Barriers in Nepals education system: A Dalit perspective

State mechanism, Brahmanism and Hindu religion are primarily responsible for the past and present of
the Dalits. Sudras were officially denied from education, social and political participation and later they
were stigmatized as the UNTOUCHABLES, a mark that still exists in Nepali
society and state law makers are also greatly influenced by this thoughts and
majority of them are Brahmins.
By Bimal Gadal
Nepal has about 20% of her 30-million population still suffering from age-old socioeconomic and political oppressions based on hierarchical Hindu caste system. The
forms of these oppressions are manifold; "untouchability" is the most outrageous
one, which is a grave crime against humanity. Over a period of time, casteism
developed a rigid hierarchical society with the purity and pollution of castes. In this
manufactured caste hierarchy, Brahmins lie at the top, and Sudras, or Dalits, lie at
the bottom of society. The people belonging to this community are living in a swamp of illiteracy,
exploitation, marginalization, absolute poverty and, above all, caste discrimination.
The education system in Nepal is characterized by large disparities in primary and secondary school
attendance. School attendance rates are higher among the higher caste, boys, residents of urban areas,
and children from wealthier households. According to figure 1, the primary school net attendance rate
(NAR) - at the national level is 73.5%. Children from Brahman, Chhetri, and Newar households have the
highest NAR values, between 86.8 and 93% followed by the lowest NAR among Muslims (32.1%) and
Tarai Dalits (37.5%).

Source: Nepal Demographic and Health Survey/DHS (2001).

Secondary school net attendance rates in Nepal are shown in Figure 2, which reveals that 30.9 percent of
all Nepali children of secondary school age attend secondary school. The pattern of disparity is similar to
that at the primary level of the education system. NAR values are highest among children from Brahman,
Chhetri, and Newar households, ranging from 44.6 to 52.3%, Muslims (7.9%), Tarai Dalits (secondary
NAR 7.2%) are least likely to attend secondary school (Huebler, 2007).

Source: Nepal Demographic and Health Survey/DHS (2001).

Discrimination and economic barriers to Dalits primary education has a visibly disastrous impact on their
higher education, with Dalits making up less than 1 percent of those in Nepal with a Bachelors of Arts or
higher degree. While the Nepalese Government has introduced Dalit Scholarship programs, the
scholarships have been largely misused because of a lack of effective monitoring and prejudice by highcaste officials and teachers.
Experts have identified four levels of discrimination that result in the educational marginalization of Dalits.
First, Dalit children face structural discrimination stemming from the discriminatory physical
infrastructure and social environment of schools. Second, Dalit students face silent discrimination. Third,
Dalit students face direct discrimination through their treatment as untouchables by both teachers and
non- Dalit students. Additionally, Dalit teachers are typically socially segregated from non-Dalit teachers.
As a consequence, more than 80% of Dalits in Nepal live below the poverty line. The impact of illiteracy
can also be seen in the life expectancy, where the life expectancy of non-Dalits is 57 years; among Dalits,
it is only 42 years (COCAP, 2003). Infant mortality rate under 5 is 171 per 1,000 live births among Dalit
population against the national average 105 per 1,000 live births (WB/DFID, 2006). Dalits account for only
3.8% of workers in the development sector and far less in government sectors. The average life
expectancy of non-Dalits is 59 years; among Dalits, it is only 50.8 years. The national average female life
expectancy is 58.9 years, but for Dalit women it is only 48.3 years. The GDP per capita for non-Dalits is
$210 per annum; among Dalits, it is only $39 per annum (NPC/ GoN, 2007).

State mechanism, Brahmanism and Hindu religion are primarily responsible for the past and present of
the Dalits. Sudras were officially denied from education, social and political participation and later they
were stigmatized as the UNTOUCHABLES, a mark that still exists in Nepali society and state law
makers are also greatly influenced by this thoughts and majority of them are Brahmins. It has greatly
affected the formulation and implementation of Dalit friendly education policy in Nepal.
Landlords, the largest power holding group, want to continue the existing social structure to exploit Dalit
children and the families as farm laborers and for other menial works. They believe that sending Dalit
children to school hinders them from exploiting these children in their farm work, domestic works and
grazing livestock. The Nepali government shields these landlords since leaders, ministers and
parliamentarians themselves are the landlords and they need cheap farm labor and domestic workers a
role fulfilled by the Dalits.
In the past; traditional leaders, the culture and government institutions in Nepal worked together towards
maintaining the inequitable status quo. The Nepalese culture largely rests on the pillars of negative
respect, dignity and prestige, a traditional system that poses challenges for movements seeking the right
to education. Dalit children are scolded with the derogative words while walking to school and teachers
compel them to clean the toilets and humiliate them in many ways, which de-motivate the children from
going school. Similarly, the Hindu traditional practice in Nepal is still strong in imposing restriction for intercaste marriage and forcing them to follow a barter system for their livelihood. These practices continue to
humiliate the Dalit community and have compelled them to follow traditional livelihood practices which
make them unable to afford the cost of education for their children.
Dalit communities are highly influenced by the patriarchal system which considers women as second
class citizens. Therefore, their access to education is highly restricted or under the control of men. There
is a big disparity in the gender roles between men and women. Daughters receive less care in food,
nutrition, health and education, which prevent them from accessing vital opportunities.
In Nepal, donors have opened their wallets for women's empowerment and poverty alleviation. They claim
to work for women and socially excluded communities but reality is different. They indeed hardly reach
out to the poorest of the poor that is Dalit women. Programs and policies formulated and implemented by
these agencies are not designed to break these barriers, which has greatly hindered the development of
Dalits in Nepal.
(Gadal is Program Coordinator, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok. He can be reached
at: bimal@adpc.net)
(Editors Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are
requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day
Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000
words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of
the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups
to editors@mos.com.np This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need
JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need
JavaScript enabled to view it)