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Data for Education Programming in Asia and Middle East Nepal Education Sector Early Grade Reading Assessment Report DEP/AME EdData II Technical and Managerial Assistance, Task Number 15 Contract Number AID-OAA-BC-11-00001 June 2012 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by RTI International.

Data for Education Programming in Asia and Middle East

Nepal Education Sector Early Grade Reading Assessment Report DEP/AME EdData II Task Order No. 15 Finalized July 15, 2012 Prepared for USAID/Nepal Mitch Kirby, Senior Education Advisor Prepared by RTI International 3040 Cornwallis Road Post Office Box 12194 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194 RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. The authors views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

EdData II, Task 15, for USAID/Nepals Education Sector Early Grade Reading Assessment Report

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Table of Contents Page List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................iii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................iii

List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ iv

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. ES-1

1 Context/Background and Introduction ..................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Assessment Objectives ..................................................... 1 1.2 Assessment Methodology ............................................................................ 1 1.3 USAIDs Education Strategy ....................................................................... 1 1.4 Research on Improving Reading Outcomes and Decentralization .............. 2 1.5 School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP 20092015) .......................................... 2 1.6 The Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) ........................................................... 2 1.7 Recent Developments in the Education Sector ............................................ 3

1.7.1 Private Education ........................................................................... 3

2 Institutional Mapping and Capacity Assessment ..................................................... 4 2.1 Overview of Institutions .............................................................................. 4

2.1.1 Central Government Organizations ................................................ 4 2.1.2 Local Government Organizations .................................................. 5 2.1.3 Development Partners .................................................................... 6 2.1.4 International NGOs ........................................................................ 7 2.1.5 Public-Private Partnerships ............................................................ 8 2.1.6 Research Organizations .................................................................. 8

2.2 Institutional Assessment .............................................................................. 8

3 Critical Issues ........................................................................................................... 9 3.1 Language ...................................................................................................... 9

3.1.1 The Role of Language in the Nepali Education System ................ 9 3.1.2 Strengths of Existing Language Environment .............................. 10 3.1.3 Weaknesses of the Existing Language Environment ................... 10

3.2 Curriculum and Materials .......................................................................... 10 3.2.1 Organizational Structure for Curricula and Materials .................. 10 3.2.2 Strengths of the Existing Organizational Structure ...................... 10 3.2.3 Weaknesses of the Existing Organizational Structure ................. 11

3.3 Teaching and Teachers .............................................................................. 11 3.3.1 Teacher Training .......................................................................... 11 3.3.2 Strengths of the Teacher Training System ................................... 13 3.3.3 Weaknesses of the Teacher Training System ............................... 13

3.4 Assessment ................................................................................................. 13 3.4.1 Current state of assessments and assessment systems.................. 13 3.4.2 Strengths ....................................................................................... 14 3.4.3 Weaknesses .................................................................................. 15

3.5 Elements of Demand .................................................................................. 15 3.5.1 Horizontal and Vertical Accountability ....................................... 15 3.5.2 The planning and budgeting process ............................................ 16 3.5.3 Lower-level spending ................................................................... 16


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3.5.4 Assessment of Horizontal and Vertical Accountability ............... 17 3.5.5 Accountability for Results ............................................................ 18 3.5.6 Data Systems and Data Use .......................................................... 18 3.5.7 Reform Support ............................................................................ 19

3.6 Cost Analysis ............................................................................................. 19 3.6.1 Strengths of the System ................................................................ 20 3.6.2 Weaknesses of the System ........................................................... 20

4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 20 4.1 Recommendations ...................................................................................... 21

4.1.1 Language ...................................................................................... 21 4.1.2 Curriculum and Materials ............................................................. 21 4.1.3 Teachers and Teacher Training .................................................... 21 4.1.4 Assessment ................................................................................... 22 4.1.5 Elements of Demand .................................................................... 22 4.1.6 Costs and Finance ......................................................................... 22

4.2 Key Leverage Points .................................................................................. 23 4.2.1 Furthering Demand for Improved Reading .................................. 23 4.2.2 Evidence-Based Decision Making ............................................... 23 4.2.3 Potential of Decentralized System ............................................... 24

Annex A. Terms of Reference ................................................................................................ 25

Annex B. Nepal Assessment Protocol Questions................................................................... 28

Annex C. Schedule and Contacts ........................................................................................... 38

Annex D. Private Education Enrollment Data Private Education Enrollment Data .............. 40

Annex E. Additional International Nongovernmental Organizations Assisting with Education Efforts in Nepal..................................................................................... 53

Annex F. EMIS Data Collection Forms................................................................................. 62

Annex G. List of References and Endnotes............................................................................ 63


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List of Figures Figure 1. Management, governance, and finance structures of the Nepali Education

system .................................................................................................................... 17

Figure 2. Textbook Availability vs. Textbook Use.................................................................. 23

List of Tables Table 1. Reading Systems Diagnostic Map ............................................................................... 2

Table 2. Early Grade Reading Studies ....................................................................................... 3

Table 3. Accountability Linkages ............................................................................................ 15

Table 4. SSRP 2011/12 Budget Analysis (NRs 000) ............................................................... 19


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List of Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank ASER Annual Status of Education Report ASIP Annual Strategic Implementation Plan AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BASE Backward Society Education BES Backwardness Eradication Society CAS continuous assessment system CDC Curriculum Development Center CERID Center for Educational Research and Innovation Development CHESS Nepal Child Health and Environment Save Society DDC District Development Committee DEC District Education Committee DEO District Education Office DEP District Education Plan DEP/AME Data for Education Programming/Asia and the Middle East DFID Department for International Development DOE Department of Education DP Development Partner DSP Dailekh School Project ECD early childhood development EFA Education for All EGR early grade reading EGRA early grade reading assessment EMIS Education Management Information System ETC Education Training Center EU European Union FCGO Financial Controllers General Office FIRDO Fulvari Integrated Rural Development Organization GER gross enrollment ratio GON Government of Nepal GPE Global Partnership for Education GYC Gaja Yuba Club/Gaja Youth Club HSEB Higher Secondary Education Board IBBY International Board on Books for Young People INGO international nongovernmental organization JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency JMC Janak Materials Center LGCDP Local Governance and Community Development Program MDG Millennium Development Goal MLE multilingual education MOE Ministry of Education MOF Ministry of Finance MOLD Ministry of Local Development MSBK Manabiva Srot Bikas Kendra Nepaleducation NGO MT mother tongue MTR mid-term review NASA National Association for Student Assessment NCED National Center for Education Development NCF national curriculum framework NER net enrollment ratio NEST Nepal Education Support Trust NESCHIL Nepalese Society for Childrens Literacy


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NFE non-formal education NGO nongovernmental organization NR Nepalese rupee PRAYASH Prayatnashil Community Development Society PTA parent teacher association RBPOP Rato Bangla Partnership in Outreach Programme RC resource center RED Regional Education Directorates RP resource person RtR Room to Read SIP school improvement plan SLC School Leaving Certificate SMC School Management Committee SSRP School Sector Reform Program SWAp sector-wide approach TSC Teacher Service Commission TEVT technical education and vocational training UK United Kingdom UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations International Childrens Education Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development VDC Village Development Committee VDRC Vijaya Development Resource Center VEC Village Education Committee VEP Village Education Plan WB World Bank WFP World Food Program wpm words per minute


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Executive Summary In line with the U.S. Agency for International Developments (USAIDs) new Education Strategy, USAID/Nepal is interested in developing a program to help improve reading outcomes in the early grades of primary school. USAID contracted with RTI International to conduct a rapid education sector assessment focused on understanding the current context for supporting early grade reading in Nepal. The team identified six key issues related to the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for Nepal to mount a significant national program to improve reading outcomes.

The education sector in Nepal appears well-managed, with broad government and development partner collaboration around a well-defined School Sector Reform Program (SSRP). The vast majority of external assistance is aligned currently to the SSRP through a well-coordinated sector-wide approach (SWAp). The focus of the SSRP has been primarily on moving Nepal forward towards the Education for All (EFA) goals. The country has made great progress in expanding access and improving equity, achieving a net enrollment rate in basic education of close to 95% with gender parity. However, recent review of the SSRP surfaced concern over the quality of education, and in particular whether students are learning to read well enough in the early grades of basic education. Related to the growing concern about early grade reading in Nepal are several key trends and issues in the education sector.

First, the issue of the language of instruction for basic education has become paramount. Schools have traditionally used Nepali as the medium of instruction, with students learning English as a second language. However, the recent political transformation of the country carries with it increased attention to ethnic constituencies. Current policy therefore allows for and promotes use of mother tongue languages as languages of instruction, with the choice of which language to use left to school authorities. At the same time, growth of private schools offering English as the medium of instruction, and increased employment opportunities for Nepali workers abroad, have created social demand for English instruction. The confrontation between national policy promoting mother tongue and social demand for English is inevitable. However, this creates an opportunity with potentially high leverage if assistance can be designed to help Nepal sort out the relationship between language of instruction and literacy acquisition, including how best to help students transition to strong English oral and literacy skills.

Second, whatever the medium of instruction, the current curriculum for basic education in Nepal focuses on language instruction and does not address reading as an explicit subject. However, some of the core competencies for reading are addressed in the existing materials. While this represents something that can be built on, considerable effort will be needed to elevate reading sufficiently to ensure that foundational reading competencies receive the required focus and space in the curriculum. Learning materials based on the existing curriculum are available in schools, but teaching is too dependent on the books and the content of those books is neither adequate in scope nor appropriate in sequence as regards developing core early reading skills. Assistance that targets curricular improvements and revision of teaching materials and textbooks could help overcome some of these limitations.

Third, Nepal has the advantage of an extensive network of institutions dedicated to teacher training. Every district has multiple teacher resource centers from which in-service teacher training is delivered on a regular basis. However, these centers are understaffed and seemingly under-resourced. In addition, decisions about teacher training are made at the local level, with schools and resource centers identifying training demand and needs and the latter devising programs that respond to them. This leads to high variability in the quality, rigor, and regularity of teacher training. Helping Nepal develop systems for better monitoring of teacher training; for using the decentralized system to deliver rigorous, targeted professional development; and for ensuring ongoing follow up at the school level would go a long way to helping the country extract maximum benefit from its existing teacher training infrastructure.

Fourth, while at present there is no systematic approach to measuring learning outcomes in early grades, the government has committed to developing a National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA) that can include a third grade proficiency test in reading. In addition, the SSRP includes the introduction of continuous assessment as a key component of instructional practice in basic education. However, both the Ministry and Department of Education have limited technical expertise in assessment. Assistance that supports the development of rigorous measurement of learning outcomes, and in particular of reading outcomes, would be highly valuable. There is high demand for hard data on student outcomes, at the school, district, and policy levels, so the climate is ripe for generating such data and facilitating dialogue at all those levels about not only whether students are learning to read, but also what to do about it (e.g., in terms of language, curriculum, and teacher training).

Fifth, the political, administrative, and financial decentralization that have been taking place progressively since the dissolution of the monarchy in Nepal are dramatically changing the way education is governed, managed, and financed. Nepal has made great strides in moving towards a school-based management approach. All schools have school management committees (SMC) with considerable authority over the use of school resources. And as a result


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of the SSRP, significant amounts of resources are reaching schools. These are used to hire teachers, to purchase materials, and to enroll teachers in professional development opportunities. However, accountability for how resources are used is weak, and no links are made between resource allocation decisions and improvements in learning outcomes. Because schools are under increasing pressure from parents and communities to perform, there is an opportunity to strengthen systems for local accountability that focus attention on tangible measurements of learning (rather than on nebulous perceptions of quality). And because resources are available throughout the system, redirecting those resources to higher value-added inputs could lead to significant improvements in student achievement.

Sixth, while there appears to be sufficient funding within the existing system to pay for a sustainable nationwide early grade reading program, it is highly unlikely that the Ministry of Education (MOE) can afford to take any of the existing reading programs currently offered by a number of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) to scale, largely because of their significant input requirements. Measures will have to be taken to determine exactly how much money can be made available for early grade reading and to determine the input requirements of a viable and affordable reading program.

A summary account of the institutional and systemic requirements for taking an early grade reading program to scale, and sustaining that effort over time through the system itself are all presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Reading Systems Diagnostic Map Center

Language Adjust medium of instruction policies to accommodate demand for mother tongue and/or English instruction; advocacy around international best practices for supporting reading/language

Curriculum Strengthen support for early grade reading in the curriculum; adjust policy and provide support to ensure local curriculum meets national standards

Materials Develop/distribute appropriate early grade reading materials for students, parents, teachers, trainers, support personnel (could include identifying best/appropriate existing materials); develop materials standards and determine associated resource requirements

Teacher Training Develop core teacher training program for grades 1-3 early grade reading that is linked closely to the curriculum and early grade reading textbooks/materials, including how to use those materials effectively; build solid methodology in early grade reading instruction into the PRESET and INSET curricula

Assessment Design EGRA instrument (can build on existing instruments); weave early grade reading into NASA mechanism; develop the capacity of NASA to design early grade reading assessments and analyze the results; consider other national assessment mechanism for early grade reading assessment

EMIS Adapt EMIS to i) embrace EGRA results that can be used for performance grants and support to schools; and ii) include data on teacher training; develop mechanisms to ensure data quality; develop capacity to create early grade reading report cards

Horizontal Accountability

Adjust the SMC policy such that i) at least 8/9 members are parents elected from the community served by the school; ii) 5 are women; and iii) a woman serves as SMC Head and/or Treasurer; SMC is empowered to deal with school when misspending is uncovered; LSGA is adjusted to clarify relationships between governing bodies at each level of the system and their corresponding management bodies

Vertical Accountability

Develop a policy around the right to intervene; develop a policy that holds schools accountable for the money they spend; formalize block grant to schoolmake it a real block grant such that schools can spend as they best see fit to improve reading outcomes

Accountability for Results

Add early grade reading to the performance grant mechanism already in place; determine how this system will work; implement inter-district early grade reading performance grant mechanism

District Curriculum Build capacity of DEO to support schools in local curriculum development Teacher Training Build capacity of RPs to train teachers in early grade reading and to localize early grade reading

teacher training materials Assessment Develop the capacity of the DEO to conduct early grade reading assessments Horizontal Accountability

Conduct local level elections

Vertical Accountability

Audit schools for proper spending


Implement inter-village/school early grade reading performance grant mechanism; assess school spending patterns and correlate with early grade reading results; feed information into school support mechanism

Sub-District Teacher Training Train teachers in early grade reading; support trained teachers Assessment Develop capacity of teachers to carry out continuous assessment


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School Language Decide what medium of instruction will be, within the boundaries of national policy Materials Devote resources to ensure sufficient teaching/learning materials are available Teacher Training Develop capacity to identify training needs in relation to early grade reading; support trained teachers Assessment Conduct continuous assessment Horizontal Accountability

Build the capacity of the PGA to watchdog schools and SMCs vis--vis school finance, planning, procurement, and key reading activities; publically post SIP, budget, and expenditure; build a pro-reading/democracy constituency among the parents


Post relevant school report cards; build capacity of school to know what investments and spending patterns result in improved reading results

Lastly, in addition to the above mentioned education specific issues, it must be noted that Nepal is currently engrossed in a significant political transition to a possibly federated state. The uncertainty that remains regarding the exact form of federalism Nepal will choose to implement is creating a great deal of political instability, as evidenced in the repeated strikes (bandhs) occurring during the month of May. The politics surrounding the redefinition of district/state boundaries is resulting in tension regarding the importance that will be accorded to ethnic and linguistic identities and concerns about public governance, fiscal management, and service provision, in particular in the education sector. Any future programming in the education sector will need to be mindful of the tensions arising from these ongoing debates. But an opportunity exists to help Nepal develop functioning models of how decentralized provision of education could balance national and local perspectives while making significant progress on an issue everyone appears to agree is a priority: early grade reading.


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1 Context/Background and Introduction

1.1 Background and Assessment Objectives USAID/Nepal is interested in developing a program to help improve reading outcomes in the early grades of basic education. To inform the program design, a rapid education sector assessment was conducted to better understand past, current, and planned policies, practices, programs, innovations, and initiatives targeted towards early grade reading. This assessment aimed to identify strengths, weaknesses, and key leverage points to improve childrens reading outcomes within the institutional context of Nepals education system. A more detailed overview of the assessment objectives can be found in Annex A, which includes the original Terms of Reference.

1.2 Assessment Methodology The assessment was conducted over a two-month period by a team of researchers and staff from RTI International, including Mr. Joseph DeStefano, Senior Researcher; Dr. Frank Healey, Senior Researcher; Ms. Sharon Loza, Project Management Specialist; and Dr. Wendi Ralaingita, Education Researcher. Significant support was also provided by Dr. Vishnu Karki, Consultant; Dr. Yogendra Yadava, Local Language Expert; Jayanti Subba, Education Specialist, USAID/Nepal; and Mitch Kirby, USAID, Senior Education Advisor. The assessment was carried out by desk study and a two-week field visit from May 7 to May 19, 2012. This report reflects findings from the assessment.

The assessment team created a series of questions that was informed by desk research efforts and used as a protocol to structure interviews. A complete list of protocol questions can be found in Annex B. While in-country, numerous interviews were conducted with ministry officials, teachers, district-level education officials, INGOs, and education partners. Observations were also conducted in four primary schools (two government, two private; see Annex C for summary of visits and persons contacted). Results of the desk study and in-country visit were summarized and analyzed in consultation with the USAID/Nepal team and USAID Asia and Middle East Bureau Senior Education Advisor Mitch Kirby.

1.3 USAIDs Education Strategy Two aspects of USAIDs current orientation and policies figured decisively in the approach taken to conduct this assessment. First, the new USAID Education Strategy and Implementation Guidance (20112015) indicate that education resources should be targeted to achieve measurable and sustainable education outcomes through enhanced selectivity, focus, country-led programming, division of labor, and innovation. The most significant manifestation of USAIDs application of these principles is in its commitment to achieving the first goal of its education strategy: Improved reading skills for 100 million children in primary grades by 2015.

USAID/Nepal will contribute to this Agency-wide goal by improving reading skills for a significant number of Nepali students in early grades. However, as important as making that contribution, is doing so in a way that is sustainable and that works within the fabric of the countrys existing education institutions. The tenets of USAID Forward (the Agencys new way of doing the business of development) place a premium on working in close collaboration with government, civil society counterparts, and other development partners. They also stress the importance of making use of host country systems and expertise. Given the strong SWAp in place in the education sector, through which many funding agencies are already pooling resources and working through government systems, USAID/Nepal has an opportunity to develop a program that would adhere to the principles of USAID Forward.

This assessment is shaped by USAIDs strong commitment to working through government systems to achieve sustainable, measureable improvements in reading. Attention is therefore paid to how best to support an evidence-based, scalable, and sustainable reading improvement program. Furthermore, this assessment seeks to identify opportunities where programming can support, strengthen, and utilize existing national-, district-, and school-level institutions. The objective is to assess the current education sector context and identify ways through which a USAID intervention would reinforce, extend, and improve government policies, practices, and institutions while also strengthening civil society and nongovernmental contributions to the education system.


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1.4 Research on Improving Reading Outcomes and Decentralization

Two areas of research and experience are called on to help direct and focus this assessment. The first relates to what is known about how to improve reading. The second concerns governance, management, and decentralization.

Reading is a foundational skill necessary for academic achievement. Extensive experience and research have identified key elements of teaching and learning needed to improve reading outcomes: i) teacher training and support for teachers, ii) sufficient instructional time, iii) adequate materials (i.e. textbooks), iv) appropriate language of instruction, and v) use of assessment (Gove & Cvelich, 2011). Therefore, this assessment looks closely at the issues of language, curriculum and materials, teacher training and assessment.

Governance, management, and systems research indicates that for an education system to perform well in a decentralized situation like that found in Nepal, the following elements are critical: i) a design of a high-quality decentralized education system that is built around the characteristics of effective schools, ii) a clear demarcation between governance functions and management functions, iii) strong horizontal accountability linkages, iv) some key vertical accountability linkages, and v) adequate resources to carry out the functions necessary at each level (Healey and Crouch, 2012). Therefore, the assessment also examines the nature of the existing governance, finance, management, and accountability systems in Nepal.

1.5 School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP 20092015) The Government of Nepal (GON) and MOE, with support from international development partners, are implementing the SSRP to address critical issues related to education quality and improved school management. The SSRP outlines key interventions and resource requirements for achieving the countrys goals and objectives for basic and secondary education. It covers 20092015 and is driven by Nepals commitment to achieving the EFA goals and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It guides all activity in the education sector. The overarching goal of the SSRP is to ensure that all children (girls, boys, and the disadvantaged) have access to quality primary education by 2015.

Emphasis in the SSRP is placed on continuing to make progress in equitably expanding access (primarily through continued construction of additional classrooms where needed and implementation of scholarships for disadvantaged groups). The SSRP also supports decentralization of the education system, in line with the countrys interim constitution and government-wide decentralization policies (in particular, the Local Self Governance Act of 1999). All schools are to become community-managed. Some 11,000 (out of about 31,000) are reported as currently operating that way. Another area of emphasis in the SSRP is the establishment and enforcement of minimum enabling conditions e.g., for infrastructure, class size, provision of materials as one way to improve quality. Implementation of the National Curriculum Framework, use of mother tongue languages as the languages of instruction in early grades, and implementing automatic promotion, continuous assessment, and remedial support systems are other SSRP priorities aimed at improving quality.

The mid-term review of the SSRP found significant increases in the gross enrollment ratio (GER) for early childhood education, improvements in the net enrollment ratio (NER) for basic education, and achievement of gender parity in access. All primary education teachers in grades 1-5 have been trained through the SSRP and a new needs-based teacher professional development program is being implemented. However the concerns raised by the mid-term review include the need to improve system governance and financial management, further develop institutional capacity at all levels of the system, target the most disadvantaged groups, and ensure better school operation, better teaching, better learning and greater emphasis on reading skills in early grades. To address these issues, the SSRP partners stressed the following interventions: institutionalizing continuous assessment, developing reading skills in the early grades, ensuring priority minimum enabling conditions in all schools, teacher training, and improved financial accountability at the school level. The recent emphasis on developing reading skills in early grades dovetails perfectly with Goal 1 of USAIDs Education Strategy.

1.6 The Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) Nepal and its development partners have adopted a sector-wide approach to improving the education system. The development partners and the MOE all indicate how well the SWAp has functioned over the last several years, and available evidence supports that perception. Mention was made, however, of some SWAp limitations, in particular, lengthy review and approval procedures and the reluctance of the MOE to utilize outside short- and long-term technical assistance. Several multilateral and bilateral partners contribute to a pooled fund of budgetary support


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(Global Partnership for Education (GPE), World Bank [WB], Asian Development Bank [ADB], United Nations International Childrens Education Fund [UNICEF], European Union [EU], Australia, Denmark, Norway, and United Kingdom [UK]), and others who are non-pooled nevertheless participate in the SWAp (UNESCO, World Food Program (WFP), Japan, and USAID).i The non-pooled contributions are treated as on-budget, allowing the MOE to see the full measure of assistance it is receiving for the specific programs and initiatives outlined in the SSRP. During informational interviews with WB, Australian Agency for International Development [AusAID], ADB, and the MOE, they all stressed the importance of USAID playing a greater role in the SWAp and, in particular, in the recently prioritized reading skills development initiative.

The emphasis on reading skills development presents an opportunity to leverage existing SSRP and SWAp commitments to support USAIDs education strategy. For the current school year, the SSRP is committed to reprinting supplementary early reading materials already developed for Nepali and several mother tongue languages and is considering a pilot early grade reading skills development program. The latter represents an obvious opportunity for USAID to provide not only support but leadership.

1.7 Recent Developments in the Education Sector Nepal has made impressive progress towards the EFA goals of universal access to basic education. Access to early childhood education has expanded: more than 65% of children are enrolled in some form of pre-school. Net enrollment has increased steadily and is now approximately 95%, with a gender parity index of 0.99. Scholarships are targeted to girls, children with disabilities, and the disadvantaged castes of Dalits and Janajatis, but enrollment growth among the latter has been lower than desired. Repetition rates, especially for grade 1, remain unacceptably high, despite moving to a national policy of automatic promotion in lower primary grades. Education quality is an ongoing concern, but there is no systematic monitoring of learning outcomes. Available data from a few early grade studies reveal low levels of reading among the samples of students that were tested, as summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2. Early Grade Reading Studies Source Sample Findings

Room to Read Baseline Study (2009)

49 schools, 3 districts, 488 grade 2 students

Reading in Nepali: 43% knew all their letters 55% did not attempt to read a sentence 71% did not attempt to read a paragraph

EQUIP 2 School Effectiveness Case Study (2010)


Reading in Nepali: 36% of native Nepali speakers could not read a word of text 52% of other mother tongue speakers could not read a word of

text Save the Children baseline data (2009)


Reading in Nepali: Could identify 18 letters (out of 36) Could read 5 words per minute (wpm) 80% of students read 0 wpm

ASER (2011) 30 Schools, 6 districts,300 grade 2 and 300 grade 4 students

Reading in Nepali Grade 2 71% could read letters 38% could read 4 out 5 words 15%could read a story

Grade 4 85% could read 4 out of 5 words 56% could read a story

1.7.1 Private Education Another significant recent development in the education sector has been the growth of private schools, especially in the Kathmandu Valley.ii Two-thirds of the enrollment in basic education is now in private schools in the three districts in the valley. From 2008 to 2011, private school enrollments increased by 11%, while enrollment in government schools decreased by 4%, signaling that a shift in that region may be occurring away from government schools and towards private ones. Private provision of schooling covers a broad spectrum of schools, in terms of their affiliation, management, and costs. For example, one school in the sample from which data were collected charges just over NR 2,000 per year, compared to another which charges over NR 30,000. Private schools in the Kathmandu Valley are performing better than public schools. Those included in the study showed an average achievement about 25% higher than that in public schools, with a greater proportion of private school students achieving test scores in the top ranges


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compared to students in public schools. It must be noted, however, that many believe that these results are due largely to private schools teaching almost exclusively to the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examand that the achievement gains are the product of rote memory as opposed to true learning and understanding. In Nepal, private education appears to be predominantly an urban phenomenon. For more data on private enrollment, schools, and teachers, compared to public and total figures, by district and region, see Annex D.

2 Institutional Mapping and Capacity Assessment

2.1 Overview of Institutions Nepal has a wide array of institutions serving the education sector. The landscape of local in-country systems include the GON, MOE, local government bodies, development partners, international and local NGOs, public-private partnerships, research organizations, and private sector actors. Below is a list of key actors and their roles with respect to early grade reading. The discussion of each entity includes an assessment of that organizations capacity to support a national reading program. Analyses of their strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities to contribute to a national reading program were based on their ability to support efforts to improve achievement/outcomes and scalability. Due to our limited time and lack of sufficient informational resources to identify all actors, the list presented below is not exhaustive. An additional table of INGOs and local NGOs working in education in Nepal can be referenced in Annex E for further follow up. It is worth noting that local NGO capacity has grown as a result of partnerships established through INGO projects.

2.1.1 Central Government Organizations The GON has multiple bodies supporting education. The MOE and its line agencies and affiliates lead educational efforts. The roles of these central agencies are critical to the creation and adoption of national policies, as well as disbursement of funds, and will be especially critical to the development and implementation of a national reading program.

Ministry of Education (MOE) is responsible for overall education planning and management. It has demonstrated good leadership in the development and management of the SSRP and appears to dutifully fulfill development partner reporting requirements. The MOE regularly engages in coordination and review meetings on SSRP implementation status, with specific attention to indicators of progress. Some concern exists among development partners regarding the adequacy of financial reporting and financial management practices.

Department of Education (DOE) is responsible for the overall supervision, monitoring, and implementation of basic and secondary education. It demonstrates the same commitment to the SSRP plan as the MOE and participates actively in all the planning, management, and reporting interactions associated with its implementation. Leadership from the DOE evinced a strong commitment to improving the quality of education and to evaluating quality on the basis of measureable learning outcomes, not just inputs. Both the MOE and the DOE are also committed to the further decentralization of the education system, with resources and authority continuing to flow to the school level. DOE leadership is convinced that the progress to date (towards meeting EFA) has been largely achieved because of decentralization and a move toward school-based management.

National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA) is responsible for developing grade 3, 5, and 8 assessment instruments aimed at giving the MOE/DOE a sense of how well the system is performing with regard to quality education. A nationwide early grade reading assessment could become a part of the NASA portfolio. Progress to date in developing the NASA has been limited to the grade 8 instrument and has relied on external, resident technical assistance that has just concluded. Further development of the NASA therefore will depend on provision of additional technical support, as it is not clear that the required technical expertise is available within the existing ministry and department institutions. Furthermore, there are no plans currently afoot for systematically evaluating learning outcomes prior to grade 3.

National Centre for Educational Development (NCED) oversees all teacher training and professional development and conducts certification courses through a network of nine ETCs. NCED formulates national training policies and guidelines for the development and delivery of teacher in-service training programs. They also are responsible for the training of education managers and administrators. Of primary concern for the purposes of this assessment is their ability to design and enforce rigorous criteria and standards for teacher training. While they do produce and distribute guidelines that RCs rely on when designing training programs, they have no means of monitoring the training


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activities those centers do (or do not) undertake. In particular, no mechanism exists for systematically and rigorously evaluating the quality, outcomes, and impact of teacher training.

The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) is responsible for teacher licensure, recruitment of permanent teachers, and teacher promotion (for permanent teachers). The TSC sets and administers the licensing exam that teacher candidates must pass in order to be fully qualified. Currently, new permanent teachers are not being added to the teaching-force efforts are being made to negotiate ways for temporary teachers to become permanent teachers, but this is a contested issue. While promotion for permanent teachers is based on experience and performance reviews, there are no promotion provisions for temporary teachers. The TSC represents a potential mechanism for supporting the review of teachers performance in relation to student outcomes and teacher instructional practices (in particular in teaching reading), tied to incentives and opportunities for support and development as needed. However, it would be essential to find a way in which such a system could include all teachers, not only permanent teachers.

Education Training Centre (ETC) ETCs provide training and professional support to secondary school teachers, as well as educational management training to Resource Persons. ETCs also provide technical support, materials, and manpower to Resource Centers (RCs) and serve as technical backstop to lead RCs (by, in principle, evaluating overall activities and effectiveness of programs). ETCs receive data from RCs and are responsible for monitoring and implementing the Teacher Professional Development program. Each year, NCED provides ETCs the number of teachers that are to be trained; ETCs respond to priority needs/trainings as requested by districts.

Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) is an academic institution affiliated with the DOE that is responsible for creating the curricula and textbooks, and additional supplemental textbooks for the five core subjects. The CDC develops policies and guidelines for private publishers to create additional materials, which then feed into a CDC-approved books list. CDC has produced language textbooks for 15 mother tongue languages, but may be doing so by translating from Nepali. Numerous supplementary reading books for Nepali have also been produced. The instructional design inherent in CDC-developed materials falls short of what is needed for a rigorous approach to early literacy acquisition. Furthermore, the materials CDC is developing do not adequately address the language transition issues most Nepali children are facing.

Janak Materials Center (JMC) is the MOEs publisher/printer, responsible for printing and distributing textbooks and materials developed by the CDC. Up until three or four years ago, private sector activity in this field was not allowed; it was JMC's sole authority. However, with the recent multiple-textbook policy, the government has opened up textbook printing to private publishers. This policy, which is currently in practice in two of five regions of the country, allows schools to choose from a range of textbooks printed either by JMC or the private sector that have been recommended or approved by the CDC. Also, JMC works with a number of private publishers/printers to get all the textbooks and materials printed and distributed, suggesting that there is a fairly well-established private publishing/printing capacity in Nepal. The problem is that this capacity is almost entirely Kathmandu-based.

2.1.2 Local Government Organizations Local government organizations play a key role in educational management, governance, oversight, and approvals. Their functions are critical to the implementation of higher-level and same-level educational policies and programs and would be critical to a national reading program. Below is a list of key local government organizations at the district and sub-district levels. The assessment does not examine the regional level of the system because the team was told that the role the Regional Education Directorates play is largely insignificant, and that regions are the jurisdictions of the country most likely to be changed by the constitutional reforms currently being debated in Nepal.

District level consists of:

District Education Office (DEO) implements policies and provides administrative support to schools, including authority to transfer temporary teachers, prepare reports, approve infrastructural developments, and oversee examinations.

District Education Committee (DEC) a body of education actors (Head Teachers, School Management Committee [SMC] Heads, and the DEO) at the district level who develop the district education plan (DEP).

District Development Committee (DDC) A local governance body of electediii and nominated officials who approve the DEP.

Resource Centers (RCs) are responsible for providing primary teacher training; there are currently 1,053 RCs across Nepal.


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The districts, in particular the DEOs, appear to have reasonable resources and staffing, but lack the logistics needed to interact on a regular basis with schools. Resources pass down through district to schools, but districts do not play a meaningful role in monitoring or holding schools accountable for them. Districts track examination results, but do not systematically report and rank schools based on them.

The DEC and DDC occupy much of what the DEO does, and so there is overlap and lack of clarity between management and governance functions. National politics play out at the local level around the appointment and operation of these bodies, with education representing a significant prize since the SSRP has succeeded in moving large amounts of resources down to the district and school levels.

The sub-district and school levels consist of:

Village Education Committee (VEC) a body of education actors (Head Teachers, SMC Heads) at the village level who develop the village education plan (VEP).

Village Development Committee (VDC) a local body of electediv and nominated officials who approve the VEP.

School Management Committee (SMC) a partially elected body attached to every school that serves as the schools governing body, establishing broad school policy, approving plans, hiring temporary teachers, and nominating who will serve as the Head Teacher.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a body comprised of all the teachers and parents of a school, which nonetheless serves largely as a parental body that carries out the systems Social Audit, serving as the watchdog organization over the school and SMC.

The movement of resources and authority to the local levels has increased the importance of some of these entities in the day-to-day management and governance of schools: SMCs now have significant resources to manage, thus raising the political stakes associated with who is appointed (or elected) to them. There is some evidence of SMC capture by local elites. The absence of village elections over the past 10 years has severely hindered their operation as governing bodies and placed greater significance on what goes on within the SMCs. As soon as local level (village and district) elections occur, the politics around the SMCs should, according to many, subside. This, however, is not expected to happen for another two to four years.

2.1.3 Development Partners There are currently nine development partners (DPs) that are participating in the SWAp, consisting of pooled and non-pooled funds. DPs supporting SSRP through SWAp are the ADB, Australia, Denmark, EU, Finland, Norway, UK, UNICEF, and WB. Additional DPs are providing support for education reforms within the SSRP framework. All DPs have committed to providing varying levels of financial and technical support to early childhood education and development, basic education, secondary education, teacher development, technical education and vocational training (TEVT), and higher educationv.

Beginning with the mid-term review of the SSRP, development partners and the MOE/DOE have turned their attention to improving reading as a specific aspect of the quality improvements SSRP should be supporting. A recommendation of the recent review meeting was to develop and pilot a reading program as a precursor to elaborating a national strategy/program for addressing how students learn to read in the early years of primary school.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined the SWAp in 2006 and is the current chair of DP coordination. The ADB has proposed an estimated $65 million in support of SSRP efforts between 2012 and 2014vi. It is clearly a major player in the SSRP and as a supporter of the need to bring early grade reading to scale, a key ally in USAIDs efforts.

AusAID has proposed an estimated $15.6 million in support of SSRP efforts between 2012 and 2014,vii which will aim to increase access and quality of education, particularly basic education (grades 18). AusAID is interested in supporting a pilot reading program, and has been approached to provide funding to support pilot program efforts.

Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is providing $70 million to support the SSRP. These funds are counted as part of the pooled financing, but are managed and supervised as a separate account (with the WB acting as the supervisory agency), since Nepals public financial management procedures do not meet GPE standards.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been providing support for programs directed towards understanding the role of mother tongue instruction on educational outcomesviii and is also providing technical assistance to EMIS, inclusive education, non-formal education (NFE), and gender advocacy.

United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has proposed an estimated $1 million in support of SSRP efforts between 2012 and 2014.6 Their SWAp money constitutes 10% of their total funding. UNICEFs aid to the Nepali


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education sector has focused on early childhood development (ECD), NFE, Education in Emergency situations, and formal education, in particular, promotion of the child-friendly schools and their attendant standards of quality education. They are currently in discussions with the DOE regarding a national rollout plan for child-friendly schools.

World Bank (WB) has proposed an estimated $72.5 million in support of SSRP efforts between 2012 and 2014. WB is currently the manager of GPE funds. WB has provided assistance to support strengthening community management of schools, increasing access to schools, and improving higher education. With the recent transition to emphasis on quality education, WB wrote a concept note for a pilot reading project.

World Food Program (WFP) is a contributing partner in the SWAp, but has not provided direct assistance with early grade reading efforts in Nepal. From 2008-2013, the WFP dedicated $33,800,000 to their Food for Education program to support children in early grades in Nepal.ix

European Union/DFID is a major SWAp partner with 26 million in the SWAp already, another 33.5 million in the pipeline, and 4 million set aside for some small projects. They conducted a study of the political economy around education and the ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) assessment.

Norway (NORAD) has committed NKr 219,000,000 to support SSRP efforts from 2009-2014, with an emphasis on supporting early childhood education, basic education, secondary education, and teacher development.

Finland contributes to the pooled fund in support of SSRP, and through the Finnish embassy, they are providing long-term technical assistance to the development of the NASA.

Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) a non-pooling partner providing technical assistance, grants for school construction (9,000 classrooms total) and support for NFE and improved school management.

2.1.4 International NGOs The assessment team identified three major INGOs working to improve reading outcomes in Nepal: Room to Read (RtR), Save the Children, and World Education. SIL International is also active in Nepal and currently implementing a small mother-tongue program focused on reading. All of these organizations have innovative programs to support literacy skills development for children in early grades. Each program brings key strengths in different aspects of improving reading outcomes. RtR has a strong library and teacher training component, while Save the Children provides a model program for community engagement, and SILs greatest strength is in supporting instruction in mother tongue. RtR and Save the Children have both undertaken evaluations, which have indicated gains in reading outcomes. Both programs work parallel to existing systems and are small scale and resource intensive.

Room to Read (RtR) currently works in 80 schools in Pyuthan, Nawalparasi, and Dhading to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children in grades 1 and 2, and recently added a grade 3 remedial program. RtR partners with three local NGOs (Fulvari Integrated Rural Development Organization, Prayatnashil Community Development Society, and Vijaya Development Resource Centre) to implement their reading program, which includes increased instruction time dedicated to reading (from 40 to 80 minutes), supplementary instructional materials, a print rich environment, teacher training and ongoing support, government advocacy efforts, parent and community engagement, and monitoring and evaluation to improve reading outcomes. An impact evaluation found that grade 2 students in RtR program schools had average reading fluency of 26 wpm compared to 17 wpm for students in control schools. RtR students in grades 1 and 2 showed stronger letter and word reading as well: first grade students in RtR schools read 40 letters per minute compared to 27 in control schools. While the RtR model follows best practices to improve literacy skills, and has shown some gains, the costs associated with the inputs and intensive training and school improvements would appear to prohibit its going to scale.

Save the Children Save the Children has been working in Nepal for over 30 years. Their portfolio includes work across the education and health sectors, from ECD to HIV/AIDS and reading programs. They have been implementing their Literacy Boost project in partnership with the Backward Society Education and four other local NGOs since 2009, starting in 16 schools in the Kailali district. Currently, they have begun a project in Kapilvastu. The Literacy Boost toolkit has six components: book banks, teacher training, reading buddies, adult literacy classes, community workshops and reading camps. Grade 2 students in Literacy Boost schools increased their reading fluency from 5 wpm to 13 wpm, compared to an increase from 5 to 8 wpm in control schools, in one year. The percentage of students with zero scores in Literacy Boost schools decreased from almost 80% to 55%. A review workshop Save the Children held indicated that the teacher training component needs strengthening, while stakeholders felt that the reading camp has had the most impact. Their parent/community engagement work and cross-sector involvement in multiple districts could serve as a model component of a national program. While Save the Childrens Literacy Boost program is technically sound, the team believes that its input requirements will likely prohibit MOEs taking it to scale as is.


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World Education World Education has been working with the Nepali education sector since 1978, beginning with an emphasis in NFE. More recently, they have begun to participate in activities in formal education, starting with pilot activities in early childhood education with the intention of working also in primary grades. They are currently working with approximately 26 schools (around 10,000 students) in Nepalgunj. Their focus is on reading, and they are evaluating learning outcomes for grade 2 and 3 students in Nepali reading and math. The team was unable to obtain details regarding the input requirements of their reading program.

SIL International SIL International has a long history in Nepal, having worked on development of dictionaries and orthographies in the early 1970s and then again in the 1990s. SIL continues to work in these areas, along with adult literacy, but has recently established three mother-tongue medium schools in Jhapa district, where instruction is in mother tongue from kindergarten through grade 5 and Nepali is taught as a second language. An emphasis of this program is on developing reading and general cognitive skills in the mother tongue before transitioning into Nepali. SIL had difficulty finding local partners or schools that would be willing to agree to a school using mother tongue through grade 5, as this is a model that might not be acceptable in many communities who want their children taught in English. However, they bring technical expertise in the development of appropriate reading materials in local languages, which will be useful in contexts where children are not exposed to Nepali before entering school.

2.1.5 Public-Private Partnerships Rato Bangla Partnership in Outreach Programme (RBPOP) RBPOP, an exceptional private school in Kathmandu, provided funds to support teacher training, scholarships, and facilities improvements in 10 schools in each of the following districts: Dailekh, Dhading, Lalitpur, Makwanpur, and Myagdi, from 2003-2008, as part of a social awareness effort the school wanted to bring to its well-to-do students. Beginning in 2009, 18% of student tuition fees have been allocated to the Rato Bangla Foundation to provide teacher training support for 500 schools and over 1800 teachers in the Dailekh districts, under the Dailekh School Project (DSP). The DSP also provides full scholarships to underprivileged children. At present, there are no research findings to support the success of the project, however, the RBPOP program is innovative and demonstrates promise of public-private partnerships in Nepal.

2.1.6 Research Organizations Centre for Education Research and Innovation Development (CERID) - is a robust research center affiliated with Tribhuvan University that conducts a wide range of studies, most at the request of the MOE. Over its 36-year history, CERID has, inter alia, conducted studies on how to change the role of the teacher, the relative effectiveness of MLE, early childhood education, and has conducted a longitudinal study on 18 EFA indicators. They appear to be a high-quality organization that could play a key research role in any effort USAID wishes to initiate.

2.2 Institutional Assessment Within the GON there exist all the structures needed to spearhead a viable nationwide reading program. MOE and DOE are both capable and willing leaders of such an effortleaders who can also forge the policies needed for a pedagogically sound early grade reading program. In the CDC and the JMC are found many of the skills necessary to adjust the curriculum and materials, though some technical assistance will likely be needed to ensure a research-based emphasis on reading. Additionally, while the assessment team was unable to assess the capacities of private sector publishing actors, experience shows that transforming curriculum learning objectives into textbooks is exceedingly difficult and not something easily assigned to others. Accordingly, as the MOE pursues and expands its multiple textbook policy inviting private sector actors to develop, print, and distribute textbooks, attention must be paid by the MOE to the quality of private sector texts.

NASA has just gone through a one year capacity development process with an embedded long term technical advisor and can very well take on EGRA, as long as those individuals who have been trained are not moved to another section in the short term. And with the NCED and a highly decentralized network of over 1,000 RCs that innervate the entire country, one has the basis for the teacher training infrastructure needed for a viable early grade reading program. Missing however, are the accountability mechanisms and linkages that generate the forces needed to orient and operationalize this infrastructure such that it generates early grade reading results.

The DPs are 100% behind early grade reading. Moreover, they have a seat at the table: they are in a position to supply some force of their own, if only they impart it. The INGOs are all quite capable and most are carrying out programs that support reading one way or another. While the coverage of their reading programs is small and their programs too input heavy to go to scale within the public education structures of Nepal, key elements of a successful and sustainable


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nationwide reading program are evidenced in their work. Add to all of this the research capacity of an organization like CERID and the public-private partnership work that Rato Bangla is modeling, and one can say that the overall institutional environment in Nepal is promising for a successful, nationwide, and sustainable program.

What exactly that reading program will look like will require some research, or pilot studies, designed to discern the elements and processes of a viable program that can go to scale and be sustained over time given Nepals projected financial wherewithal over the course of the next 10-15 years. The cost of getting to scale need not be taken on by Nepal; DPs should be able to help take care of this. What Nepal needs to take on are all of the costs associated with sustaining a scaled-up program over time. These costs, and the associated results that a tailored reading program could produce, should be discerned early on in a USAID early grade reading intervention.

3 Critical Issues As stated in the introduction, this assessment focuses on the issues that are most impacting Nepals ability to improve reading outcomes in the early grades of primary schools. Four of these issues deal directly with technical aspects of the education sector: language of instruction, curriculum and materials, teacher training, and assessment. The fifth aspect concerns the overall governance, management, and financing of education, which are all greatly impacted by the political and administrative decentralization of the country.

3.1 Language

3.1.1 The Role of Language in the Nepali Education System From an educational standpoint, the issue of language of instruction is quite simple: children learn best in a language they understand, and if they learn to read first in a language they understand, they will then be able to transfer the skill to a second language.x In reality, and Nepal stands as a clear example of this, the issue of language choice is much more complicated. While current policy allows the choice of either Nepali or students mother tongue as the medium of instruction in early grades, schools make three choices: start with Nepali as the language of instruction, start with English, or start with a local mother tongue. Each choice has educational, political, and economic ramifications. While there are over 100 languages spoken in Nepal,xi the majority of the population will start grade 1 with previous exposure to, and likely a working knowledge of, Nepali (approximately 80%).xii For these children, from an educational perspective, it is reasonable to begin with Nepali as the medium of instruction, and to learn to read first in Nepali. However, many parents are putting pressure on schools to use English as a medium of instruction, as English is seen to increase economic potential.xiii From their perspective, it would seem logical that their children should have their schooling in English from day one in order to master it. Parents can also see that the numerous private schools (particularly in urban and peri-urban areas) are English-medium schools and become convinced that this is the best way to ensure that their children become fluent in English. However, the majority of teachers lack the skills to teach in a language other than Nepali. Few public school teachers are prepared to teach in English. Moving to English medium instruction even in higher grades potentially impedes classroom communication and improving learning outcomes, although being consistent with parental demand. Providing teachers more exposure to English language texts may enhance skills and improve English language instruction (rather than changing the medium of instruction to English).

In addition to this tension concerning Nepali vs. English as language of instruction, the approximately 20% of students who are not sufficiently exposed to Nepali before arriving at school must also be consideredxiv. These children will be best educated if they are able to begin their schooling with their mother tongue as a medium of instruction, shifting into Nepali (or English) once they have mastered reading in their mother tongue and developed a sufficient vocabulary in the second language. In Nepal, language and identity politics make it difficult to discern which language of instruction would be best. In a region where multiple languages are spoken, a purely educational perspective might dictate choice of the main local lingua franca as the language of instruction but community members might take issue with such a decision based on their political perspective. Alternatively, attempts to teach each child in the school in his/her mother tongue, as has been piloted in Nepal, can be extremely challenging to implement.xv Even the INGOs and funders can have political perspectives influencing decisions around language of instruction. Some groups argue for mother tongue as the language of instruction for purposes of cultural and language preservation or from a human rights perspective, which may not mesh entirely with a purely educational objective.xvi While sorting out these different theoretical perspectives may be difficult, for decisions about medium of instruction to be sustainable and realistic, they must consider financial feasibility and system capacity. While there appears to be a great deal of interest in English, there is no educational argument for starting in grade 1 with English as a medium of


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instruction, unless students have had the opportunity to develop sufficient English language skills through an ECD program. In addition, system capacity for supporting English immersion programs from grade 1 is non-existent certainly the current teaching force does not have the English or instructional capacity necessary.

3.1.2 Strengths of Existing Language Environment The system recognizes the importance of learning in mother tongue, and policies promoting mother tongue

languages as languages of instruction in basic education are in place. Materials in many mother tongue languages are available and have been used in some schools. International and local NGOs have worked with communities to develop materials for supporting mother

tongue instruction, thus there is some existing local capacity in this area. Many children come to school speaking Nepali, and numerous learning resources are available in Nepali.

3.1.3 Weaknesses of the Existing Language Environment Decentralized decision-making regarding which language to use as the medium of instruction creates an

enormous management and quality control challenge for the system. Some materials are simply being translated from Nepali into other languages, without adequate attention to

linguistic and socio-cultural differences. Policies promoting mother tongue and multi-lingual education may be at odds with what parents and

communities want for their children. Whatever language is being used as the medium of instruction, there is insufficient attention to building the

specific skills related to literacy acquisition. Given the multi-lingual context of the typical Nepali school, insufficient attention is also being paid to

language transition issues either from mother tongue to Nepali or from Nepali to English.

3.2 Curriculum and Materials

3.2.1 Organizational Structure for Curricula and Materials The organizational structure for the development and production of curricula and materials provides opportunities for centralized quality control, combined with opportunities for schools to complement these centralized curricula with a locally defined subject. As such, the curricula and materials used in schools can be divided into two categories: curricula and materials for core subjects (Nepali, English, mathematics, social studies, and general science), which are developed at the central level by the CDC; and curricula and materials for local subjects, which are developed at the local level, with collaboration and/or approval of the DEO. The CDC has also developed textbooks for all core subjects, as well as language textbooks for perhaps as many as 15 mother tongue languages, which are printed and distributed by JMC. The SSRPs call for a competition-inducing multiple textbook policy has not yet been implemented nationwide. In addition to the textbooks, the CDC has developed teachers guides and numerous complementary materials, the latter of which have yet to be printed.

3.2.2 Strengths of the Existing Organizational Structure The designation of one local subject at the basic level allows for communities to determine what subject matter is most appropriate to their local context. Once this determination has been made, help may be enlisted from the district in order to develop the curriculum and materials or, if they are developed at the sub-district level, the DEO must approve them according to guidelines that have been developed by the CDC.

It appears that the core subject textbooks are successfully distributed throughout Nepal. While there are reports of late arrivals in some schools, particularly in remote areas, there does not appear to be a significant number of schools that never received these texts. In many cases, more books are produced and distributed to the region or district level than are actually needed, since schools (that is, SMCs and Head Teachers) often choose to reuse books rather than purchase new books for all students. Because of this, the system may be unnecessarily spending some resources for textbooks.

Turning specifically to reading, there is no reading curriculum per se reading skills are expected to be developed through the core language subjects, Nepali, English, and mother tongue where applicable. An examination was


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therefore undertaken of the core curriculum for Nepali and English, and curriculum guidelines for mother tongue, in order to determine whether the core competency areas of reading (phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) are represented. The language curricula are organized into the skill areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, so the examination looked across all of these areas. This analysis indicated that the core competency areas were in fact represented in the curriculum, though they might be represented in any of the skill areas (for example, while the term phonemic awareness does not appear anywhere, the speaking skill area for Nepali includes To listen to the pronunciation of the letters of alphabet and identify them). This organization of the curriculum seems to reflect a general tendency at multiple levels of the system to look at reading simply as one of the four areas of language, rather than an essential skill that needs to be developed explicitly unlike other language skills, which can often be developed through exposure. The allotted time for reading within the subject Nepali language, is between 20% (in grade 1) and 25% (in grades 2 and 3), approximately 6% of instructional time overall.xvii Thus, the presence of all of the core competencies is a strength that can be built on, but additional effort will be needed to elevate the importance of reading within the skill areas and thus ensure that foundational reading competencies receive sufficient focus (even if they appear in the curriculum under another skill area).

3.2.3 Weaknesses of the Existing Organizational Structure While the organizational structure would appear to have the potential for striking a positive balance between necessary quality control from the central level and room for addressing local curricular needs, and in general core subject textbooks appear to be reaching schools, a number of weaknesses will need to be addressed in order to enable reading skills to be better developed among Nepali students.

While the English and Nepali language curricula include the foundational reading competencies, teachers cannot teach based on a curriculum alone curricula do not provide guidance as to what teachers should do on a day-to-day basis. Often, and certainly in Nepal, the actual application of the curriculum comes through the textbook. Several stakeholders when interviewed remarked that teaching in Nepal was too textbook dependent. And, unfortunately, an analysis of grades 1-3 textbooks for English and Nepali indicate that some of the foundational reading skills have very little presence in the textbooks (practice reading connected text and comprehension in particular), and they are not approached in a consistent, sequenced way that will build students skills and allow them to master reading. The CDC recognizes that these textbooks alone will not ensure students success. In fact, CDC representatives indicated that the textbooks and teachers guides are not meant to provide comprehensive coverage of the curriculum. There is general agreement that complementary materials and teachers guide, while considered necessary by the CDC, are simply not purchased, and therefore not accessible, at the school level. Numerous respondents mentioned that SMCs were more likely to spend available funds on infrastructure or teacher salaries than on complementary materials for use in the classroom. In fact, additional complementary materials that have been developed by the CDC have never been printed, due to insufficient budget, lack of demand, and possibly lack of awareness about these materials.

At the local level, reading competencies will need to be invoked when mother tongue curricula and materials are being developed. While stakeholders at the local level (district or sub-district) may very well have the language skills necessary for translating, or even adapting materials, there is no reason to expect that they will have the knowledge of reading development and instruction to independently develop appropriate curricula and materials to support mastery of reading competencies. Recognizing this, there have been efforts by INGOs and DPs to work with particular districts and communities at very small scales to develop curricula and materials for mother tongue.xviii It has not been possible to do an in-depth analysis of all of these materials, though reports that exist on these efforts claim quite positive results.xix It is not clear, however, whether these efforts have created sufficient local capacity to continue developing appropriate local language materials once external funding and technical assistance have departed.

3.3 Teaching and Teachers

3.3.1 Teacher Training Over the years, numerous projects and programs in Nepal have invested in teacher training.xx As a result, over 90% of basic education (grades 1-8) teachers have the appropriate required certification and over 70% have both the level of certification and amount of training mandated by MOE policy.xxi In addition to providing teachers with opportunities to receive training and upgrade their certification, investments in teacher training over the last decade have endowed Nepal with a network of institutions for developing and delivering training and support to teachers.


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For example, the NCED, which oversees teacher training and professional development, conducts certification courses through a network of nine ETCs. A 10-month required training program has been offered through the ETCs as a way to clear the backlog of uncertified teachers. Current policy requires completion of a two-year education-specific course of study during higher secondary, as well as a passing mark on the licensing exam administered by the TSC, as a prerequisite for all basic education teachers,xxii ensuring that the certification in-service will one day be unnecessary.

Ongoing in-service professional development opportunities for basic education teachers are organized through the 1,053 RCs throughout Nepal. Each of the 75 districts in the country has several centers. These RCs are attached to one school within a feeder cluster,xxiii are staffed with one DEO-employed field officer, and are governed by a committee consisting of the head teachers from each of the cluster schools and locally selected community members. The DEO allocates a small budget for the administration of the center, to pay the RC coordinator and senior teachers to assist with program development and training delivery, and to provide a nominal monthly travel allowance for the RC field officer and resource teachers. Funding for training programs is decentralized, with each school receiving an allocation for teacher in-service professional development each year, which it then pays to the RC for its teachers to attend. These funds cover the costs of training materials, training workshops, teacher travel to the RC, etc.

In the past, teacher professional development courses were developed and mandated by the center through NCED, often with the support of a DP project. For example, last year NCED developed modules on child friendly schools and provided them to RCs as part of a national emphasis on that approach. Current policy however promotes decentralized, demand-driven teacher professional development. In addition to controlling the resources for their teachers training (as mentioned above), schools also complete a survey of teacher needs/demands for training each year. School-level information is passed on to the RC field officer, who reviews it and determines what content is most needed among the majority of teachers in that cluster. Training programs (content, materials, and methods) are developed in response to the expressed needs and demands of the cluster teachers. The single RC staff person, working with senior teachers or other resource people within the cluster identified as specialists in different areas, design the training program using the NCED-provided guidelines for developing training modules.

All basic education teachers are expected to complete the equivalent of 30 days of professional development over the course of three years, which translates into ~10 days of training each year. The standard model developed and promulgated by NCEDxxiv for using those 10 days includes 5 days of workshop-based training, 3 days of a school-based project during which each teacher is expected to apply what is learned in the workshop, and 2 days during which the RC field officer or one of the senior teacher resource people visit each teacher to reinforce the ideas covered in the training and treated in the teachers project.xxv Last year 66,000 teachers (roughly one-third of the entire teaching force) participated in this kind of training. However participation in training is not linked to teacher career advancement or remuneration. The focus is chiefly on pedagogical skills with little support to help trainees to enhance subject matter knowledge. Weak academic backgrounds coupled with the absence of a culture of self-learning (through independent-reading), leaves the vast majority of teachers with limited subject matter knowledge, especially in English. Moreover, issues of teacher management including career prospects and service conditions will require attention to motivate teachers to introduce and effectively practice new classroom initiatives. Motivation to participate is likely to be strongly associated with how useful any training turns out to be: if teachers find training unhelpful, their willingness to participate is likely to decrease. In addition, because RCs are not able to provide training across all of the areas requested during the demand-driven process, they must select topics which a majority of teachers have requested. When weighing such options, the status of target teachers is also taken into account (i.e., permanent teachers take priority over temporary teachers, seniority might be considered, etc.).

The apparent strength of Nepals system for teacher training, a highly decentralized and demand-driven approach, is also its greatest weakness. While funds are flowing down to districts and schools for teacher training, RCs appear chronically under-funded, with limited resources, few reference or other materials, and insufficient funds to cover regular interaction with and visits to schools.xxvi In addition, RC staff are called on to assist with administrative tasks by the DEOs, such as proctoring of exams or collection of information, further limiting the time they would have available to provide training and support to teachers in their cluster.

While the notion of demand-driven training is appealing, in practical terms it means that the over 1,000 RCs in Nepal are all trying to develop training content, materials, and methodologies independently. The capacity to do all that is not present, certainly not uniformly. The system struggles to ensure quality control and to enforce rigorous standards for professional development. It is near impossible to determine if training provided at one RC is in any way comparable to that provided at another. In opting to emphasize responding to the needs of teachers at the cluster or district level, the system appears to have forfeited its ability to promulgate national professional development priorities and programs, as well as its ability to ensure the professional development is of consistent, high quality.


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NCED provides guidelines for training, but RCs as institutions are answerable to their local management committees, and the RC field officers are answerable to the DEOs that pay their salaries. While the ETCs are theoretically intended to provide technical assistance and some oversight to resource centers, ETC staff persons are also responsible for training of secondary teachers, and it does not appear that there is a tight linkage between ETCs and RCs. NCED does not compile data on teacher training and has no mechanism for collecting information on the training offered by the RCs. The EMIS database does collect data on teacher participation in profess

EdData II Data for Education Programming in Asia and ... · EdData II. Data for Education...

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