Nepal

In 1996 there were a total of 114,051 teachers in the public sector; 82,645 were primary level teachers, 16,281 were lower secondary level teachers, and 14,585 were secondary level teachers. The teachers at the primary level must complete proficiency certificate level (PCL) in education, and a two-year program offered from Tribhuvan University or its equivalent. The courses taught include English language education, Nepali language education, mathematics education, science education, health and physical education, population education, history education, geography education, economics education, political science education, and vocational education. Teachers at the lower secondary and secondary level must complete a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), which is a three-year program with one additional year of practical training. The program covers, in addition to the subjects of PCL, educational management, primary education, nonformal education, educational technology, early childhood education, special education, educational planning, and curriculum evaluation. For administrative positions, completion of a Master of Education (M.Ed.) is usually required. The National Center for Education Development (NCED) provides in-service training for primary school teachers through its nine primary training centers. Some private teacher training centers affiliated to NCED conduct pre-service teacher training. The salaries for teachers in the public primary schools in 2000 were between NR 4,000 to 6,000 per month, and for secondary teachers, between NR 5,000 to 10,000 per month.

Several groups and unions of teachers have emerged over the past few decades. These groups have held close alliance with political parties. Two major teachers associations are the National Teachers Organization (NTO), affiliated with Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist (CPN/UNL), and the Nepal Teachers Association (NTA), affiliated with Nepali Congress Party (NCP). In addition there are smaller associations affiliated with the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the Nepal Sadbhavna Party (NSP).