Nepal's school education reform bill faces competing demands

Nepal's government is attempting to modernize its education system by drafting a new School Education Bill, replacing a law that has been in place for over five decades. The process, however, is encountering significant hurdles due to conflicting demands from various stakeholders, including local governments, private school operators, teachers, and educationists.

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The overwhelming feedback from provinces is that ‘compulsory’ education must be guaranteed by local governments, and free education must be heavily supported through financial collaboration with the federal government.

The Ministry of Education and Sports has initiated the drafting of the bill following consultations across all seven provinces. A central demand from these consultations is the implementation of free and compulsory education, alongside the protection of local governments' constitutional authority, private investment in education, and improved teacher working conditions. The proposed legislation aims to reflect Nepal's transition to a federal republic, a change that has stalled previous attempts to introduce a new law since 2017 due to political instability and opposition.

A primary challenge lies in reconciling the constitutional guarantee of free education with the practical realities faced by schools and families. Educationist Bidyanath Koirala highlighted the nationwide consensus on making education "compulsory" and "free," emphasizing that local governments should guarantee compulsory education while the federal government provides substantial financial support for free education. Despite the constitution mandating compulsory education up to grade 8 and free education up to grade 12, approximately 750,000 children remain out of school, and many drop out before completing grade 8.

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Even though the federal government has completely failed to provide the necessary teacher quotas, several rural and urban municipalities have successfully implemented free education using their own limited resources.

Furthermore, the constitutional promise of free education is undermined by persistent underfunding, forcing community schools to collect fees for operational costs. The bill also reignited a dispute over power distribution between federal and local governments. Local representatives accuse the federal government of attempting to re-centralize powers, despite the constitution granting local bodies responsibility for managing education up to grade 12. Bhim Prasad Dhungana, president of the Municipal Association of Nepal, asserted that local governments have already proven their capability to provide free education, even with insufficient teacher quotas from the federal government, urging the new act to formalize and protect these local initiatives.

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The upcoming Education Act must formalise and protect this local initiative.