Equity, Gender and Quality in Education in Asia-Pacific

“Equity, Gender and Quality in Education in Asia-Pacific”

Asia-Pacific Technical Meeting of UNGEI Global Advisory Committee

8 – 13 June 2008, Kathmandu, Nepal

Field Visits 8 – 10 June, 2008

1.  Background

The interim constitution of Nepal recognizes health and education as basic human rights. Primary education is free, and the government provides textbooks for grades 1 to 5.

However, government funding to schools is inadequate, and schools generally charge an annual amount from students to make up for the shortfall. Other indirect costs to the family include uniforms, shoes and school meals.

In 2007, the share of the education sector was 17.5% of the overall budget (3.81% of GDP), and shows an increasing trend, with 27% coming from foreign assistance.

Development partners assisting the Education for All Programme are[1]:

·  “pooling partners” Norway, Finland, Denmark, IDA/WB, DFID, ADB, AusAid, EC and UNICEF, as well as

·  “non-pooling partners” JICA, UNESCO, WFP, ILO, USAID, UNDP, Save the Children Alliance and UNFPA

Poverty is a formidable barrier to girls’ schooling, but there are other factors as well. Social exclusion of groups based on ethnicity, caste, gender, along with poor infrastructure and learning environment in schools and few qualified female teachers, also impact on girls’ ability to access, continue and complete quality education.

Field visits have been organised in five districts of the Kathmandu and Pokhara valleys and the Terai (plains) region of Nepal, prior to the technical meeting. This is an effort to inform GAC members, provide a context for discussions, and create a forward linkage to the theme of the technical meeting. Specifically, the field visits are expected to provide:

§  Increased understanding of socio-cultural, economic, geographic, infrastructural and other barriers to girls’ education in a South Asian country

§  Insights into advocacy and policy options available to Asia-Pacific governments, communities and partners

§  First-hand experience to enrich discussions at Technical meeting, enhancing previous knowledge of other region(s)

All field visit participants are clustered into small groups of about four per group, including a liaison officer from the government of Nepal. Both the day trip and overnight visits are designed to include a common session (all participants for that location), for a briefing by the District Education Officer (DEO), the highest-level functionary under the Ministry of Education for that district. The group for each location will then break into two smaller groups, visit different Resource Centres (RCs), schools and then re-convene for an afternoon/evening discussion, depending on the school timings for each district. The detailed program by district is attached as Annex I. Annex II contains participant names by location. Annex III has education-related data for Nepal and for the districts to be visited. Annex IV has a map of Nepal.

Participants for the field visits are encouraged to bring the following: umbrella, walking shoes, mosquito/insect repellant, a bottle of water and a cap or visor. June temperatures will range from 28 degrees Celsius (in Kaski) to about 35 degrees Celsius in the Terai region.

A security briefing is mandatory for all participants leaving for field visits on 8 June. The briefing has been arranged at the Malshree Hall of Hotel Soaltee, on 7 June at 6:00 PM, and is expected to last for about 40 minutes.

2.  What You Will Do:

At the DEO’s office: Get an overview of educational plans and programs in the district, role of the DEO, educational status in the district, major issues and challenges, Q&A.

At the Resource Centre (RC): Get an understanding of monitoring, data collection and the Education Management Information System (EMIS), role of the RC in teacher training and professional development, challenges and achievements, Q&A. Each RC is headed by a resource person and is responsible for monitoring education related matters and collecting data from schools in the district, both government and private. Education statistics in Nepal are disaggregated not just by gender, but also by caste, ethnicity and disability. Each RC is headed by a resource person (RP).

Monitoring visits to schools vary between 2 and 4 times in a year. A standard format provided by MOE is distributed by the RC and completed by the head teacher or resource person during school visits by the RP and interaction with parents, and members of the school management committee. This information in turn feeds into the EMIS, is used to identify training needs of teachers, scholarship needs of students, organize teacher training according to a manual designed by MOE, and for other activities to promote education for children in that district. A training package and selection criteria for teachers is sent by MOE. A Training needs identification system has been introduced recently.

Records are maintained manually, as most RCs do not have a computer. However, in some RCs, computerization is in process with the help of school computers, where these exist. RCs often face challenges in terms of monitoring remote schools, inadequate office facilities and staffing.

3.  People you will meet:

The DEO, head of the RC, teachers, students, members of the school management committee

Discussion Points:

With the DEO: General issues and achievements of the district, government policy and its implementation in that district, achievements, challenges, what does he think needs to be done to improve education in that district? Is recruitment of female teachers an issue in that district? How many kinds of scholarships are available? Who decides?

What are the facilities for pre-school age children? Does this fall under MOE? If not, how is Early Childhood Development (ECD) coordinated with the responsible ministry?

Children with disabilities – how are they integrated into the education system? What are the barriers to integrating them?

At the RC: How is data collected and checked for reliability? What improvements need to be made so that the RC can be more effective? Do new indicators need to be added? How is the information used?

How are teachers trained? Who makes the selection and other details of teacher training? How is the training translated into practice?

With SMC members, Headmaster, teachers: It is likely that there will be higher enrolment for girls – where are the boys? Is drop-out an issue? When does that generally happen? Why? What can/is being done to keep children in school?

Textbooks: Are textbooks available for this academic year? Are these received on time? What are the issues behind the delayed receipt of textbooks?

Scholarships: How many kinds are there? How are recipients selected?

Teacher recruitment and support: Fewer female teachers – what are the barriers?

How can more female teachers be attracted and retained? Availability, salary, training, upward mobility, teacher-pupil ratio in that school? Other issues, such as workload and overcrowded classrooms

Madrasa (please see note in the Kapilavastu section, page 11): Why do parents prefer religious education for daughters? How is this better? Is the madrasa part of the formal education system in Nepal? How is that better?

Students: What sort of occupations do their parents have? How far are their homes? How do they come to school? What are their responsibilities at home? When do they do their homework? How far do they wish to study? If in primary schools, what about secondary schooling? How far is the nearest secondary school?

4.  Points for Observation[2]:

·  Classrooms – do they have enough light and air? Is there a playground? Where do girls play?

·  Condition of furniture and learning material. Is there a science laboratory? Library? Are these used?

·  Have textbooks been received for this academic year?

·  How girl-friendly is the school? Separate toilets? Privacy for menstruating girls, clean water, soap? Teacher-student interaction in the classroom – are boys/girls called upon more often to answer questions? Kinds of learning materials used – are these gender –sensitive?

·  What is the language of instruction? What is the dominant language spoken by the students? What is the ethnic composition of students in classrooms?

In addition, this is what you will see in each district

Lalitpur District (day trip)

The schools cater to children from very poor families, such as farmers, wage labourers and carpet weavers, and are located in Newari villages of the Kathmandu valley. One among them has a separate multi-grade classroom for children with disabilities. Also, these schools have more girls than boys, because parents prefer to send girls to government schools which are free, and pay for boys to be educated in private schools where the quality of education is perceived to be better.

1. School Adarsha Saula, Bungmati, Lalitpur – Group A

·  Established: 1985

·  Bhim Sapkota, Head Teacher

·  Class hours:

§  Nursery to 5 1030 – 1600 hrs

§  Class 6 to 10 1030 - 1640 hrs

§  Classes 11 and 12 Morning classes

·  Language of instruction: mainly English (this is unusual, the vast majority of government schools teach in Nepali)

·  Annual amount charged to students (see background section):

Class 1 – 3 Free

Class 4 – 5 Rs. 500.00 yearly

Class 6 – 8 Rs.1600.00 yearly

Class 9 – 10 Rs.1700.00 yearly

·  Students are from farmer or wage labourer families

·  Average size of class: 60

·  Each teacher takes about 5 classes per day

·  Total number of administrative and Teaching staff: 42

·  Total Number of students: 1200

·  Number of students with disabilities: 27

·  Scholarship categories are based on caste (Dalit), and disability. There is also a scholarship (known as 50% ) for half the girls in the school, based on poverty level, place of origin (remoteness) and academic excellence.

2. Mahalaxmi Higher Secondary School, Lubhu, Lalitpur – Group B

·  Established: 1947

·  Head Teacher Babu Sharan Shrestha

·  Class hours: 1000 hrs – 1600 hrs

·  Language of instruction: Nepali

·  Annual amount charged to students:(for teaching material, examination, and salary support of staff and one Science teacher):

Class 1 – 10, ranges from Rs. 180.00 to 930.00 annually

·  Most students are from farming and carpet weaving households

·  Total Teaching staff: 27 (7 women)

·  Total Number of students: 700

·  Scholarships are for Dalit (lower caste), poor girls (50%, see explanation above), Janajati (hill people, or those from remote areas), and meritorious students

Chitwan District

Chitwan is located in a forest area and wildlife sanctuary, and is home of the Tharu ethnic group. Both community managed as well as government schools will be visited, with high enrollment of girls because of parental preference to send girls to free schools (no tuition, text books are provided), and pay for private schooling for boys. The children belong to farming and wage labourer households.

1. Rastriya Primary School, Dhanauji, Chitwan – Group A

·  Established: 1955 AD (2012 Nepali calendar)

·  Head Teacher: Kumar Prasad Thapalia

·  Class Hours: 0600 hours – 1100hours

·  Classes: Standard 1 – 5

·  Teaching Medium: Nepali

·  Fees Structures: no tuition fee, but there is an admission fee of Rs. 50/, and the following examination fees are charged:

Classes / Fees / Comment
1 / Rs. 10.00 / Per Term*
2 – 3 / Rs. 15.00 / Per Term
4 – 5 / Rs. 35.00 / Per Term
*Three terms in a year

·  Total Number of students:

Group / Boys / Girls / Total
Janajati / 104 / 71 / 175
Dalit / 19 / 12 / 31
Others / 12 / 15 / 27
ECD / 13 / 13 / 26
Total / 148 / 111 / 259

·  Staffing: Eight, 3 female, no admin staff

·  Teacher Student Ratio: 1:29

2. Lower Secondary School, Malpur, Bachauli, Chitwan (Sauraha) – Group A

(Limited information available, school was closed)

·  Established: 1957 AD (2014 Nepali calendar)

·  Head Teacher: Krishna Duta Poudel

·  Class Hours: 0600 hours – 1100 hours

·  Number of Classes: 1 to 8

·  Teaching Medium: Nepali

3. Shahid Smriti Secondary School, Gitanagar, Chitwan – Group B

·  Established: 1967 AD (2024 Nepali calendar)

·  Head Teacher: Shiva Raj Lamichanne

·  Class Hours: 0600 hours – 1100 hours

·  Classes: From 1 to 10

·  Teaching Medium: Nepali and English for classes 1 to 3, only Nepali from 4 to 10

·  Fees: annual tuition fees ranging from Rs.400 from 1 to 5

·  TuitionFees: for 1 to 5 – no tuition. For others:

Classes / Fees / Comment
1 – 5 / Free
6 / Rs. 400.00 / Annual
7 / Rs. 425.00 / Annual
8 / Rs. 450.00 / Annual
9 / Rs. 499.00 / Annual
10 / Rs. 599.00 / Annual
Fees charged to cover staff salary

·  Examination Fees:

Classes / Fees / Comment
1 / Rs. 10.00 / Per Term*
2 – 3 / Rs. 15.00 / Per Term
4 – 5 / Rs. 35.00 / Per Term
6 – 8 / Rs. 45.00 / Per Term
9 – 10 / Rs. 80.00 / Per Term
* 3 terms in a year

·  Total number of Students: 570

Class / Boys / Girls / Total
1 / 24 / 23 / 47
2 / 16 / 26 / 42
3 / 27 / 24 / 51
4 / 21 / 28 / 49
5 / 27 / 19 / 46
6 / 19 / 42 / 61
7 / 34 / 24 / 58
8 / 30 / 38 / 68
9 / 29 / 36 / 65
10 / 45 / 38 / 83
Total / 272 / 298 / 570

·  Background of Students

Janajati / 167
Dalit / 67
Others / 336
Total / 570

·  Number of students per class: between 42 and 83

·  Staff: 20 teachers, 5 of whom are female

·  Teacher Student Ratio: 1:55

·  Scholarships: From the government for 505 of the girls based on poverty level and academic excellence, and for all dalit children, Rs.350 per year. An NGO Dalit Kalyan Samaj also provides scholarships for 4 dalit girls at Rs.200 per year

·  School Support: this school is supported by Room to Read, with 21 desk top computers. Computers are used to enhance the skills of students. The community organises basic courses in computer literacy and charges Rs. 1000.00 per course per student. Girls receive 25% discount.

4. Rastriya Primary School, Janakpur, Kumroj, Chitwan – Group B

·  Established: 1968 AD (2024 Nepali calendar)

·  Head Teacher: Krishna Prasad Tiwari