Over 50% of Girls Failed Nepal's 10th Grade Exam in 2024–25

Every academic year, thousands of students across Nepal sit for Secondary Education Examination(SEE),a highly regarded test determining not only academic futures but also the whole trajectory of the students' lives. Students prepare and look forward to completing the tests, and starting a new journey and taking a step closer to their academic pursuits and professional goals. But, for many students, especially girls and first-generation students, the SEE exam marks an abrupt end rather than a new beginning. According to National Examination Board, In 2081 BS (2024-25 AD), 522,000 students are expected to attend the test, which includes 468,00 regular students, 50,000 students from 2080 BS (2023-24 AD), batch aiming for grade improvement while the remaining 4000, from the year, 2078-79 (2021-22), for their grade improvement too. This number is higher than 2080 BS (2023-24 AD), last year’s examinees, which was 464,785.

In 2080 BS (2023-24 AD), a total of 464,785 students attended the SEE examination, where 242,313 of them failed or weren’t graded. Among the attendees, 231,503 were female students out of which only 103,246 (44.59%) passed. The remaining, 128,257 (55.40%) which is more than half, didn’t pass or were non graded. As per UNICEF, 2019 education data, the dropout rate at the upper secondary level, specifically in Grade 10, is significantly high at 32 percent in Nepal. This is concerning especially when SEE is not only regarded as academic achievement but also a gateway for plethora of opportunities, future mobility, and even identity of students. A majority of students who don’t pass the test, drop out and face risks of early marriage, economic dependency and limited voice in the society. With the value SEE holds in student’s lives, failing in it, is directly regarded as the end of future possibilities rather than the end of school and possibility of a second try. The data from 2021 census shows that 10.2 percent of girls and 3 percent boys between the age of 10-14, 30.4 percent teenage girls and 12.3 percent teenage boys (between ages 15-17), and 35.9 percent of girls and 32.6 percent of boys between the age of 18-20 years are married in Nepal. The data shows a stark difference between the ratio of married boys and girls. The proportion of married girls is almost three times that of married boys of the same age group. This gender disparity directly points to a pause and even end of education for girls.

During one of Lokopakar’s Strength TogetHER sessions in Lumbini, a 17 years old girl shared, “I want to study further and complete my Bachelors and Masters degree. But I'm sure I'll be married off by the end of next year. That’s the trend for all the girls here.” Another 16 year old shared, “I'm able to enroll in grade 11 because I passed my SEE (grade 10) with a good score. Else, my family and relatives were already looking for a groom for me.”

Unfortunately, this is a reality for a huge number of girls in Nepal, especially in rural areas. These stories, show that SEE is more than an academic milestone. For many girls, it is a social and an emotional tipping point, such that those who pass, move forward and those who don’t disappear from school, and the education system as a whole.

When the SEE results are published, the news headlines showcases the data of students who pass the exam then abruptly takes a turn, whereby news of suicide among the students start appearing. This has been a yearly norm now which, unfortunately, doesn’t surprise the mass anymore. As per the news, 6 girls in 2012, 3 girls in 2014, 4 girls in 2015, and 5 girls in 2018 committed suicide after their results. A girl from Bajhang district took her own life right after attending the science exams in 2025.

Over the years, this has been an alarming issue. Girls don’t get to learn about opportunities to redefine their identity, which they set as their exam results. What can be done about this?