As the number of students at the primary level in community schools has been declining while the number at higher levels has been increasing, the government is preparing to transfer 5,965 teacher positions from the primary level to the lower secondary level.
According to the government’s latest definition of the Nepal education system, Grades 1 to 8 are called the basic level, and Grades 9 to 12 are called the secondary level. Although these grades fall under the same basic level, posts from the lower grades are being upgraded to higher grades.
The Center for Education and Human Resource Development has studied the teacher positions and sent the proposal for upgrading to the Ministry of Education and Sports. The ministry is also studying the data sent by the center.
According to the center’s Director General Ana Prasad Neupane, 5,965 primary-level posts are being transferred to the lower secondary level in the first phase. “After that, we will gradually recommend other posts to the ministry for upgrading as well,” he said.
According to the center, because the teacher-student ratio does not match, the primary level currently has 20,000 teacher positions more than required. Since the posts appear to be more than needed and must be adjusted with other levels, permanent teacher recruitment has not been carried out at the primary level for the past two years.
At present, the primary level, meaning Grades 1 to 5, has 145,753 teacher positions. A total of 3,554,904 students are studying at this level. Based on this, one teacher at Grades 1 to 5 has an average of 24 students.
In Grades 6 to 8, there are 59,552 teachers. A total of 1,819,368 students are studying at this level. Accordingly, one teacher at Grades 6 to 8 has an average of 30 students.
In community schools, the trend shows a decline in students at the primary level and an increase at higher levels. However, the center has stated that in private and institutional schools, there are comparatively more students at lower levels and fewer at higher levels.
Although the average teacher-student ratio appears this way, the center says the ratio is highly uneven according to the country’s geographical conditions. The teacher positions are being reviewed to adjust this uneven ratio.
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