Number of humanities students declining in Nepal — Kathmandu Post
In Nepal, the number of high school students taking examinations in sociology, psychology and mass communications is rapidly declining. At the same time, the number of examinees in physics, biology, chemistry, accounting and economics is increasing. As reported by Kathmandu Post, data from the National Examination Board also indicate a decrease in the number of schools offering humanities subjects.
Decline in student numbers
In the 2022/23 academic year, 14,473 students took the Grade 12 sociology examination, 605 took psychology, and 4,403 took mass communications. In the 2025/26 academic year, these figures fell to 9,004, 202 and 2,469, respectively.
Over the same period, the number of physics examinees increased from 52,370 to 60,939, biology examinees from 32,147 to 39,125, and chemistry examinees from 52,355 to 60,923. The accounting examination was taken by 174,771 students in 2022/23 and 185,027 in 2025/26. The number of students taking economics rose from 167,619 to 169,862.
Schools abandon programs
The number of schools offering sociology decreased from 586 to 398 during this period. Psychology was offered by 24 schools in the 2022/23 academic year and by 16 in 2025/26. History was offered by only eight schools in the latter of these academic years.
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Indira K C, a sociology teacher and chief academic adviser at United Academy, noted that students consider the science stream more universal for further education, while the opportunities offered by humanities disciplines remain insufficiently explored. Suresh Gautam, an associate professor at the Kathmandu University School of Education, linked the trend to the perception of education primarily as a tool for increasing income.
Focus on high-paying careers
According to Gautam, the school system is largely focused on results and grades, leaving little time for reading, writing and independent thinking beyond the curriculum. Mukunda Raj Sharma, director of Little Angels’ School, acknowledged that humanities subjects could at least be available as electives, but said they do not attract sufficient interest among most parents, students or in the market.
According to Merina Shakya Bajracharya, who is responsible for the Grade 11–12 program at St Mary’s School, the school cancelled its humanities program this year because of the small number of students. She said the group size had never exceeded 20 people, and only six students were enrolled in it last year.
