Education in Nepal: school stages, SEE, +2 and university admission

In short

Nepal organises schooling in a basic stage and a secondary stage, and two national examinations mark the way through: the grade ten Secondary Education Examination, called SEE, and the grade twelve examination run by the National Examinations Board. Universities, and in some fields their faculties and institutes, then choose students with their own entrance tests. Nepal has no separate national university entrance exam that covers every subject. Students who plan to study abroad also meet international tests such as IELTS, PTE Academic and GRE.

School stages

Public policy treats classes one to eight as the basic level and classes nine to twelve as the secondary level. Many families also send young children to early childhood centres or private pre-schools before class one. At the end of class eight, pupils sit a basic level examination. Classes nine and ten form the lower secondary years, and classes eleven and twelve are often called +2, a name students use for the two years between SEE and university.

Schools are community schools funded by the state, institutional schools run as private or trust-run organisations, and a smaller number of religious or gurukul-style schools. Class sizes, teacher numbers and facilities differ a great deal between the Kathmandu Valley, the Terai plains and the hill and mountain districts, so students in different places can have very different experiences of the same curriculum.

National exams

The Secondary Education Examination, SEE, is taken at the end of class ten. It replaced the older School Leaving Certificate, known as SLC, and the name is still used by many families when they talk about it. Results are given as letter grades with a grade point average, rather than as a single division. Students need a satisfactory result in SEE to move on to classes eleven and twelve.

The National Examinations Board, NEB, supervises the standard examinations in the later grades, including class eleven and class twelve. The class twelve result is the main school record that universities use when they decide who is eligible to apply. Policy papers and draft bills have discussed changing the class ten examination, so check the notices of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Board before a new school year.

University admission

Tribhuvan University is the oldest and largest university in the country, and its constituent and affiliated campuses enrol most degree students. Other universities, such as Kathmandu University, Pokhara University, Purbanchal University and Mid-Western and Far-Western universities, run their own admission rules. Most bachelor programmes ask for a class twelve certificate in a suitable stream.

Several fields use an entrance test on top of that. The Institute of Engineering of Tribhuvan University holds an entrance examination for engineering and architecture, and its question paper covers physics, chemistry, mathematics and English. Applicants for management programmes affiliated to Tribhuvan University take the Central Management Admission Test, known as CMAT, which tests verbal ability, quantitative ability, logical reasoning and general awareness. Medical and dental programmes use a common entrance examination arranged by the national medical education authorities. Each of these bodies publishes its own notice, syllabus and calendar, so rely on the official page, not on a friend's memory of last year.

Language of instruction

Nepali is the language of government and of most community schools, and English is widely used as the medium in institutional schools and in many science and management programmes at university. Local mother tongues such as Maithili, Newar, Tamang and Tharu are taught in some areas, and national policy allows mother-tongue instruction in the early years. The practice questions on this site are written in English, which suits students who plan to take an English-language entrance paper or to study abroad.

Studying in Nepal

Nepal's school year starts in the spring, and the school calendar also follows national festivals such as Dashain and Tihar, which can close schools for long periods. Plan revision around those breaks instead of assuming a steady run of weeks.

For SEE, build the habit of working through all compulsory subjects, since a weak result in mathematics, English or science can limit later choices. For +2, students choose a stream such as science, management, humanities or education, and the choice decides which entrance tests and degrees stay open. A student who wants engineering needs physics, chemistry and mathematics in class twelve. A student who wants medicine needs physics, chemistry and biology.

Entrance tests in Nepal are mostly multiple choice with a strict time limit, so practise reading each question calmly and moving on when stuck. Keep a notebook of formulas and definitions, and check them again a week later. Many students rely on tuition centres in the cities, but an hour of careful self-testing with explanations often shows more than a long lecture. Where electricity and internet access are unreliable, a short daily routine on a phone is easier to keep than a large weekend session.

International exams for study abroad

Many Nepali students apply to universities in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Japan. For English proof, universities often accept IELTS or PTE Academic, and some graduate programmes ask for GRE as well. Each university sets its own requirement, so read the admission page of the institution and the rules of the test centre before booking.

Preparing with GetMyMockTest

These are practice questions we wrote for study. They are not the official exams, and we do not claim they match an exam's current format. Free practice for Nepal:

• SEE: mathematics and science and technology, with timed tests and flashcards.
• IOE entrance: physics, chemistry, mathematics and English at the level of the Institute of Engineering entrance, with timed tests and flashcards.
• Nepali general knowledge: geography, history, culture and nature of Nepal.

International exams that many Nepali students also take for study abroad:

• IELTS: reading, listening, writing and speaking skills for academic and general study.
• PTE Academic: computer-based English skills for study abroad.
• GRE: verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning for graduate study.