Written by: Bhogendra Lamichhane, Head of English and School Education and Sanjel Dinesh, Project Lead
In a country where more than 124 languages are spoken, a one-size-fits-all approach to education can leave many children behind. Strengthening quality inclusive early learning and institutional capacity within the Nepal’s school education sector, a project delivered through a partnership between the British Council and UNICEF, is helping to change that by integrating children’s home languages into their learning experience.
Launched in 2023, the project is being implemented in collaboration with the Government of Nepal across 15 municipalities in the provinces of Madhesh, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim. It supports the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s 10-year School Education Sector Plan, aiming to improve learning outcomes for all children, particularly those from linguistically marginalised communities.
The project was informed by a joint research initiative in 2022, led by the Government of Nepal, UNICEF, UNESCO, the Language Commission and the British Council. The study revealed a critical gap - while Nepal’s Constitution 2015 grants every child the right to education in their mother tongue - no national strategy or system was in place to make this a reality.
In response, the project supported the development of national multilingual standards, a teacher training curriculum, training resource materials and trainer’s guide, and a full suite of resources to embed multilingual approaches in classrooms. These were co-designed with the government’s Centre of Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD), ensuring systemic integration and long-term sustainability. These resources provide explicit guidance on how to implement multilingual pedagogies that treat students’ home languages as valuable assets for learning.
Over 430 early-grade teachers have since been trained using these new tools, delivered by government trainers through Provincial Education Training Centres (PETCs). The impact has already been felt deeply. Mrs Kumari Saraswati Bhat Dhami, a secondary teacher in Kanchanpur, was among the first to complete the Master Training of Trainers (MTOT). Having experienced the challenge of learning in a language different from her own, she understood her students’ struggles.
“The training showed me how using students’ home language can transform their confidence and engagement,” she said. Now a trainer herself, she is empowering others to bring these methods into their own classrooms.
Meanwhile in Dailekh, primary teacher Kalpana Thapa used her training to set up a multilingual corner in her classroom. Following her first-ever observation session, she received tailored feedback and support that boosted both her confidence and the learning outcomes of pupils. “The observation wasn’t about judgement – it was a reflection. It gave me clarity, and now my students are more active, curious and engaged,” she shared.
Municipal leaders are also stepping up. In Bara district’s Kolhabi Municipality, Mayor Ram Prasad Chaudhary – himself from the Tharu community – is investing in local language-based instruction. Drawing from his own experience of learning through translation, he’s allocated funds to extend multilingual teacher training beyond the pilot phase.
“Our children learn best in the language they speak at home,” he said. “We’ve already seen how engaged and happy they are in the classroom. We’re scaling this model to reach every early-grade child.”
What makes LIFE unique is its systemic, government-led implementation model. Rather than relying on external trainers, the project-built capacity within Provincial Education Training Centres (PETCs). A group of 25 PETC trainers have received training from the British Council and UNICEF, who then cascaded this knowledge to over 450 early-grade teachers in public schools.
To support long-term implementation, the project developed a classroom observation tool, which is now being used by academic coordinators and education officers from local implementing partners to provide tailored feedback to teachers. It is not one-off training – we follow up in classrooms and offer direct support. We’re building a reflective, continuous learning culture to support teacher practices for student learning improvement. Teachers are trained, not only to use mother tongues in instruction, but to adopt practical multilingual strategies such as translanguaging, storytelling, and code-switching. It is not just about teaching in a language, it is about using language as a tool to help children connect new learning with what they already know.
While the current programme supports 225 schools across 15 municipalities, the ambition is to reach the over 28,000 public schools in Nepal. To achieve this, the project is working closely with the Government of Nepal to embed multilingual approaches into national education policy, curriculum design and in-service teacher training. All the training materials are now owned by the government. This means that when they run their own training programmes, they will use the resources we co-developed. That is the foundation for long-term scale.
The project is also supporting the development of an online Community of Practice for teachers, where they can share ideas, solve challenges, and celebrate success stories. In addition, public awareness campaigns, including multilingual radio public service announcements, and subtitled video interviews with teachers and parents will further build understanding of the benefits of multilingual education. This will illuminate the powerful shift in community, parents’ and stakeholders’ understanding of ‘language as a resource’ for learning from ‘language as a problem’ mindset.
As the project enters its final year, the focus is shifting toward evidence generation, impact evaluation, and policy advocacy. The team is working closely with local partners to document classroom-level changes, gather data on student engagement, and develop compelling case studies that showcase the programme’s effectiveness. This evidence will help inform national education strategies and support ongoing efforts to embed multilingual education more deeply within Nepal’s school system. Ultimately, this is the government’s plan and system – we are here to strengthen it, not to lead it.
As MTOT qualified school teacher Mrs. Dhami remarked, “When children are taught in their home language, they feel a sense of ownership. They understand what is being taught. They connect. And they learn.”