The Project is designed to provide support to the Government of Nepal’s School Sector Development Program (SSDP), which builds upon the School Sector Reform Program that lasted from 2010-2016.

The Program Development Objective (PDO) is to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education in Nepal. Specifically, the Bank is funding reforms in the following areas:

• Improved teacher management and accountability (24% of funding)
• Strengthened governance, fiduciary management, data systems and institutional capacity for results-based program implementation (20% of funding)
• Improved school management and accountability system (17% of funding)
• Improved access to basic education and retention in secondary schools (16% of funding)
• National curriculum framework (NCF) revised and implemented (13% of funding)
• Assessment and examination system reforms undertaken to improve teaching and learning (10% of funding)

This will be based on:

• Improved quality of education based on national test scores, time spent teaching, and grade 8-12 student retention rate
• Increased equitable access measured by the net enrollment rate in the 15 most disadvantaged districts
• Improved operational efficiency measured by the percentage of funds disbursed to schools in compliance with eligibility and utilization guidelines