KATHMANDU: At Siddheshwar Secondary College positioned in Bhojpur Municipality–4, Dawa, preparations have been made to show data expertise to college students by procuring 10 computer systems. Nonetheless, because of the absence of a pc trainer, these computer systems stay locked away in a room on the college. In response to Principal Subas Dahal, two desktop computer systems have been bought via authorities grants 11 years in the past, and eight extra have been purchased seven years in the past. He says that due to the dearth of academics, the scholars’ need to be taught computer systems has not been fulfilled.
He says, “The federal government itself ought to have understood the necessity and despatched a pc trainer. However within the absence of a trainer, we have now not been capable of present college students with sensible coaching in data expertise.”
The college has repeatedly requested the District Training Coordination Unit to supply a pc trainer, however these requests have yielded no outcomes.
Other than occasional use for workplace functions, the computer systems stay locked in a room. Till three years in the past, theoretical courses have been performed to organize college students of grades 6–8 for examinations within the pc topic. At the moment, sensible courses have been often performed within the pc lab as nicely. Nonetheless, since Bhojpur Municipality made the native curriculum topic “Our Municipality” necessary from fiscal yr 2022/23, the educating of the pc topic has been fully discontinued.
Computer systems Unused in IT Lab Resulting from Lack of Topic Lecturers at Jalpa Singh Devi Primary College in Pathari Shanishchare, Morang. Photograph: Gopal Dahal
On 22 September 2025, Mahabir Pun turned the Minister for Training, Science and Expertise. The very subsequent day, he determined so as to add a compulsory submit for one pc trainer in each public college. Principal Dahal, who discovered about this information via the media, says, “If the federal government offers academics via official posts as directed by the schooling minister, the accessible assets can be utilized, and our college students would get the chance to be taught data expertise and computer systems.”
After the Nationwide Curriculum Framework 2006 envisioned ICT-based schooling, the federal government started offering grants to public colleges for buying computer systems. On 15 November 2019, the Ministry of Training, Science and Expertise, via the Training and Human Useful resource Improvement Middle, accredited the “Process for Establishing Data and Communication Expertise Laboratories in Neighborhood Colleges.” At the moment, the federal government aimed to determine ICT labs in neighborhood colleges, develop digital studying supplies, and enhance academics’ studying capability. Nonetheless, because of the lack of pc academics, ICT labs in most neighborhood colleges have turn out to be ineffective.
Training knowledgeable Binay Kumar Kusiyait says that because of the scarcity of academics, the situation of many labs is not any totally different from that of Siddheshwar Secondary College in Bhojpur. He says, “Most ICT labs have turn out to be warehouses for storing pc gear. As a result of lack of expert academics, pc labs in many faculties are unused.”
With the fast improvement of knowledge expertise, demand for IT-skilled manpower within the world labor market has been rising. In response to a examine report titled “IT Providers Being Exported Overseas” revealed in 2023 by the Kathmandu-based Institute for Built-in Improvement Research (IIDS), Nepal has a median annual demand for 23,000 IT professionals.
Regardless of the excessive demand for IT manpower, the topic is very uncared for in public colleges, that are thought-about the inspiration for producing IT human assets. There may be neither satisfactory infrastructure nor academics who can educate IT. To enter the IT sector, pc data and abilities are important. Nonetheless, regardless that ICT labs have been established in lots of public colleges, there’s a persistent scarcity of the required academics.
In response to the Financial Survey 2024/25, out of 27,298 public colleges working throughout the nation, 85.43 % have entry to the web. Nonetheless, solely 29.43 % of them have expanded ICT labs. Dipendra Chaulagain, a social research trainer at Durbar Excessive College in Rani Pokhari, Kathmandu, says that even operating ICT courses by arranging academics via non-public sources is difficult. “The federal government claims to supply free schooling, however to handle the wage and advantages of pc academics, we’re compelled to gather charges,” he says.
In response to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority, broadband web companies had been expanded to six,566 ward facilities by mid-March 2025.
Weak basis
With out growing data, abilities, and capability in science, expertise, engineering, and arithmetic (STEM) together with pc schooling, it’s not attainable to provide expert IT manpower. Nonetheless, studying ranges in these very topics are weak in public colleges. To such an extent that amongst college students who fail to acquire grades (non-graded) within the Secondary Training Examination (SEE), the very best quantity are in arithmetic.
In final yr’s SEE, out of 167,597 non-graded college students, the very best quantity – 128,215 – have been in arithmetic. Equally, 79,271 college students have been non-graded in science and expertise, and 80,672 have been non-graded in English.
To supply expert IT manpower, glorious leads to these topics are important. Nonetheless, outcomes on the college degree in these topics are weak – not solely in SEE, but in addition in decrease grades, the place studying outcomes are unsatisfactory. The 62nd Annual Report (2082) of the Workplace of the Auditor Common identified that the focused studying outcomes in arithmetic, English, and science for grade 8 weren’t achieved. In fiscal yr 2023/24, the goal was to realize a 63 % studying end result in grade 8 arithmetic, English, and science, however precise outcomes have been restricted to 26, 25, and 28 %, respectively.
In response to final fiscal yr’s report by the Training High quality Testing Middle below the Ministry of Training, Science and Expertise, many grade 5 college students are struggling to realize even minimal studying outcomes. The report states that studying outcomes in grade 5 arithmetic in 2022 declined in comparison with 2018.
Equally, studying in studying and mathematical abilities amongst grade 3 college students is weak, in keeping with a analysis paper titled “Pupil Evaluation Processes and Outcomes of College Efficiency Testing,” revealed on 6 July 2025 in Nepal Journals On-line (NepJOL) by Deviram Acharya, Director of the Training High quality Testing Middle.
As a result of weak ICT basis on the college degree, the variety of college students pursuing larger schooling on this discipline can be low. In response to information from the Nationwide Census 2021, a complete of three,972,664 individuals throughout the nation have handed grade 11 as much as postgraduate degree or equal. Amongst them, solely 7.1 % (281,887 individuals) studied science and expertise, and simply 1.2 % (45,880 individuals) studied pc and knowledge expertise.
In comparison with public colleges, ICT educating seems comparatively higher in non-public colleges. Non-public colleges make efficient use of their accessible infrastructure to show college students. “Non-public colleges are naturally proactive – from administrative workers to academics – about guaranteeing that pc labs are well-managed, staffed with competent academics, and helpful for college students,” states a analysis paper titled “Challenges of ICT Use in Public and Non-public Colleges” by Govinda Prasad Acharya, Head of the Data and Communication Expertise Program at Surkhet A number of Campus, revealed within the Surkhet Journal on 25 November 2025. The paper additional states, “In neighborhood colleges, the primary subject is the absence of pc academics, and there’s a common lack of curiosity in ICT educating – from administrative administration to academics themselves.”
As a result of scarcity of subject-specific academics, college students’ studying outcomes in ICT topics have turn out to be weak. In response to final yr’s Flash Report of the Training and Human Useful resource Improvement Middle, there are 7,131 neighborhood colleges throughout the nation that provide secondary-level schooling (grades 9 to 12). Not all colleges have subject-specific academics. The middle’s information present that about half of neighborhood colleges lack academics for arithmetic, English, and science and expertise topics.
In response to information supplied by the middle as of 14 January 2026, there are solely 2,670 arithmetic academics, 3,371 English academics, and three,203 science and expertise academics educating grades 9 and 10 in public colleges nationwide. Shiva Kumar Sapkota, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson for the Planning and Monitoring Division of the Ministry of Training, says, “Some colleges could have been excluded from this information if particulars of topic academics weren’t reported, however the scarcity of academics in core topics like arithmetic, English, and science is a standard downside in public colleges throughout the nation. This has affected ICT educating and studying.”
Rule 77 of the Training Regulation, 2002, stipulates that the trainer–scholar ratio in neighborhood colleges ought to be 40 within the Himalayan area, 45 within the hills, and 50 within the Kathmandu Valley and Terai. Nonetheless, this ratio has not been maintained in IT-related topics comparable to arithmetic, English, and science. In these topics, the coed load per trainer is three to 4 instances larger than prescribed.
Reliance on theoretical educating
In response to IT economist Amrita Sharma, who holds a PhD in data and communication expertise employment, satisfactory abilities and data on this discipline are important to enter and maintain a profession in IT. Nonetheless, she says the federal government has not paid sufficient consideration to retaining IT professionals by offering them with larger alternatives. “Human assets are the spine of the digital sector, and expert manpower should be produced via the schooling system,” she says. “Though IT programs are included within the nation’s schooling system, they’re largely theoretical, with only a few sensible courses. Consequently, expert IT manpower according to market demand has not been produced.”
Bhairav Tech Firm in Kathmandu. Photograph: Firm Web site
Sharma says that the dearth of coordination between ICT schooling in colleges and schools and the manpower wants of the market creates difficulties for brand spanking new entrants to the IT discipline. “Those that are presently working in IT are all self-motivated,” she says. “IT corporations search for expert manpower with market-relevant expertise, however we have now not centered on producing such human assets.”
Certainly, in an IIDS survey, 74.1 % of IT firm operators questioned the standard of Nepal’s schooling system. They stated that Nepal’s instructional establishments have failed to provide IT manpower able to competing within the world market. Almost 70 % of respondents within the survey said that the federal government lacks an applicable coverage framework for the event of Nepal’s IT sector.
Lack of ICT infrastructure
Sapkota, the Joint Secretary and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Training’s Planning and Monitoring Division, acknowledges that there’s a scarcity of each instructional infrastructure and academics wanted to provide manpower in keeping with market demand within the IT sector. “The present schooling system is designed solely to supply ‘common schooling,’” he says. “As a result of the schooling sector’s share of the nationwide finances has been declining in comparison with earlier years, a scarcity of assets has prevented satisfactory consideration to infrastructure and human assets wanted to provide ICT college students.”
Regardless of the weak ICT basis at school schooling, Nepali youth have been incomes substantial earnings from the worldwide IT market. In response to “IT Market Evaluation” by the Germany-based world survey portal Statista, demand for expert manpower is rising in areas comparable to software program improvement, internet designing, information science, digital advertising and marketing, synthetic intelligence, and automation testing. Consequently, in keeping with 2022 information from IIDS, Nepali youth earn greater than Rs 67 billion yearly by exporting IT abilities and companies to IT corporations in america, Europe, and Gulf international locations.
In 2017, the variety of IT professionals working in areas comparable to software program improvement, gross sales and advertising and marketing, inventive and multimedia work, and writing and translation for digital platforms was 27,560. By 2022, this quantity had elevated to 66,500. Lately, the variety of IT corporations has additionally elevated. In response to economist Sharma, the variety of IT corporations in Nepal rose from 106 in 2022 to 326 just some months in the past.
Sharma, who additionally led the IIDS analysis on “IT Providers Being Exported Overseas,” says Nepalis are exporting companies comparable to coding, programming, design, software program improvement, social media administration, video modifying, animation, content material creation and modifying, gaming, and {hardware} manufacturing to overseas markets.
It’s encouraging that, regardless of restricted instructional infrastructure and largely via their very own efforts, younger individuals are incomes earnings by exporting IT abilities and companies. The variety of youths searching for careers in IT in Nepal is rising. Sudan Jha, Assistant Director of the Division of Laptop Science and Engineering at Kathmandu College, identifies two causes for the rising presence of Nepali youth within the IT sector lately. First, IT has turn out to be a most well-liked discipline for younger individuals taken with web expertise. Second, younger individuals are prepared to work exhausting even for low salaries. Jha provides, “Whatever the discipline, Nepalis are able to do good work for low pay. Today, when overseas corporations want IT initiatives performed or IT workers, Nepali youth are the primary selection.”
Issues Cyber, an IT firm that gives cybersecurity companies. Photograph: Bikram Rai
Jha additional says that fast technological improvement and increasing entry will enhance demand for cybersecurity and AI auditors. “Faculty college students are getting alternatives based mostly on the small initiatives they do,” he says. “If the federal government systematically organizes this on the coverage degree, teaches ICT successfully from the college degree, and creates an atmosphere the place universities can provide inexpensive schooling, the nation can broaden IT alternatives domestically.”
Nonetheless, though the federal government has invested in web infrastructure and enlargement, it has not paid enough consideration to producing expert IT manpower. Consequently, the nation has not been capable of provide IT professionals according to world market demand. As a result of the ICT basis is weak on the college degree, producing manpower has turn out to be difficult. AI knowledgeable Dobhan Rai says, “ICT retains evolving. To supply manpower that may promote and maintain itself within the labor market accordingly, the federal government should strengthen the ICT basis beginning on the college degree.”
