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Areas of Action

Project UNESCO/UNPFN/B-4 “Planning effective delivery of education in a future federal state”

: © UNESCO/N. Shah -
Tap Raj Pant/UNESCO speaking about the importance of micro planning in the effective delivery of education

Project fact sheet http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/project/00085974

Eradicating inequality and guaranteeing social inclusion through ensuring fundamental rights, in particular universal access to quality education services, remain major challenges, which need to be addressed to accelerate the peace process and foster development.

The project "Planning effective delivery of education in a future federal state" aims to contribute to Nepal’s peace and development process by fostering a constructive dialogue and planning leading to progress in constitution making by focusing on effective delivery of inclusive quality education services in the future federal structure. It provides technical assistance for analysis and planning needed by the new federal government bodies involved, to guarantee quality basic education services based on human rights, social inclusion and non-discrimination.

Project duration: April 2013 – July 2015

Budget: USD 378,000

The project is financed by the UN Peace Fund for Nepal, a multi-donor trust fund supported by the governments of Canada, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Project background

Nepal is a federal republic under the terms of the Interim Constitution. Since 2008, federalism is a fundamental principle that has underpinned all the work of the former Constituent Assembly (CA) providing framework to manage the transition of Nepal from a constitutional monarchy to a democracy. However, the CA was dissolved in 2012 after its original and extended total tenure of four years without completing the new Constitution and the debates on then form of the future federal state continue.

Restructuring the state to implement federalism is inextricably linked with the social inclusion agenda and has potentially far-reaching provisions covering non-discrimination, proportional representation, quotas, affirmative action and fundamental rights. In addition, the success of the future federal Nepal depends on how federalism can bring improvements to the functions of government, in particular as regards to basic services such as education, health, food, etc.

Project Objectives

The project aims at

· Contributing to Nepal’s peace and development process by fostering a constructive dialogue and planning leading to progress in constitution making by focusing on effective delivery of inclusive quality education services in the future federal structure.

· Providing technical assistance for analysis and planning needed by the new federal government bodies involved, to guarantee quality basic education services based on human rights, social inclusion and non-discrimination.

· Providing a strategic contribution towards achieving the long-term structural transformations embedded in the Comprehensive Peace Accord that are necessary for the state to be able to deliver gender-sensitive, human-rights based and inclusive quality basic services.

Project Strategy

· Creating awareness and understanding amongst education stakeholders on the implications of the future federal state structure on planning and managing education;

· Building the capacity of education stakeholders to develop politically accepted technical options and models for the future education system including the establishment of an education and federalism support desk and reference group at Ministry of Education;

· Establishing options for inclusive coordination mechanisms during any potential future transition, putting in place resources for planning and building the capacity of main stakeholders involved;

· Developing options for the restructuring of the education sector including options for resource transfers, teacher training, curriculum development, governance architecture, staffing and recruitment of qualified teachers, timing, oversight and accountability, and costing of education system. The models developed by the project will be based on review, research, and dialogue among stakeholders;

· Building on approaches and achievements realized within the framework of the School Sector Reform Program as the cornerstone of the government’s plans for education;

· Testing mechanisms for instigating dialogue and planning for the future federal state in other key public sectors, for example health and agriculture.