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EdData II
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.
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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 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.
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EdData II, Task 15, for USAID/Nepals Education Sector Early
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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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EdData II, Task 15, for USAID/Nepals Education Sector Early
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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
Accountability for Results
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
Accountability for Results
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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EdData II, Task 15, for USAID/Nepals Education Sector Early
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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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EdData II, Task 15, for USAID/Nepals Education Sector Early
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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)
23 schools, 4 districts, 480 grade 3 students
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)
20 schools, 2 districts, 368 grade 2 students
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