Education

School Costs & Poverty Rates

Although there are government schools in Nepal, they charge extra fees that make it too expensive for many Nepali families to afford.

Only about four out of every five primary school-aged children are in school.  In addition, dropout and repetition rates are high, particularly in Grade 1, with one in three children repeating Grade 1 and 15% dropping out.

When adolescent children leave school, they usually enter the workforce. Children of this age run a high risk of labor exploitation.

72% of children in government schools fail the School Leaving Certificate exam and therefore cannot progress past 10th grade.

In Nepal, only 44% of women and girls are literate.

For girls from some families, education is viewed as a poor investment since daughters leave their family's home at marriage and the benefit of their learning is given to someone else.

If a choice has to be made between sending a boy or a girl to school, the boy will usually be given precedence.

Poorly Funded Schools

It is common for schools to be poorly equipped with no seating, no desks, no blackboard, a lack of adequate lighting, and a roof that leaks when it rains.

Many schools lack toilets and a clean water supply and classroom materials are insufficient and of poor quality.