KATHMANDU, Sept 9: Nepal's community school network is rapidly shrinking, with more than 2,000 schools disappearing from official records over the past five years amid falling student numbers, migration and declining birth rates.
Government data show that the number of community schools fell from 27,813 in 2077 BS to 25,623 in the 2082 BS academic year—a decline of 2,190 schools, or about 7.9 percent. Meanwhile, more than 800 community schools have been merged nationwide, according to government officials.
The decline could accelerate further following the recent Bhotekoshi flood, officials said, as schools in disaster-hit and sparsely populated areas face growing pressure for consolidation.
However, the fall of 2,190 schools in official records does not mean that all of them were closed or merged. Officials say the decline also reflects school mapping, reductions in grades or classes, mergers and consolidation, as well as the suspension of operations at some schools.
2,190 fewer community schools in five years
According to the Economic Survey 2082/83 BS, Nepal had 35,951 schools operating nationwide in the 2082 BS academic year. Of these, 25,623 were community schools, 8,941 were institutional schools and 1,387 were traditional or religious schools.
Five years earlier, in 2077 BS, Nepal had 27,813 community schools. The number has since dropped to 25,623, representing a decline of around 7.9 percent.
The government has identified school mapping and consolidation as major reasons for the decline. The Economic Survey 2081/82 BS had also attributed the decrease in the number of community schools between the 2080 BS and 2081 BS academic years primarily to school mapping and consolidation.
More than 800 schools merged
Data from the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD), cited in the Economic Survey, show that the number of community schools merged has increased significantly in recent years.
E-learning centers in Banepa community schools
The government has also allocated Rs 450 million in incentives for school consolidation in the current fiscal year, indicating that school mergers are no longer merely a local-level initiative but have also become a priority of the federal government.
CEHRD Director and Information Officer Nim Prakash Singh Rathore said the centre had instructed local governments in Magh 2081 BS to update and submit details of schools that had been closed or consolidated.
“According to the latest information received by the centre, the number of community schools merged has increased from 662,” Rathore told Republica. He also said the student-teacher ratio had fallen from 30 students per teacher to below 20.
“Student numbers are low in the hill districts. The number of school mergers is likely to increase further following the disasters,” he said.
Rathore said the government had allocated Rs 1 billion for the school mapping programme in the current fiscal year, with more than Rs 570 million already transferred to local governments for the purpose.
More than half have fewer than 100 students
Declining student enrolment is another major factor driving the pressure to merge schools. According to the Economic Survey 2082/83 BS, 13,736 community schools have fewer than 100 students—more than half of all community schools in the country.
In the 2081 BS academic year, 15,273 community schools had fewer than 100 students, accounting for around 55 percent of all community schools.
The government has adopted a policy of mapping schools with low enrolment and consolidating them where necessary, Rathore said. He attributed the decline in student numbers in recent years largely to increasing migration from rural and hill areas and the country's falling birth rate.
School mergers are not new, but the pace is increasing
The practice of merging schools is not new in Nepal. According to CEHRD data, 148 schools were merged into other schools in 2072 BS, followed by 159 in 2073 and 165 in 2074 BS.
At the time, the government used factors such as student numbers, distance between schools and the number of teachers to determine whether schools should be merged. At least 472 schools were merged over those three years.
The process has become more widespread in recent years as local governments have increasingly exercised their authority over school mapping and consolidation.
Fewer schools does not necessarily mean more closures
The decline of 2,190 community schools in the official records should not be interpreted as 2,190 schools having been closed.
One reason is that when two or more schools are merged, the separate records of the schools that cease to operate independently are removed from the official count. The number can also fall when schools reduce their grades or classes or suspend operations.
CEHRD's practice of seeking separate details of schools that have been closed, merged or consolidated further indicates that these are different categories and should not be treated as one.
Therefore, based on the currently available national data, the clearest figure for merged community schools is the 662 reported by CEHRD, while the total number of community schools recorded nationwide has declined by 2,190 between 2077 BS and 2082 BS.
Zero-enrolment schools face mandatory consolidation
The government is also tightening its policy on school consolidation. Under the 10th amendment to the Education Regulations approved in 2083 BS, schools with zero students must be merged or consolidated within one year.
Schools can also be considered for consolidation based on student numbers, population growth, migration, the number of households and available physical infrastructure. The regulations allow local governments to consolidate schools where student numbers in individual grades are too low.
The new provisions indicate that the number of schools could decline further in the coming years.
Community schools shrink as private sector share grows
While the number of community schools has declined, the share of institutional schools has increased.
In 2077 BS, community schools accounted for around 78 percent of all schools in Nepal. By 2082 BS, their share had fallen to around 71 percent. Over the same period, the share of institutional schools increased from around 19 percent to 25 percent.
The shift raises a larger question for Nepal's education system: are schools being merged primarily because the number of students is declining, or are fewer students enrolling in community schools because of a growing preference for private institutions?
The government views school consolidation as a way to pool scattered resources and build better-quality schools rather than reduce children's access to education, Rathore said.
However, education experts have cautioned that merging schools in remote and mountainous areas could force children to travel long distances. They have therefore called for authorities to assess local geography, accessibility, transportation and the capacity of alternative schools before carrying out mergers.
