KATHMANDU, Oct 1: The government has spent more than Rs 36 billion over the past 18 years on literacy campaigns, but 112 local units in nine districts are still awaiting declaration as literate, highlighting the gap between the country’s long-running literacy campaign and its goal of eliminating illiteracy.
The government launched the National Literacy Campaign in fiscal year 2008/09 with the objective of eliminating illiteracy across the country. Despite the investment of more than Rs 36 billion since then, Nepal has yet to achieve its goal of becoming a fully literate country, according to the Department of Education under the Ministry of Education.
In 2019, the government announced “Literate Nepal Year” and set a target of declaring Nepal a literate country within two years. The target was not achieved. The government has now set a new target of declaring Nepal literate in fiscal year 2026/27, with a particular focus on Madhesh.
The government launched national literacy campaign in 2008. A household survey conducted in fiscal year 2010/11 collected details of illiterate people, based on which an intensive literacy program was launched across all districts in 2015.
Since fiscal year 2014/15, the government has followed a practice of declaring a district literate when at least 95 percent of its population aged 15 to 60 meets the prescribed literacy criteria. Fiscal year 2014/15 was observed as the “Year of Eliminating Illiteracy.”
The government made a major investment in literacy programs after 2019. There were also instances in which some local units allegedly used false data to get themselves declared literate and secure government budgets. The government subsequently tightened monitoring and regulations.
According to the Education Department, 68 districts have so far been declared literate. Kalikot became the 68th literate district in 2025.
Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces, along with all their districts, have been declared fully literate. However, no district in Madhesh has been declared literate. In Karnali, only Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality of Dolpa remains to be declared literate.
Education Department Director Nim Prakash Singh Rathore said 112 local units in nine districts were still awaiting declaration.
Rasuwa declared as 43rd literate district
Rathore said a lack of interest among local representatives has been one of the major obstacles, particularly in Madhesh. He said literacy programs have not been given sufficient priority despite the federal government allocating budgets for them every year.
The government observed the 60th International Literacy Day in 2026 under the theme “Literacy for Human, Planet and Prosperity.” Rathore said the government is working to declare Nepal literate this fiscal year, with Madhesh and Karnali remaining the main challenges.
Madhesh, which has eight districts, is the only province where no district has yet been declared literate.
The Education Department says the literacy campaign should not be limited to declaring districts and local units literate. It should also focus on developing people’s basic abilities to read, write, calculate, understand information and apply knowledge in their daily lives.
Education Department official Baikuntha Acharya said Nepal’s literacy rate has improved significantly, but the goal of completely eliminating illiteracy has not yet been achieved.
According to the government’s criteria, a person is considered literate if they achieve at least 50 percent of 12 prescribed competencies. These include reading and writing letters or words in Nepali or their mother tongue; reading price lists and bills; reading and writing their own and family members’ names and ages; recognizing and using letters and numbers on mobile phones and calculators; writing digits from zero to nine and counting from one to 100; maintaining records of financial transactions; reading and understanding simple pictures, posters, signboards and traffic signs; actively participating in community programs and expressing their views; telling time from a clock; identifying dates from a wall calendar; and filling out bank vouchers and using cheques.
Acharya said literacy among people aged 15 to 60 has reached around 85 percent. Under the government’s criteria, a local unit can be declared literate when at least 95 percent of its population in this age group achieves at least 50 percent of the 12 prescribed competencies.
He said the government needs to focus on areas with low literacy rates rather than merely increasing the national average. He said greater attention should be given to low-literacy areas, rural settlements, poor families, older citizens and women who were previously deprived of formal education.
Madhesh remains the biggest challenge
Madhesh remains the biggest challenge to the government’s goal of declaring Nepal fully literate.
According to the 2021 census, the literacy rate among people aged five and above in Madhesh was 76.2 percent, up from 65.9 percent in the 2011 census. The rate increased by 10.3 percentage points over the decade, but significant gender, geographical and social disparities remain.
The literacy rate among men in Madhesh was 83.6 percent, compared with 69.4 percent among women, a gap of 14.2 percentage points.
There is also a disparity between rural and urban areas. The literacy rate was 71.9 percent in rural municipalities, compared with 78.5 percent in urban municipalities.
Provincial-level figures show literacy rates of 81.7 percent in Gandaki and 82.1 percent in Bagmati, while the rate in Madhesh was 63.5 percent. Female literacy in Madhesh was particularly low at 54.7 percent.
More than 833,000 people aged 15 to 60 in Madhesh are illiterate. The government allocated Rs 13.94 crore for the Literate Madhesh campaign in the current fiscal year, but the campaign could not be completed on time.
Progress made, but target remains unmet
Karnali has made significant progress in literacy, with only Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality in Dolpa remaining to be declared literate.
Nationwide, there are 2,151 community learning centers and 717 non-formal schools for adults. Each community learning center receives Rs 340,000 annually.
The government spends around Rs 2 billion annually on literacy programs. It also spends more than Rs 2 billion from the overall education budget on non-formal education. Officials say achieving results proportionate to this investment remains a challenge.
The government had targeted declaring Nepal literate by the end of fiscal year 2025/26, but the target was not achieved. The Second Periodic Plan has set a target of raising the literacy rate to 85 percent by fiscal year 2026/27 and 95 percent by 2027/28.
Officials say raising the national average alone will not be sufficient to meet these targets. Greater attention needs to be given to areas with low literacy rates, rural settlements, poor families, older citizens and women who were previously excluded from formal education.
Women’s literacy is particularly important, as census data show lower literacy among women, especially those above 60 years of age.
Acharya said that with more than Rs 200 billion being invested annually in public education, a targeted portion could be directed toward re-learning opportunities for illiterate adults, strengthening community learning centers, developing learning materials in local languages and regularly assessing learning outcomes.
He said such efforts would help make the impact of literacy programs visible in people’s everyday lives rather than limiting the campaign to the formal declaration of districts and local units as literate.
