16%, while Gandaki province fares better at 11.88%. This uneven landscape demands differentiated, not uniform, financial strategies, with high-poverty regions requiring disproportionately higher per-student investment.

The link between poverty and education is undeniable: individuals without formal schooling face poverty rates 2.5 times higher than those with at least primary education. Addressing poverty reduction requires a serious commitment to keeping children in school, supported by strategically placed and timely budget allocations. Furthermore, Nepal's Human Development Index score of 0.622, ranking 145th globally, highlights a structural problem in gender inequality, with a notable gap between male (0.661) and female (0.567) HDI scores.

Education financing must directly tackle this gender disparity, which is further compounded by the invisibility of women's economic contributions in unpaid care work. Until this work is formally recognized and valued in national income accounting, poverty measurement will remain distorted, and public resources misallocated. While remittance inflows provide a superficial sense of stability, they are largely consumed daily and do not fund essential educational infrastructure or enrollment for marginalized children. Relying on remittances to cover education financing deficits is a deferred cost, not a sustainable strategy.