Salary of Community School Teachers in Nepal 2081/82 (2024-2025)

Governmental Jobs are provided to the general public with the motive to serve the public itself. Among numerous jobs offered by the government, a teacher at any school or college is a great serving to the people, in terms of providing education to them. 

In Nepal, alongside the Government, the Private sector has also been providing education to the people. The community schools are operated by the government while the institutional ones are operated by the private sector. As per the report collected in 2020/21, 79.5% of schools are governmental while the remaining 21.5% are institutional. 

While the complete expenditure for private or institutional schools is taken care of, by the owner or the founder of the institute, the case is different for the Governmental ones. The funding for operating any governmental school is made on three different bases. Firstly, the overall expenses for running the school, from teacher salary to overall management and maintenance are done by the government, and this involvement is termed as a community-aided involvement. Secondly, although the overall expenses in terms of teacher salary and other funds are by the government, the school needs to be managed by the community, which is known as a community-managed involvement. Lastly, when the government’s involvement in the overall functionalities is very partial, even zero, then such expense is termed as community-unaided involvement. Such academic institutes that have less to no involvement of the government, add Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes to ensure that a child is prepared to enroll in first grade.

Salary of Governmental workers, Budgeting

Nepal was greatly suffering from delayed budget endorsement when the Constitution Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly announced that the annual budget should be presented on Jestha 15 every year and, that too, at the federal parliament itself. Since then, the budgeting for the government school, along with the change in salary-related notices are announced every year. Furthermore, the change in salary dictated during this budgeting would be effective from next Shrawan. 

Hence, for the fiscal year 2081/82 (2024/25), Finance Minister Barsaman Pun announced the budgeting during the meeting between the National Assembly, and the House of Representatives, on Jestha 15, 2081 (28th May 2024). However, there was no notice regarding the increment in salary or incentives for the instructors, for the upcoming time period. 

A similar situation happened during the budget announcement session of 2079/89 when the, then Ministry of Finance, mentioned that the existing salary sheet would be maintained for 2079/80. Before that budgeting, there was a 15% rise in the pay scale for government employees, along with the community school teachers for 2079/ 2080. 

Furthermore, the educational structure is divided into 3 different models; namely: Primary, Secondary, and Lower-Secondary. 

Primary: Grades 1 to 8

Lower-Secondary: Grades 9 to 10

Secondary: Grade 11 to 12 

So, by analyzing the financial report then, it can be seen that the salaries are divided based on the three different classes of teachers in Nepal. The classes include first-class, second-class, and third-class teachers and the salaries maintained for each class are 68,145, 61,737, and 55,337, Nepali rupees respectively. 

Primary level

The first, second, and third-class teachers receive 55,337, 43,994, and 39,484 in salary respectively. 

Secondary Level

The first, second, and third-class teachers receive 68,145, 61,737, and 55,337, respectively. 

Lower Secondary Level

Lastly, in terms of monthly wages for first-class, second-class, and third-class at lower-secondary, currently, is 58,094, 55,337, and 43,994, respectively. 

The government has proudly announced the salaries of all the governmental bodies, incorporating the instructors too. This salary structure demonstrates the acknowledgment of educator, their commitment, expertise, and their dedication toward teaching. 

Comparison of Salaries of Government and Private Teachers in Nepal 

Private Schools are operated entirely by an individual or a business group. Hence, the entire operational cost, comprising the teacher’s salary, is done by that individual or the group itself. Apart from this, there are certain governmental settings and rules that private schools must follow. Rules like providing scholarships to 10% of the total enrolled students, and allocating at least 60% of the school’s expenditure towards providing salary, Apart from that, sustaining in this competitive market where private schools are investing huge amounts of money to organize extracurricular activities along with high standard examination, is tuff. Many private academics tend to forget the education landscape and the content that needs to be covered when focusing on sustaining with the competition.

Who Enjoys Better Salaries in Nepal?

In the current scenario, government teachers are enjoying better salaries alongside extra benefits. Nevertheless, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started raising voices for a similar salary range to the institutional instructors as well.

Recent Scenario

Besides all of these difficulties faced, especially in the schools in Kathmandu, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has raised concerns regarding the payment provided to the teachers of private schools, as they come across many underpaid teachers working hard in their respective schools. If not done, the metropolitan authorities have warned to force the shutdown of such schools. This law was kept forward since June 2023, when the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City emphasized compliance with the Educational Act. 

Additional Benefits Apart from the Salary

1. Pension after retirement: In Nepal, all Civil servants including teachers, are eligible to get a pension for life, after providing at least 2 decades of service. As the teachers fill this period of tutoring in a governmental school, they will be provided with extra incentives, even after they leave the job. These incentives are termed pensions and the pension amount is more than 50% and less than 100% of the basic salary. 
2. Grade Increases annually; With time, experience, and performance, the teacher’s grade surplus annually, and with this increment, the salary also rises. 
3. Job Security; Being a government job, the position is more secure than that of the private schools. 
4. Medical and Housing Allowances: Not all, but many government teachers are provided with housing and medical allowances to keep up with their healthcare costs and living expenses.

Challenges Faced by a Governmental Teacher

1. No parents care: A child’s educational journey stabilizes only when the parents and teachers work for it together. The one-side effort might not be effective for the child and might be a heavy burden for the teacher. Managing a huge number of students with limited parental support would make it difficult for the instructor to deliver effective education, and do their work.
2. Random Redeployment: Anyone holding a governmental job faces frequent transfers and redeployment which disallows any professor to emotionally connect with their students, negatively impacting the students.
3. Heavy workload: Apart from teaching, a governmental teacher is asked to do other administrative chores, increasing their workload.
4. No autonomy in own class: Other people at higher post like supervisors, and inspectors, might limit the autonomy that the instructor should have in a class.
5. No growing opportunities: The schools are operated under a budget and there might not be required funding, technology, or any significant support for the instructor’s personal growth and sealing opportunities for the growth.