In November 2011, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $65 million policy-based grant for Nepal’s School Sector Program. The program was a follow-on to its support for the government’s school sector reform plan (SSRP) for 2009–2016, which was then making progress in introducing strategic reforms to increase access and equity, improve quality and relevance, and strengthen the institutional capacity of the school education system. Disbursement of the ADB grant, and the ensuing $3.465 million Australian government co-financing, was made in 3 tranches, contingent on the implementation of 23 policy actions. These policy actions aimed to strengthen SSRP implementation, which followed a sector-wide approach and was jointly supported by ADB and 8 other development partners.
In line with the SSRP, the program’s anticipated impact was enhanced educational attainment and livelihood, particularly for girls and disadvantaged groups. Its intended outcome was increased access to and improved quality of basic education (grades 1–8), especially for girls and children from disadvantaged groups. It had 5 crosscutting outputs: (i) more equitable access to quality education, (ii) enhanced student learning, (iii) safer schools, (iv) enhanced teacher management and development, and (v) better management of governance risks in the education sector.
Under output 1: the program was able to reduce the number of out-of-school children, aged 5–12; raise the enrollment of 4-year-old children in early childhood education; and impressively improve gender parity in both the general enrollment and net enrollment rates for grades 9–12.
Under output 2: 5,000 out of the 8,340 basic education schools that did not meet 3 of the 5 priority minimum enabling conditions ─ including adequate number of teachers and classrooms, separate toilets for girls and boys, and full sets of textbook and other learning materials ─ were assisted; and national assessments for students’ achievements for grades 3, 5, and 8 were conducted.
Under output 3: a new initiative to mainstream disaster risk reduction in school education was started ─ school buildings were retrofitted; teachers and students were trained in school safety; and masons, and engineers and subengineers at the Department of Education (DOE) were given pilot training on retrofitting.
Under output 4: a comprehensive teacher management and development strategy, comprising 30 actions, was developed; courses for upgrading the qualifications of teachers were provided; teachers’ licensing and recruitment processes were made more rigorous and transparent; and redeployment of teachers from excess to deficit schools in a district was initiated.
Under output 5: the program facilitated the implementation of SSRP Financial Management Improvement Action Plan that laid the foundation for a broader and better understanding of fiduciary risks and mitigation measures in the school education system.
Several output targets were not met. Nevertheless, the program was able to achieve 3 of its 5 outcome targets, specifically in increasing the net enrollment rates and gender parity in basic and primary education.
Self-evaluation by ADB’s South Asia Department rated the program successful. Along with the SSRP, the program was executed by the Ministry of Education and implemented by the DOE.
