Level-wise Competencies of School Education

The national aims of education are the same for every school in the country. Yet nobody can expect the same thing from a four-year-old and from a student in grade 12. So the national aims are used as the base, and separate aims, or competencies, are fixed for each level of education. Put simply, a competency is what a student should know, be able to do and show in behaviour by the time a level is complete.

Think of it as climbing a staircase. You reach the second step only after standing on the first, and the competencies of each level lay the ground for the next. At present, competencies are fixed for early childhood development and education, for basic education (grades 1 to 8) and for secondary education (grades 9 to 12). Basic education is further split into three stages and secondary education into two, and each stage has its own list of competencies.

The first step of school education begins even before grade 1. In Nepal, this level is defined in the amendment of 2073 BS to the Education Act, 2028 BS.

At this age, a child gains more from playing, singing, drawing, getting along with friends and learning to look after themselves than from memorising letters and numbers. So the competencies of this level aim at balanced growth of body, mind, language and social behaviour. According to the National Curriculum Framework, 2076 BS, early childhood development education has these six competencies:

• Taking part in activities for all-round development
• Developing the habit of eating nutritious food and other healthy habits
• Adopting measures for personal safety
• Adopting cleanliness and good social habits and behaviour
• Developing creative thinking
• Developing language and communication skills

You can see these competencies in a small child's ordinary day. A child who washes their hands before eating is adopting cleanliness. A child who will not walk off alone with a stranger is using a personal safety measure. A child who shapes a toy out of clay is growing in creative thinking. A child who hears a story and then retells it in their own words is building language and communication skills.

Basic education covers grades 1 to 8. Its main aim makes clear what kind of citizen it is trying to produce.

Children who finish this level are expected to be able to share their ideas and solve the practical problems of daily life. They should be self-reliant, hardworking, scientifically minded, careful about their health and morally upright. The overall competencies of basic education are these twelve:

• Being filled with love for the country and a feeling of national unity, and showing democratic values, norms and culture in behaviour
• Developing language and communication skills and using them in practical, creative and suitable ways
• Exchanging and analysing information and ideas, and using information technology properly
• Developing and using logical and practical mathematical knowledge, skills and attitudes
• Being curious about and understanding scientific concepts, facts, theories and laws, and using them in practical life
• Developing human values, norms and social qualities, and being alert to civic duties
• Understanding how population, environmental protection and sustainable development are linked, and helping to manage them
• Developing physical fitness, a healthy lifestyle and life skills
• Respecting local and modern occupations, businesses, technology and labour, and using soft skills
• Preserving and promoting Nepali art, literature and culture, and developing and using creativity
• Getting to know the national and international setting, and understanding and accepting diversity, universal brotherhood and coexistence
• Identifying, analysing and solving the practical problems that come up in daily life

A child who has just joined grade 1 and a teenager in grade 8 cannot be expected to meet these twelve competencies in the same way. So grades 1 to 8 are divided into three stages according to the children's level of learning ability: the first stage (grades 1 to 3), the second stage (grades 4 to 5) and the third stage (grades 6 to 8). The competencies of each stage follow below.

The purpose of the first stage is to introduce children to formal education. It also gives them the chance to build basic literacy, mathematical knowledge and skills, life skills, and habits of personal health and cleanliness. After this stage, children become familiar with, and aware of, the natural and social environment they live in. This stage has seven competencies:

• Developing and using basic language and communication skills
• Developing and using basic mathematical concepts and skills
• Developing social and character qualities such as discipline, good conduct and self-reliance
• Developing basic knowledge of science, the environment and information technology
• Developing physical fitness, healthy habits and life skills
• Developing an interest in art and beauty, and developing creativity
• Getting to know one's surroundings and developing respect and equal regard for different castes and ethnic groups, religions, languages, cultures and regions

Notice how often the word basic appears in this list. A grade 2 student learns to read and write short sentences, do simple addition and subtraction, wait for their turn in a line and pack their own bag. That is where basic language skills, basic mathematical skills, discipline and self-reliance begin.

By grades 4 and 5, children understand a wider world, so the second stage adds some new competencies. Basic education in grades 4 to 5 has these eight competencies:

• Developing a feeling of love for the country, and democratic values, norms and culture
• Developing basic language and communication skills and using them in practical ways
• Developing and using basic mathematical concepts and skills
• Developing social values and character qualities such as morality, discipline, good conduct and self-reliance
• Developing basic knowledge and skills in science, the environment and information technology
• Developing physical fitness, healthy habits, cleanliness, life skills and soft skills
• Developing an interest in art and beauty, and creative and critical skills
• Getting to know one's surroundings and developing respect and equal regard for different castes and ethnic groups, religions, languages, cultures and regions

Compared with the first stage, a few things are new here. Love for the country and democratic values appear in the list for the first time. Using language has become using it practically, for example speaking clearly while buying things in a shop or writing a short letter to a relative. Morality joins the character qualities, and cleanliness and soft skills are added. In art, creative skills are now joined by critical skills, which means being able to say, with reasons, why a picture or a story works.

Grades 6 to 8 form the last stage of basic education. Finishing this stage means finishing basic education itself, so its competencies are very close to the twelve overall competencies of basic education. Basic education in grades 6 to 8 has these thirteen competencies:

• Developing love for the country and a feeling of national unity
• Developing democratic values, norms and culture, and respect for diversity
• Developing language and communication skills and using them in practical, creative and suitable ways
• Exchanging and analysing information and ideas, and using information technology properly
• Developing and using logical and practical mathematical knowledge, skills and attitudes
• Being curious about and understanding scientific concepts, facts, theories and laws, and using them in practical life
• Developing social qualities such as morality, discipline, good conduct and self-reliance, together with human values and norms, and qualities of character and citizenship
• Understanding how population, environmental protection and sustainable development are linked, and helping to manage them
• Developing physical fitness, a healthy lifestyle and life skills
• Respecting local and modern occupations, businesses, technology and labour, and using soft skills
• Preserving and promoting Nepali art, literature and culture, and developing and using creativity
• Getting to know the national and international setting, and understanding and accepting diversity, harmony and coexistence
• Identifying, analysing and solving the practical problems that come up in daily life

In this stage, love for the country and national unity form one competency, while democratic values and respect for diversity form another. Mathematics now goes beyond basic concepts and asks for logical and practical knowledge, skills and attitudes. The proper use of information technology, scientific curiosity, an understanding of population and sustainable development, and respect for occupations and labour are all stated clearly. For example, when a grade 7 student notices that rubbish keeps piling up in their neighbourhood, finds out why, and suggests a way to fix it, that student is practising the last competency on the list.

Secondary education covers grades 9 to 12. The National Curriculum Framework, 2076 BS, gives it this guiding direction: secondary education should prepare capable citizens who can help build a society that is self-reliant, patriotic, open to change, thoughtful and inclusive. To produce such citizens, secondary students are expected to develop these fifteen competencies:

• Taking on the responsibility of an aware citizen to promote the nation and nationality, while following human values, norms and democratic culture
• Knowing the national and international setting, embracing diversity, harmony and coexistence, and playing a part in building a civilised, cultured and equal society
• Using language skills with confidence, in a suitable, creative and relevant way, both in daily activities and in academic work
• Exchanging ideas through effective learning, constructive and analytical thinking, and social contact and communication
• Building a positive attitude towards learning for personal growth and for meeting one's needs, and the habit of self-study and of searching for knowledge and skills
• Using mathematical concepts, principles and logical skills to solve mathematical problems
• Understanding and using practical mathematical knowledge and skills
• Using practical scientific knowledge, facts, principles and technology properly
• Seeing how learning connects with life and the world around, using life skills, and behaving in ways that suit society
• Taking an active part in protecting and improving the environment and in managing population, with awareness of health
• Analysing natural and social events, understanding their causes and effects, and showing positive behaviour
• Gaining the process skills needed for scientific discovery and research, and using modern technologies in daily life
• Preparing with confidence for the world of work while respecting labour
• Developing and using technical knowledge, skills and attitudes, and professional and management abilities
• Building a foundation for study at higher levels

At the basic level, the stress was on basic knowledge and on getting to know things. At the secondary level, the stress moves to analysis, research, confidence and responsibility. Students are now expected to carry the duties of an aware citizen, examine the causes and effects of events, get ready for the world of work and lay the ground for higher study. These fifteen competencies are also shared out between two stages.

You are in this stage right now, so these competencies are the targets of your own learning. Secondary education in grades 9 to 10 has these eleven competencies:

• Taking on the responsibility of an aware citizen to promote the nation and nationality, while following human values, norms and democratic culture
• Knowing the national and international setting, embracing diversity, harmony and coexistence, and playing a part in building a civilised, cultured and equal society
• Using language skills with confidence, in a suitable and relevant way, in daily activities
• Exchanging ideas through effective learning, constructive and analytical thinking, and social contact and communication
• Using mathematical concepts, principles and logical skills to solve mathematical problems
• Seeing how learning connects with life and the world around, using life skills, and behaving in ways that suit society
• Taking an active part in protecting and improving the environment and in managing population, with awareness of health
• Analysing natural and social events, understanding their effects, and showing positive behaviour
• Gaining the process skills needed for scientific discovery and research, and using modern technologies in daily life
• Preparing for the world of work while respecting labour
• Developing and using technical knowledge, skills and attitudes, and professional and management abilities

The language competency of this stage stresses using language confidently in daily activities, such as speaking at a school assembly or writing an application to an office. For the world of work, the word used here is preparing. Framing a question, observing carefully and writing up results in the science lab are the process skills of scientific discovery and research. Joining a tree-planting or clean-up drive at school, and really working in it, is active participation in protecting the environment.

Grades 11 and 12 are the final stage of school education. From here, students move on to higher education or into the world of work. Secondary education in grades 11 to 12 has these ten competencies:

• Taking on the responsibility of an aware citizen to promote the nation and nationality, while following human values and norms and democratic culture
• Knowing the national and international setting, embracing diversity, harmony and coexistence, and playing a part in building a civilised, cultured and equal society
• Using language and communication skills with confidence, in a suitable, creative and relevant way, both in daily activities and in academic work
• Building a positive attitude towards learning for personal growth and for meeting one's needs, and the habit of self-study and of searching for knowledge and skills
• Seeing how learning connects with life, livelihood and career and with social and cultural practices, and developing life skills
• Following a healthy lifestyle and playing a part in environmental protection and sustainable development
• Analysing natural and social events, understanding their causes and effects, and showing positive behaviour
• Entering the world of work with confidence while respecting labour
• Developing and using technical knowledge, skills and attitudes, and professional and management abilities
• Building a subject-wise or stream-wise foundation for study at higher levels

In this stage, language and communication skills must be used not only in daily life but also in academic work, for instance when writing a project report or giving a presentation in class. In grades 9 to 10 the world of work called for preparing; here it calls for entering it with confidence. Life skills are now linked to livelihood and career. The newest competency is building a subject-wise or stream-wise foundation for higher study, because the subject or stream a student wants to study in depth later is grounded in this stage.

Put all the levels side by side and a pattern appears. The same area of competency comes back at every level, but each time it is a little deeper and wider. Here is how the language competency grows:

• Early childhood: developing language and communication skills
• Grades 1 to 3: developing and using basic language and communication skills
• Grades 4 to 5: using basic language skills in practical ways
• Grades 6 to 8: using language in practical, creative and suitable ways
• Grades 9 to 10: using language with confidence in daily activities
• Grades 11 to 12: using language with confidence in daily activities and in academic work

The competency about work grows the same way. Grades 4 to 5 develop soft skills, grades 6 to 8 add respect for occupations, businesses and labour, grades 9 to 10 prepare for the world of work, and grades 11 to 12 enter it with confidence. The table below shows how many competencies are fixed at each level and what each one stresses most.