Kathmandu: A report recently released by World Bank says that Nepal’s education has witnessed rapid improvements in quality and inclusiveness of education. The World Bank-supported School Sector Development Program (SSDP), established by Nepal to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its school system, achieved remarkable results, says the report. The program resulted in a 75 percent success rate for disadvantaged students attaining a GPA of 1.6 in Grade 10 exams. It introduced targeted scholarships, which helped girls and vulnerable children stay in school and strengthened assessment systems. The program also reduced the number of out-of-school children by 6.76 percent, surpassing the 5.6 percent target.
The report further says that the total survival rate to Grade 12 increased from 11.5 percent in 2016 to 33.1 percent in 2022 (against a target of 25 percent). It increased to 33.9 percent for girls, exceeding the survival rate for boys. The report further says that SSDP helped to reduce out-of-school children number by 6.76 percent nationwide (against the target of 5.6 percent) during the SSDP period (2016-2022).
The net enrollment rate (NER) for basic education in the 15 most disadvantaged districts increased from 85.1 percent in 2016 to 92.2 percent in 2022 (against a target of 91.4 percent) and for girls, it increased from 83.6 percent in 2016 to 90.9 percent in 2022 (against a target of 90 percent).
The NER for secondary education in the 15 most disadvantaged districts increased from 29.1 percent in 2016 to 44.1 percent in 2022 (against a target of 44.3 percent), and for girls, it increased from 27 percent to 43.4 percent (against a target of 43.1 percent).
Approximately 8.2 million students benefitted from direct interventions to enhance learning, the report says.
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