Anthropological Perspectives on Education Nepal: Educational Transformations and Avenues of Learning

What is education, and who counts as an 'educated person' amidst competing religious, political, and pedagogical ideologies, which have shaped contemporary educational practices and institutions in Nepal? How have social and political changes, an increasing commodification of education, a continued reliance on foreign aid, and expanded geographical horizons contributed to a reshaping of the educational landscape of Nepal and thereby altered, opened up, and closed avenues of learning available to the Nepali people? Grounded in the intersection between anthropology, sociology, and development studies, and based on rich ethnographic evidence, the essays in this edited volume illuminate educational transformations and avenues of learning in the context of wider social and political changes in Nepal. They capture diverse and competing educational experiences and trajectories; examine the process of construction and transmission of knowledge in different sites within and beyond institutions of formal education; and explore the interconnections between education, state, and society.