Report highlights decline in student enrollment in community schools

KATHMANDU: A Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology study released recently states that over half of Nepal's community schools enroll fewer than 100 students. According to the "Educational Information, 2080 BS" report, specifically, 15,965 community schools in the country had fewer than 100 students enrolled, out of 27,990 total. This number corresponds to around 57.03% of all community schools across the nation. This tendency endures in spite of continuous attempts to improve public education made by the governmental and non-governmental sectors.

The report attributes this situation to several factors including population decline, increased migration, and the growing influence of private schools, especially in urban areas. There are now more community schools with less than 100 pupils than there were in the fiscal year 2076/77 BS, up from 14,000, in spite of the introduction of programs such as school mergers meant to maximize resources.

136 with 1,501 to 2,000 students, 100 with more than 2,000 students, 409 with 1,000 to 1,500 students, 1,636 with 500 to 1,000 students, and 9,704 with 100 to 500 pupils are the five student sizes into which the research classifies community schools. From elementary to secondary education, 35,876 schools—both public and private—are operated in Nepal.