The Three R’s and Beyond – Education in Nepal

When my daughter was four I decided to put her in a school. Galaxy Public School had just been established near my place in the Gyaneswar area so I enrolled her there in the nursery class. But even as I was putting her in Galaxy, my mind was already thinking of ways to get her admitted into the more renowned St. Mary’s High School in Jawalakhel. Two years later, we did just that. I remember waiting on the school’s grounds as the entrance exams were being conducted in a hall at St. Mary’s. My daughter was the first to come out and I asked her as to how she had done. “It was easy Papa,” she said. “Only how do you spell ‘musa’ (mouse in Nepali)?” When I told her, her response was, “I think I got it wrong.”

The question on my mind was how the students would be selected since I couldn’t fathom what difference in intelligence there would be among six-year-old children sitting for an entrance exam in which the questions could not be but simple. The school authorities no doubt had a huge task on their hands as typically, more than 2000 apply every year for 200 seats in this premier school. Anyway, the long and the short of it was that my daughter gained the coveted admission to the prestigious school and 11 years later passed out from Class 12. The fact that she is a St. Mary’s alumni will undoubtedly be one of her greatest assets in life just as my being a St. Joseph’s (Darjeeling) alumni is a big asset for me. I confess that when I went for my first job interview, this fact alone gave me quite an unfair advantage over the other candidates. A good basic school background is certainly as important as is a good college degree.

The Foreign and the Local
And, when talking about basic education in Nepal, is it possible not to mention Darjeeling schools where many of the Nepal elite sent their children for early studies till recently, and many still continue to do so? The fact that many members of the royal families of Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal (including the late King Birendra, the ex King Gyanendra, and the late Prince Dhirendra), as also scions of the once princely Indian states studied in St. Josephs and other similar schools in the Darjeeling region, lent an aura of glamour to those who were educated there. As a matter of interest it should also be mentioned that the late Queen Aishwarya did her schooling from St. Helen’s of Kurseong. There are numerous well known names in Nepali industry and business who also were educated in Darjeeling schools. In addition, many teachers from that region have been involved in the establishment of reputed schools here. One example is Brihaspati Vidyasadan established in 1985 by the late Mr. Maurice Banerjee who was not only the Principal of St. Joseph’s (Darjeeling) at one time, but also one of the better teachers to be found anywhere. Another example is Shuvatara School, whose founder Principal, Ms. Rita Raj Gurung Kakshyapati, is also a Darjeeling alumnus.

In recent years, however, the tendency is more towards Nepalese students going out of the country for higher studies rather than for early education. The reason is obvious - now there are plenty of good schools within the country itself (the late Princes Dipendra and Nirajan studied in Budhanilkantha School and the late Princess Shruti, in St. Mary’s). The rapid progress in the educational sector is something that has to be appreciated, and now there are plenty of reputed schools that can claim to be as good as many Darjeeling schools and the standard setters in Nepal itself, that is, St. Xavier’s and St. Mary’s. During the 1950’s, there were only 310 primary and middle schools, 11 high schools, two colleges, and one technical school in the country. The number of students was about 10,000.

After the overthrow of the Rana regime in 1951, efforts were made to increase literacy rates. Primary education was made free and compulsory in 1975. By 1987, the country had 2,532,021 students enrolled in 17,186 schools with about 75,869 teachers. The 2001 census saw 5,500,000 students enrolled in 26,000 schools, 415 colleges, five universities and two academies of higher studies. The number of teachers was well over 150,000. Indeed, the educational sector has made terrific strides and nowadays one will find good schools and colleges throughout the country. The augmentation has been mostly due to the expansion of private schools since 1990. Yet, quantity alone does not translate into quality and private schools have often been criticized for becoming more of money making machines rather than wholesome educational institutions. While the criticism is justified to some extent, it must also be admitted that there has also been tremendous enhancement of quality in many of these institutions. Perhaps quality does come with a price.

The Pioneers
Yet, when one comes to think of it, there have been some schools which have played a pioneering role in uplifting the educational standards here without having to face similar criticism. Prominent among these is St. Xavier’s School, Godavari, which started its classes on July 1, 1951 under the leadership of Fr. Marshall Moran, an American-born priest regarded as the pioneer of modern education in Nepal. On September 9, 1954, the primary section was shifted to Jawalakhel. In due time, St. Xavier’s Jawalakhel became a full-fledged high school and St. Xavier’s Godavari became a primary boarding school. In 1996, it was decided to make St. Xavier’s Godavari into a co-educational high school meant primarily for day scholars from neighbouring villages and in 2001, St. Xavier’s Jawalakhel too became co-educational.

St. Mary’s School was established in 1955 as an all girls school by the Sisters of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, later known as the Congregation of Jesus. This was followed much later by St. Mary's School in Pokhara in 1982. In 1986, the school founded the Mary Ward School in Jhamsikhel, meant for primary education of underprivileged children and in due time the Mary Ward School in Lubhu was established as an extension. On Nov 17, 1991, Gorkha also witnessed the establishment of a St. Mary’s School there. Nevertheless, even if the Jesuit schools did set new standards here, the first modern school in Nepal was the historical Durbar High School in Ranipokhari, Kathmandu, which was established in 1854. Originally meant only for children of Rana families, the school was eventually opened up to the general public in 1886. Initially, most of the teachers hailed from Calcutta and the school was affiliated to the Calcutta University. The old durbar building remains today as a vignette of the past but anyone can see that it cries out for timely restoration so as to be able to uphold its proud history.

Around 1877, Prime Minister Ranodip Singh established the Sanskrit Pradhan Pathshala (a school primarily meant to preserve Sanskrit culture) and this was followed by some more Sanskrit schools scattered around the country in such places like Dingla, Janakpur and Dang. The Nepal Sanskrit College affiliated to the Sanskrit University in Banaras, India, was established in 1948 offering Uttara Madhyarna (Intermediate), Shastri (Bachelor), and Acharya (Master) courses. According to Andrea Matles Savada’s, Nepal: A Country Study, before World War II (1939-45), some more middle and high schools were opened in Patan, Biratnagar, and some other towns, and a girls' high school was opened in the capital. Returning Gurkha soldiers, many of whom had gained literacy in the British army, began giving elementary education to children in their villages.

‘Social History of Nepal’ by T R Vaidya, Tri Ratna Manandhar and Shanker Lal Joshi chronicles the early history of education in Nepal. According to them, in 1932, Juddha Shamshere had given permission to open the first all girls’ school in Kathmandu in which students were trained in embroidery, needle works, weaving, etc besides simple reading, writing and arithmetic. It is interesting to know that the first girl to pass the School Leaving Certificate examinations (SLC) was Lekha Rajya Laxmi Rana who passed out with a first division but she presumably, gave her examinations from out of the country. The Nepal SLC Examination Board was founded in 1934 and in 1948, the first batch of girls to pass out under its authority were Angur Baba Joshi (long time principal of Padma Kanya Campus), Sahana Devi Pradhan (UML leader and a minister many times), Bhuvana Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and Sadhana Devi Pradhan (wife of late Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari). Some early schools in Kathmandu included the Shantinikinya Public School, a co-educational institution which was founded in 1945 and Biswaniketan and Sitaram Schools which were established a year later. Padma Kanya School, established in 1947, was the first recognized girls’ high school in Nepal. Another girls’ school, Kanya Mandir, was also founded in that year.

One of the oldest private co-educational schools is Vanasthali Vidyashram which was established in 1951 in Balaju and is now known as Siddhartha Vanasthali Institute. Today, it has a large number of students, about 3000, and an outstanding record as far as SLC results are concerned. Anandakuti Bidyapeeth near Swaymabhunnath, was established in January 1952 by the late Bikchhu Amritananda Mahasthavir as Buddhist boarding high school. In spite of a rich history, it is apparently not doing too well at the moment. Laboratory School near Tribhuvan University was established in 1956 with support from the US government. The ex prince, Paras Shah, received his high school diploma from here and it was once renowned for its academic excellence which resulted in its students topping the SLC results time and again. In time, however, it has reportedly lost much of its distinction and subsequently, its enrollment too has gone down significantly. Mahendra Bhawan Girls' Higher Secondary School in Gaucharan, Kathmandu, another large school, was established in 1957 with assistance from the United Mission to Nepal. Now it is a co-educational school with the name Mahendra Bhawan School.

The Shri Padma Secondary School was the first school to be established in Bhaktapur. Patan Madhyamik School in Lalitpur is also one of the earliest schools in that district. One of the largest higher secondary schools in Nepal with more than 5,000 students is Adarsha Vidya Mandir which was founded in 1965 in the capital. The school has unfortunately been in the news recently for the wrong reason - the kidnap and murder in June 2009 of one of its students by an ex- teacher whose accomplice was also a recently passed out girl student. Gandaki Higher Secondary Boarding School in Pokhara was established in 1966 with help from the United Mission to Nepal and the Shining Hospital. Another pioneering school is Kathmandu’s Kanti Ishwari Shishu Vidyalaya. Established in 1967, many of the royal family children completed their pre-primary and primary level of education from here. Gyanodaya Bal Batika School began as a pre-primary school in 1975 and today is a full fledged secondary school at Sanepa, Lalitpur. While it is an exclusive day school, its affiliate, the Gyanodaya Residential School, established in 1999, and located at Bungamati, Khokana, is exclusively for boarding students. Similarly, there are other schools, though primarily located in Kathmandu, that have played a pioneering role in the educational history of Nepal and it would be difficult to list them all. Nevertheless, one can say that the development has been a steadily progressive one.

The Elite Schools
St. Xavier’s and St. Mary’s were, for many years, the first schools of choice, and I daresay, continue to be so to a great extent. Their alumni boast of the who’s who of Nepal, ranging from royalty to stalwarts of industry and commerce; highly regarded professionals to diplomats and top bureaucrats to administrators. No doubt, for the most part, because of their location, Kathmandu dwellers have had the most opportunity to be educated in these elite centres of learning. Budhanilkantha School is another of the country’s elite schools. It was established in 1972 on the late King Mahendra’s initiative as a joint venture with the United Kingdom government. Designated as a 'National School', students are enrolled from all over the country and about one third of them study on scholarships provided to the meritorious and needy after a very selective entrance exam. Managed by British head masters for the first twenty years, the aim of the school is to foster a feeling of equality among the rich and the poor. Admission to this school, naturally, is much sought after not least because; many of its graduates have also been successful in winning scholarships to attend colleges and universities worldwide.

Some other elite schools in the capital are those that are meant primarily for expatriate students. One such is Lincoln School which was founded in 1954. Its average enrollment is about 350 and according to the school authorities, the school usually has students from some 40 nationalities at any given time. Recent figures show the following ratios: 25% from North America, 28% from Europe, 20% from Nepal, and 22% from other regions. Expectedly, the fee structure is steep with the annual tuition as high as $14,400 (about Rs. 11, 00,000) for middle school students. Registration and admission fees cost another Rs. 3, 00, 000 or so. One does wonder who in Nepal can really afford to have their students study in this school. But, seemingly, there are, as indicated by the above figures. The British School, founded in 1967, charges around NRs. 7, 00, 000 as annual tuition for middle level classes and registration and development fee and deposit come to about NRs. 4, 70, 000 per child at the same level. High costs no doubt, but then these schools are meant for the well off expatriates’ children. Another school once meant for expatriates’ children is Modern Indian School which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru Prize winner, the late Shri Tulsi Mehar Shrestha, in 1978 at Chobhar in Kathmandu. Originally meant to impart quality education to children of Indian nationals serving in Nepal, gradually, a substantial number of local and other children too have become part of its student population.

The New Elites
Little Angels School was established in 1981. The school has a primary wing at Jhamsikhel while the main Hattiban campus not only offers education up to high school but also beyond post-secondary levels. The school runs higher secondary classes in science and commerce streams as well as BBA and BBIS courses affiliated to Kathmandu University. Little Angels School is undoubtedly one of the largest and best facilitated schools in the country. It also has an excellent academic record, its students having been placed more than two dozen times on the top-ten list of SLC graduates. The school officials credit their success to various factors like: availability of a well balanced and updated curriculum; dedicated teachers; sufficient resource materials and teaching aids; infrastructure conducive to the teaching-learning process and implementation of well planned and motivating programmes.

Brihaspati Vidyasadan was established in 1985 by Maurice Banerjee, ex Principal of St. Joseph’s School, Darjeeling. Currently the student strength is 1260 in classes from nursery to class 12 and A Level. The school is divided into five wings, Primary, Junior Secondary, Middle, Upper Secondary, Higher Secondary, and A Level. Kumudini Homes, Pokhara, was founded in 1985 by K. Palikhe. Besides the fact that it is set amongst truly verdant surroundings, the school has gained a reputation of being one of the better institutes of learning in the country. Galaxy Public School, established in 1986 with nine students and two teachers, now has a student population of 3296 and a faculty staff of 400. It runs classes from nursery to class 12 and according to school authorities, the school gives a lot of emphasis to pre-school, kindergarten and primary education since it believes that children are most impressionable when very young. The progress of Galaxy has been phenomenal in terms of both curricular and extra-curricular activities. 17 of its students have been placed on the SLC merit list so far and the school has won many laurels in sporting activities as well.

The private school sector is really huge now and it appears that they might soon be running out of catchy names altogether. And, as in other sectors, there will be a few who manage to stand out because of one reason or the other (savvy promoters, large investment capacity, outstanding infrastructure, international collaboration, etc). A few that come to mind are Shuvatara School in Sanepa; Rato Bangala in Patan Dhoka, founded in 1992; Malpi International School (est.1991) in Kavre district; DAV School (est. 1993) which has schools in Kathmandu, Birganj, Sarlahi and Biratnagar, and Ullens School, established in 2006 in Khumaltar, Lalitpur. In fact there are many more schools which have distinguished themselves, and the only excuse that they are not mentioned here is because of the paucity of space.

While on this subject, perhaps it would be pertinent to point out that it is often its students being featured on the top ten of the SLC Board exams, which have usually propelled a school into the limelight. No wonder then that most schools do whatever they need to do make sure that some of their students feature in this privileged list. Some are of the opinion that this necessity has made education extremely exam oriented in the country at the expense of a more rounded one. Nevertheless, one must appreciate the rapidity with which schools have developed in this country which has resulted in the net primary enrollment in schools reaching 89 % in 2007, according to a World Bank report, and the literacy rate climbing to a respectable 55.2 %.

Higher Education
The first college in the country, Tri-Chandra College, was established in 1918. The Rana Prime Minister, Chandra Shamsher, saw higher education as a threat to monarchy and was initially opposed to the idea. Nonetheless, he yielded to growing pressure but is reported to have remarked at its inauguration, "With the opening of this college, I have hacked my own leg." For many years, examinations were conducted by the Patna University in India. Soon, Tri Chandra College was followed by other colleges like Padma Kanya College, Patan College, Durbar College, Nepal National College (later Shankar Dev Campus) and Amrit Science College, all in Kathmandu; Thakur Ram College in Birgunj, RR College in Janakpur, Mahendra Morang College in Biratnagar and Tribhuvan College in Palpa. They too followed the curriculum of Patna University.

Tribhuvan University (TU) was founded in 1959 and was the only university until 1985. A World Bank report of 2005/2006 states that there were about 600 campuses in Nepal in that year, with an enrollment figure of about 253,889 students of which 91% were in TU. According to latest figures (2008/2009) 561 private colleges, spread all over the country, are now affiliated to TU besides its 60 constituent campuses. The total number of students is 2, 90,833 and there are 7,049 faculty members in its constituent campuses and five institutes: Institute of Science and Technology, Institute of Engineering, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Institute of Medicine and the Institute of Forestry, and four faculties: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Management, Faculty of Education, and Faculty of Law.

Subsequently, the following universities also came into being: Mahendra Sanskrit University (est.1986), Kathmandu University (est. 1991) with 8266 students, Purbanchal University (1994) with 8000 students, Pokhara University (1997) with 5400 students, Lumbini Bouddha University (2005), Mid-Western University, Nepal Agriculture and Forestry University and Siddhartha University. Two academic institutions that are equivalent to universities are: B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (1993) and National Academy of Medical Sciences (2002).

The Nature of Colleges
It is obvious that colleges since then have been always hot beds of political activity, and their activism has often been the cause of sweeping political changes. One can easily find a long list of political leaders calling the shots in the myriad of Nepal’s political parties, who were all once student leaders. In fact, it can almost be taken for granted now that presidents of student bodies will one day or the other, become ministers and even prime ministers. Ex Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is a good example as are Ram Chandra Poudyal, once a Deputy Prime Minister and Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, the present Deputy Prime Minister. All three were fiery student leaders and Gachhadar, in fact, was once shot in the head during student elections in the 1980s in Morang Multiple Campus in Biratnagar. The present Information Minister, Shankar Pokharel, was once the president of the national student union. Another ex minister, Surendra Choudhary, earned his political credentials as a student leader while studying at Thakur Ram Campus in Birganj, one of the pioneering colleges outside the capital. Because of its relatively easier path to prominence, it is a fact that there are many who keep on having themselves registered as students even when they are well past their student days, just so they keep on being student leaders. All student union bodies are offshoots of one political party or the other, making college environments into highly politicized ones. Student union elections are considered the harbingers of the next general elections - the union which gains a majority indicates which political party will win the next elections.

Nevertheless, higher education, which was once confined to government colleges and so, at the mercy of disturbances due to recurring political activism, is now available in a large number of private institutions where student activism even if present, is to a much lesser degree. However, as mentioned before, the clear majority of students seeking college degrees still attend the government colleges because of factors like cost and convenience of admission. In addition, there has been a spurt in private specialized institutions as well, with the result that for medicine alone, there are 12 colleges across the length and breadth of the country. Institute of Medicine, established in 1972 in Kathmandu is the country’s premier medical institution and it has 12 campuses nationwide. It is of course a welcome development which should augur in a great deal of self dependence in the medical field. At the same time, medical studies are not cheap and the tuition fees alone (disregarding other heavy costs like registration fees, hostel, books, etc.) can be somewhere in the range of Rs. 3 million for a MBBS degree program in private colleges.

As far as engineering colleges are concerned, there are 20 such institutions throughout the country providing degree programs in architecture, civil engineering, computer engineering, electronics and communication, electrical and electronics, energy engineering, civil and rural engineering, etc. Institute of Engineering (IOE) was established in 1972 and is the premier engineering institution in the country and it has four campuses, namely, Thapathali Campus, Pulchowk Campus, Eastern Regional Campus and Western Regional Campus. IOE also has the distinction of being adjudged as one of the best such colleges in South Asia. The Nepal Engineering College (NEC) established in 1994, is Nepal’s first private engineering college. Engineering studies appear to be much more affordable taking NEC’s fees as an example: Rs. 3, 97,000 for B. E. (4 yrs.), Rs. 4, 41,000 for B. E. (civil and rural - 4 & 1/2 yrs.) and Rs. 4, 85,000 for B. Arch (5 yrs.).

There are other specialized colleges are well, teaching a host of vocational subjects. Yes, colleges too have seen a noteworthy growth and this bodes well for the country. At the same time, these centers of higher learning need to be on their toes to see to it that the now customary ills of government campuses do not infect them as well. It must however, be admitted that this wasn’t always the case with government colleges. I remember how proud my father was when I gained admission to Amrit Science College in the 1970s. It was the eminent college of the time and if we were to go through its alumni, we would see that it consists of many renowned professionals, administrators and bureaucrats in its ranks. It was almost a given that almost all the doctors and engineers of the country would be products of this college. The case is not the same now and maybe it is to be expected that the old has to give in to the new. Well, seeing that there are so many good colleges now, one perhaps need not worry.

Final Words
Nepal indeed can be proud of its development in the educational sector. It has been a successful journey. But, at the same time, it is essential to keep in mind the guiding philosophy as enunciated by the experts (National Education Plan); ‘The goal of primary education is to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, and to instill discipline and hygiene. Lower-secondary education should emphasize character formation, a positive attitude toward manual labor, and perseverance. Higher-secondary education should stress on manpower requirements and preparation for higher education.’ How far this philosophy is being adhered to is a question open to all: government, educationists, students, parents and public. Criticism that education has become big business and totally exam oriented is something we hear about often. Another valid criticism is that the environment in schools and colleges are being sullied by politics. Thus, to maintain and sustain the educational sector’s remarkable progress, the concerned people need to look back, reflect and take corrective measures wherever necessary. The mass exodus of students going abroad every year for higher studies is not a good development, but one which is partly due to the political activism so prevalent in our colleges. But, all said and done, there is much to cheer about in Nepal’s success in education. Success can only breed more success. If you don’t believe this, read the following.

‘A remarkable feature of the country’s education has been the speed with it has developed since 1952. Before the change in government in 1951, there were 200 primary schools, 224 middle and high schools, and 1 college in the country. Now there are over 5000 primary schools, 450 middle and high schools, and over 30 colleges including one university.’ This is what Consultant W. Olszak reported in 1966 while making a United Mission Report called ‘Establishment of Engineering Colleges in Nepal’. This year, the Ministry of Education’s Flash Report 2008/2009 reports that there are 31,156 schools in the country today, and there are over 600 colleges and more than half a dozen universities. Wonder what W. Olszak would say now?