The UNESCO Office in Kathmandu supports Nepal’s efforts to build capacity for evidence-based planning and monitoring in the area of education and to provide technical assistance in data collection and analysis with respect to both formal and non-formal education. Examples of the action of the Office in this regard include:

Supporting in the preparation of Flash reports (Department of Education) of school level educational statistics based on annual school censuses;

Strengthening school records management;

Establishing a non-formal education management information system (NFE-MIS);

Testing new methods of collecting literacy data for example using literacy modules in household surveys. 

In view of providing support for the smooth transition of Nepal from a centralized education to a decentralized system, the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu initiated debates on education and federalism, engaging members of the education community. The Office helped organize debates with the following key themes:

• Free and compulsory education;
• Private schooling;
• Language issue;
• Teacher management;
• Students’ pathways;
• Financing of education;
• Governance of higher education;
• Financing of higher education;
• Higher education curriculum and;
• Open and distance education.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) contribute to universal access to education, equity in education, the delivery of quality learning and teaching, teachers’ professional development and more efficient education management, governance and administration.

An example of the work of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu is providing support to capacity development and the preparation of an ICT in Education Master Plan.

In UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy 2008-2013, gender equality has been designated as one of the Organization's two global priorities. This priority is supported by a dual approach which consists of gender mainstreaming and gender-specific programming.

Gender mainstreaming is a strategy that makes the experiences and concerns of women and men an integral dimension of policy formulation and programming. It demands project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation that do not perpetuate gender inequality. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.

In support to building an effective national education system, the Office in collaboration with the MOE and UNICEF, provided the following support:     

• Training for Gender Focal Points to enhance their knowledge and understanding with respect to mainstreaming gender in education.
• A study on situation analysis of gender responsive budgeting in the education sector in Nepal. The findings of the study will inform policy on achieving gender equality in education and its recommendations will help improve planning.  
• Translation and dissemination of the Gender in Education Network in the Asia-Pacific (GENIA) toolkit for wider audiences. 

Education for sustainable development (ESD) seeks to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.

The action of the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu to foster ESD includes, for example:

• Promoting education for sustainable development;
• Developing the capacity of education officials and other key stakeholders for improving their knowledge and understanding to integrate elements of ESD in teacher education and curriculum.

The UNESCO Office in Kathmandu supports the national efforts to achieve the goals of EFA through undertaking research on different themes.  As a continuous activity, the Office has undertaken/is undertaking reviews and studies, including the following themes:  

• Situational Analysis of Gender Responsive Budgeting in the Education Sector in Nepal;
• Strengthening Teacher Training to Achieve EFA: Reviewing Pre-service Teacher Training in Nepal;
• Strengthening Community Learning Centres (CLCs) to Achieve EFA: Assessing the Functioning of CLCs in Nepal;
• Regional Review of Financing Literacy Programmes: Achieving the Goal of Literacy for All in Nepal;
• Transition from Primary to Secondary Education: Review of Policy Experiences in Nepal;
• Follow-up of Review of the Pre-service Teacher Education System in Nepal;
• Promoting Multilingual Education (MLE) in Nepal.