An Empirical Analysis of Constraints to Access to Tertiary Education in Nepal

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: International Perspectives on Access

Abstract

Nepal has been successful in achieving almost universal attendance and completion of elementary education, but higher education still lags behind. This quantitative study analyzes data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey. We first provide a brief description of the participation in higher education among Nepalese population aged 18 years and above. We then explore the five groups of factors – socio-economic, geographical, cultural, political and institutional constraints – to understand their respective impact on transition to higher education among the Nepalese youth. We find that all of these factors (except institutional constraints) affect transition to, participation in and completion of tertiary education, though to a different degree.

Authors

• Margarita Pivovarova, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Matthew A. Witenstein, University of Redlands