KATHMANDU, July 20: The government has amended the Education Regulations to formally restructure Nepal's school system into two levels, bringing it in line with the Constitution and ending the decades old four tier structure.
The 10th Amendment to the Education Regulations, 2059 BS, now renamed the Education Regulations, 2083 BS, classifies school education into Basic Education (Grades 1 to 8) and Secondary Education (Grades 9 to 12). The amendment abolishes the previous legal framework that recognized primary (Grades 1 to 5), lower secondary (Grades 6 to 8), secondary (Grades 9 and 10), and higher secondary (Grades 11 and 12) as separate levels.
Although the 2015 Constitution had already adopted the two-tier system, outdated provisions in the Education Act and Regulations allowed the old structure to continue. The Ministry of Education says the amendment removes that legal inconsistency.
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Ministry spokesperson and Joint Secretary Shiva Sapkota said the change goes beyond renaming school levels. It lays the legal foundation for future reforms in teacher recruitment, transfers, promotions, school management, curriculum development, and education administration.
He said Grades 11 and 12 were brought under school education after the Higher Secondary Education Board was dissolved, but teacher management and administrative arrangements had continued under the old classification. The amendment will allow future education laws and Teacher Service Commission procedures to follow the new two-level structure.
The ministry said the amendment also strengthens local governments' role in school management, in line with the Constitution. Basic education from Grades 1 to 8 will now operate under a unified management system, while Grades 9 to 12 will be administered as a single secondary level. Local governments are expected to gain greater authority over school planning, teacher deployment, and resource management.
The amendment is expected to have its biggest impact on teacher management. Teachers are currently recruited under primary, lower secondary, and secondary categories, while most Grade 11 and 12 teachers remain grant funded. The government said teacher classification, service conditions, promotions, transfers, and staffing will eventually be reorganized under the new structure through the proposed School Education Act. Existing teachers' service conditions, however, remain unchanged for now.
The regulations also introduce several other reforms. Active office bearers and members of political parties are barred from serving on School Management Committees. The rules revise the criteria for appointing head teachers and streamline procedures for establishing schools and adding new grades.
The Nepal Teachers' Federation has welcomed the two-level structure but criticized several provisions in the amendment. Federation General Secretary Tula Bahadur Thapa said the new rule limiting permanent teachers to a maximum of three years in one school would complicate transfers and weaken community schools.
He also said implementation will remain difficult as the Teacher Service Commission is currently without office bearers, leaving teacher recruitment, promotions, transfers, and examinations on hold.
The federation further objected to provisions preventing teachers from being deputed to the federation and restricting them from engaging in activities outside teaching. It also questioned the amendment for failing to clearly define how education related powers will be shared among the federal, provincial, and local governments.
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