Candidates for the House of Representatives elections are currently reaching out to citizens to seek votes, promising to improve services and quality in sectors including education, health, and more. The government has made education compulsory up to grade 8 and free up to grade 12 by enacting a law in 2075 BS.

However, due to poverty and low income levels, 770,000 children from remote regions and marginalized communities are out of school.

According to a report released a few weeks ago by the National Statistics Office under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, more than 350,000 of the 770,000 children have not been enrolled in school. The remaining more than 350,000 have dropped out of school. The Compulsory and Free Education Act prohibits people who have not completed grade 8 by 2085 Baisakh from being elected, appointed, and nominated to government, non-government, and private sector bodies. Section 19 of the Act states that they will be ineligible to get employment in those bodies, or to become office bearers or members.

The Statistics Office, releasing separate reports on education and children based on the National Census 2078, stated that 10 percent of school-age children are out of school. 'Although the school attendance rate is high after the age of five, the school attendance rate seems to have declined sharply after the secondary level.' 1 in 4 children aged 15 to 19 are out of school. This problem is even more acute among girls, the report says. About 10 percent, or 770,000 children, aged 5 to 17 are out of school. This situation is more common in remote areas, low-income communities, and marginalized communities. The report points out that the trend of dropping out of school has increased significantly, especially after grade 5. The government has been spending billions of rupees every year to send children to school and keep them there. Arrangements have been made for mid-day meals, sanitary pads for girls, and scholarships for targeted groups. Statistics Office spokesperson Dhundiraj Lamichhane said that a report on the status of education and children was prepared based on a study conducted across the country during the census. The report states that the highest number of children from Madhesh Province are out of school. ‘In terms of ethnicity, many children from Madhesi, Madhesi Dalit and religious and linguistic minority communities have never attended school. In contrast, the number of out-of-school children among hill tribes and hill tribes is low.’ According to the

report, the literacy rate is high in Bagmati and Gandaki, while it is low in Madhesh. The rate of school-going children in Madhesh is 81 percent. Of the total children, 6 percent are illiterate, while 67 percent have received basic education. The proportion of illiterate children in Madhesh is the highest at 14 percent. The economic situation has also affected education.

Only 11 percent of children from low-income families have completed secondary education, while this ratio is 22 percent in high-income families. Only 42 percent of children living with employers are attending school, while 89 percent of children living with their parents are attending school. The statistics show that 92 percent of children living with their mothers are attending school. The

report also shows that the situation of child marriage is serious. 5 percent of children in the 16-17 age group are already married. Provincially, the rate of child marriage is highest in Karnali at 9 percent, while the lowest is only 3 percent in Bagmati. The rate of teenage pregnancy due to early marriage is also high.

26 percent of married teenage girls are already pregnant. The report states that this will have a long-term negative impact on their health, education, and overall life. There is also a big gap between married and unmarried children in education. Only 37 percent of married children are currently attending school, while 89 percent of unmarried children are in school. 52 percent of married children have dropped out of school. The report also states that the number of

children is gradually decreasing. With rising inflation, job instability, late marriages and changes in lifestyle, the fertility rate is continuously declining, which is having a serious impact on the overall population growth rate. Not only has the number of children decreased in recent times, but couples' attitudes towards children have also changed. According to the

report, the number of children under the age of 18 in 2078 was 9,869,583. Which is 34 percent of the total population. While this ratio was 46 percent in 2058 and fell to 42 percent in 2068. In the last 10 years, the number of children under the age of 18 has declined by 8 percent, while compared to the data of 2058, it has decreased by 12 percent in 2078.

By 2108, the number of children in this age group is projected to be limited to 22 percent of the total population. Currently, about 71 percent of households have at least one child, while 29 percent of households do not have any children. The proportion of households with zero children is particularly high in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.

The number of children is higher in Madhesh and Lumbini provinces than in other provinces. According to the report, 62 percent of households have only one child. Provincially, 81 percent of households in Karnali province have children, while the lowest is in Bagmati, where only 62 percent of households have children. The number of children in Madhesh province is 24 percent, while in Karnali and Gandaki it is only 7 percent. 53 percent of the total children are under 9 years of age.

According to Rajan Silwal, director of the Central Statistical Office, not only the number of children but also the overall population growth rate is decreasing. 'Even though the total population has increased, the number of families has decreased. The total fertility rate of women has fallen to 1.94, so to keep the population stable, 100 married women should have at least 201 children, that is, the total fertility rate should be 2.1,' he said.

He said that due to rising inflation, job instability, late marriage, career-focused lifestyle, migration, literacy and increased awareness, most couples are becoming reluctant to have many children. ‘Over time, this will lead to serious problems in the labor market.’ He added, ‘Policy-wise, we need to move forward to solve the problems of declining number of children, regional inequality, child marriage, access to education and health.’

Tilottam Poudel, President of the National Campaign for Children’s Peace, said that the decline in the number of children means an increase in the number of senior citizens. ‘The decline in the number of children and youth will have a serious impact on employment, education, income and overall human power in the future,’ he said. According to Poudel, earlier the idea was to have many children, but now the intention has increased to provide good education and health to a small number of children. He says that even though the constitution guarantees free education and health, couples have stopped having many children because they have not been implemented in practice.