Scholarships
Basic Information
Country
Geographic area
Institutions and agencies involved
Nepal - शिक्षा, विज्ञान तथा प्रविधि मन्त्रालय, MOE (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology)
[3] ILO. 2017. An analytical briefing on the social security sector in Nepal. International Labour Organization. Kathmandu: International Labour Organization and Ministry of Labour and Employment of Nepal. . Accessed 16 May 2018
Programme type
Population group
Children, Ethnic groups, Persons with disabilities, Women
Programme Details
Programme objectives
The objective of Nepal's Scholarships programme is to promote access to education by providing financial assistance for the costs of education (e.g. scholarships). To combat gender disparities, Nepal offers special scholarships to girls or have set quotas for them.
[1] Timilsana, Binod Khanda. 2017. “Right to Education: Scholarship to Ensure Accessibility’’. Saptagandaki Journal, Vol 8. <https://bit.ly/2QZfWS0>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Programme components
Nepal’s scholarships operationally speaking, only have one component: grants for students. However, this grant has a twofold purpose: it covers educational fees and provides some extra income as an incentive to stimulate school attendance. This programme thus work through two channels: they remove barriers to education by covering any direct costs associated with attending school, and they also provide some extra cash to compensate for the indirect opportunity costs of attending school such as the forgone opportunity to work instead. Hence, despite only having one operational component, these programmes are considered both Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) and Educational Fee Waivers (EFWs).
[2] ERDCN. 2011. A Study on Effectiveness of Girls’ Scholarship Program. Department of Education. Kathmandu: Educational Resource and Development Centre Nepal. <https://bit.ly/2AizhIi>. Accessed 16 May 2018
[9] Arruda, P.; Markhof, Y.; Franciscon, I.; Silva, W. and Bilo, C. 2020. Overview of non-contributory social protection programmes in South Asia from a child and equity perspective. Research Report No. 46. International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. <https://socialprotection.org/discover/publications/overview-non-contributory-social-protection-programmes-south-asia-child-and>. Accessed 22 February 2021.
Start date
1992
Conditionalities (if any)
Scholarship recipient should have 70% attendance at the school
[8] Centre for Educational Research and Social Development. 2010. “A Study on Scholarship Management and its Effectiveness in terms of Enrolment and Retention. Final Report”. < http://www.doe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/2c48236bdab098860aef0543c517b350.pdf> . Accessed 20 February 2019
Coverage
765,957 (grades 1-8) and 75,721 (grades 9-10) dalit students; 3,392 (grades 9-10) students with disability; 1,573,220 female students including Karnali; 77,316 students from endangered or marginalised groups at the basic level; and 127,785 other students (including children of martyrs, Kamhalari and conflict-affected children) studying at the secondary and higher secondary level have received scholarships (2015)
Total coverage: 2,623,391.00
[5] DoE. 2015. Status Report – 2014/15. Bhaktapur: Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education. <https://bit.ly/2CsF5QY>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Programme expenditure
NPR1,498,251 (estimate budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year)
[6] MoF 2017. “Budget Speech of Fiscal Year 2017/18”. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance. <https://bit.ly/2PCIjFb>. Accessed 16 May 2018
[9] Arruda, P.; Markhof, Y.; Franciscon, I.; Silva, W. and Bilo, C. 2020. Overview of non-contributory social protection programmes in South Asia from a child and equity perspective. Research Report No. 46. International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. <https://socialprotection.org/discover/publications/overview-non-contributory-social-protection-programmes-south-asia-child-and>. Accessed 22 February 2021.
Targeting and eligiblity
Targeted areas
Nationwide, with priority given to mountain and hill areas
[2] ERDCN. 2011. A Study on Effectiveness of Girls’ Scholarship Program. Department of Education. Kathmandu: Educational Resource and Development Centre Nepal. <https://bit.ly/2AizhIi>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Target groups
Nepal’s scholarships targets, among other groups, the descendants of martyrs (i.e. those who died in combat). Nepal’s scholarship programme prioritises children of martyrs.
Eligibility criteria
Eligibility criteria varies depending on the target group of each scholarship. Dalit children, girls, people with disabilities, ‘endangered’ and marginalised groups, conflict-affected children and children of martyrs are eligible for scholarship programmes
[3] ILO. 2017. An analytical briefing on the social security sector in Nepal. International Labour Organization. Kathmandu: International Labour Organization and Ministry of Labour and Employment of Nepal. <https://bit.ly/2AjOIQy>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Coverage and other information
Type of benefits
Cash
Amount of benefits
Benefits across the different scholarships range from NPR350 to NPR24,000 per year, depending on the type of scholarship, region and level of education. Some scholarships provide money to students and schools, while others just to the students
[1] Timilsana, Binod Khanda. 2017. “Right to Education: Scholarship to Ensure Accessibility’’. Saptagandaki Journal, Vol 8. <https://bit.ly/2QZfWS0>. Accessed 16 May 2018
[2] ERDCN. 2011. A Study on Effectiveness of Girls’ Scholarship Program. Department of Education. Kathmandu: Educational Resource and Development Centre Nepal. <https://bit.ly/2AizhIi>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Payment/delivery frequency
Yearly
[4] IDS. 2016. Improving Social Protection’s Response to Child Poverty and Vulnerability in Nepal. Sussex: Institute of Development Studies. <https://bit.ly/2J4t5X8>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Benefit delivery mechanism
Scholarships are distributed in the presence of a parent or primary caregiver in school during enrolment
[4] IDS. 2016. Improving Social Protection’s Response to Child Poverty and Vulnerability in Nepal. Sussex: Institute of Development Studies. <https://bit.ly/2J4t5X8>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Benefit recipients
Parents or primary caregivers, or schools
[2] ERDCN. 2011. A Study on Effectiveness of Girls’ Scholarship Program. Department of Education. Kathmandu: Educational Resource and Development Centre Nepal. <https://bit.ly/2AizhIi>. Accessed 16 May 2018
[4] IDS. 2016. Improving Social Protection’s Response to Child Poverty and Vulnerability in Nepal. Sussex: Institute of Development Studies. <https://bit.ly/2J4t5X8>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Minimum and maximum duration of benefits (if any)
Benefits last for the duration of the beneficiary’s studies
Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and frequency
The government plans to set up a database listing all scholarship recipients and to create a ‘one door’ monitoring system for the programme
[5] DoE. 2015. Status Report – 2014/15. Bhaktapur: Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education. <https://bit.ly/2CsF5QY>. Accessed 16 May 2018
Legal Framework
Social Welfare Act, 2049 (1992)
[7] Government of Nepal. 2017. “Social Welfare Act, 2049 (1992)”. Government of Nepal. http://www.swc.org.np/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SWC-Act.pdf
