Kathmandu, December 27

The Ministry of Education is all set to introduce School Sector Development Plan in a bid to improve learning environment as well as to enhance the overall quality of education across the country.

The plan will come into effect from July 2016. Various campaigns and programmes would be launched to implement the plan in line with the government’s vision to graduate from the status of least developed country by 2022.

SSDP will continue the government’s efforts to ensure access to quality education for all through programmes such as Education for All, Secondary Education Support Programme, Community School Support Programme, Teacher Education Project and School Sector Reform Plan.

Speaking at a programme today, joint secretary at the education ministry Dr Laba Deo Awasthi said that the programmes implemented in the past was investment-oriented and that the SSDP would be result-oriented.

“We focused on systemic strengthening in the past, while the new programme will strengthen measures to bring quality in student learning outcomes,” he said.

Nepal’s new constitution (2015) demands a thorough reorientation of the education system through structural and functional reforms, including change in policy and regulatory frameworks.

The constitution guarantees the fundamental right to education and lays down the Directive Principles of the State on education.

“The SSDP will work to ensure these rights through the implementation of SSDP,” he said, adding, “It is purely a government-run programme and hence will be funded by the government.”

SSDP Consultant Dr Vishnu Karki said SSRP focused only on reforms in the education sector and hence could not bring about qualitative change. “But SSDP will maintain a balance between reform and developmental activities, simultaneously,” he said.

“As there had been a massive investment in SSRP, school infrastructures had been built and minimum enabling conditions had been created in schools. But these things were only peripheral development.” He added that the focus now would be on student learning outcomes.

The MoE has been successful in achieving 96.6 per cent net enrollment rate in primary level after implementation of SSRP.