The report aims to answer the question: are the children of Budhanilkantha Nagarpalika (BuNaPa) able to read (in Nepali and English) and do math at the grade 2 level? As a secondary goal it also gathers data about the status of schools and youth so that this evidence can be used for action i.e. to formulate policy that allows the local government to secure the education and thus the future of children under its care. To prepare this report over 3500 households in BuNaPa were visited by the citizen assessors. In each household with children between 5 and 16 years, each child was tested on the Nepali, English and Math skills they should have learned in class 2 as per the Government of Nepal’s curriculum. Children of all ages were assessed on exactly the same test i.e. grade 2 level skills. In Nepali they were asked to read a story, in English a paragraph and in Math they were asked to perform division problems. All children over the age of 8 and thus past class 2 should have passed all three tests. But the results show a cause for concern. About 40% of 8 to 16 year old students could not read the Nepali story with fluency, about 25% could not read the paragraph in English and about 30% could not perform a grade 2 level division problems. Besides learning outcomes this report also gathered data about the households and schools in BuNaPa. Access to education looks promising, with 99% of school age children reported as enrolled in school. An analysis of the last 1% did not reveal any discernible pattern in out-of-school children. Thus getting this last 1% to school will require special efforts at the ward level.
Languages:
Regions/Countries:
Level of education: