KATHMANDU, June 1 : As student enrollment continues to decline in recent years, the government has moved forward with a policy to merge public schools.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD) say preparations have intensified to merge schools with low student numbers.
According to CEHRD Director Nilkantha Dhakal, the ministry and the centre have already advanced a school merger programme backed by grants, which will be incorporated into the upcoming budget.
Government statistics show that more than half of Nepal’s over 27,000 community schools have fewer than 100 students enrolled.
According to the Education Ministry’s Education Information System, 15,273 community schools have fewer than 100 students. Another 9,704 schools have between 100 and 500 students, while only 1,636 schools nationwide have between 500 and 1,000 students.
Similarly, data show that only 449 schools have between 1,000 and 1,500 students, while just 136 schools have between 1,500 and 2,000 students. Only 100 schools across the country have more than 2,000 students.
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Dhakal said that most of the 15,000 schools with fewer than 100 students are at the basic education level, including schools running classes 1–3, 1–5, and 1–8.
“Data received from local governments show that eight schools have already been merged,” Dhakal told Nagarik. “Local governments have already managed the teachers of these merged schools.”
He further clarified: “Current studies show that there are around 20,000 more teaching positions than required at the primary level, while there is a shortage of approximately 22,000 teaching positions at the secondary level. This is why recruitment at the primary level has been halted for now.”
According to Dhakal, 11 schools have already received grants under the school merge programme.
“The upcoming budget will introduce a clear policy and programme, including grants for school mergers,” he said. “Detailed information has been requested from all 753 local governments.”
The centre has also recommended upgrading 5,965 vacant primary-level teaching positions and submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
According to ministry information officer Bir Bahadur Thami, the government has advanced the school merge policy while ensuring children’s right to education.
“The major reasons behind declining student numbers are migration, falling birth rates, the growing attraction toward private schools in urban areas, and the gradual depopulation of rural communities,” Thami told Nagarik. “Particularly in mountain and hill districts, the lack of students has made the utilization of teachers and infrastructure inefficient.”
He added, “The government is now moving ahead with remapping schools, readjusting institutions, and redistributing teaching positions based on student numbers.”
The government has linked school merge efforts with improving the quality of public education. Officials say the plan is to merge schools with very low enrollment into nearby institutions to make better use of teachers, resources, and infrastructure.
Authorities expect that after the merge, schools will be better able to provide subject-specific teachers, laboratories, libraries, and extracurricular activities.
However, parents and education stakeholders have expressed concerns that merging schools in remote areas could force students to travel longer distances, reduce access to education, and increase the risk of dropouts. In villages with poor transportation facilities, school merge policies may not be practical.
“School merger is not merely a campaign to reduce numbers; it is part of a broader effort to improve educational quality,” Thami said. “The government is proceeding based on experts’ recommendations that mergers should only be carried out after studying student populations, teachers, geographical conditions, and accessibility.”
According to official statistics, Nepal currently has around 35,000 schools, both public and private. The steady decline in student enrollment indicates the need for long-term restructuring of the education sector.
