Over 50% of Community Schools in Nepal Have Fewer Than 100 Students

More than 50 percent of the community schools in the country have less than 100 students, according to a report recently made public by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

The report – Educational Information, 2080 BS – stated that the number of community schools with less than 100 students is 15,965. This is despite the ongoing efforts from the governmental and non-governmental sectors to improve public education. This number of public schools with less than 100 students is 57.03 percent of all the 27,990 community schools throughout the country.

According to the report, this situation is attributable to the decline in population, the increase in migration, and the influence of private schools in urban areas.

The number of community schools with less than 100 students was 14,000 in the fiscal year 2076/77 BS. This number has increased at present despite the operation of the ‘school merger’ policy.

The report puts the number of community schools having 100 to 500 students at 9,704, that of schools with 500 to 1,000 students at 1,636, that of schools with 1,000 to 1,500 students at 409, that of schools with 1501 to 2,000 at 136 and the number of community schools with more than 2,000 students at 100.

A total 35,876 schools (from Basic level to Class 12), including 27,990 community schools and 7,886 institutional (private) schools, are in operation in the country at present.