Technical Assistance for Competence-Based Soft Skills Development in School Education in Nepal

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

The Technical Assistance for Competence-Based Soft Skills Development in School Education in Nepal (TASS) is the second phase of the Finnish funded TSSP program, which was implemented in the years 2012-2015. The aim of the TSSP program was to improve the quality of education in Nepal by integrating soft skills into teaching. Soft skills are defined as personal, cooperation, thinking, innovation and business skills. The TSSP project ends in December 2015. The mid-term review of TSSP concluded that the integration of soft skills into the education sector in Nepal is highly relevant as it can improve both the quality and the relevance of education. The evaluation recommended a continuation of the project. The main achievements of TSSP were the approval of new curricula in six different subjects for grades 9-10, as well as the development of teachers training materials and their testing. The new textbooks for grade 9 will be in schools in 2016 and teachers' training packages have been taught in 40% of Nepal's teacher training facilities. The second phase – the TASS project – will build on the achievements of the first phase. During the TASS program, the update of the curriculum for grades 9-10 moves to the implementation stage. Teaching materials are being developed also for grades 6-8, and work on materials for grades 9-10 continues. The education of teachers and capacity building of relevant institutions regarding the application of soft skills also continues. The beneficiaries of the project are Nepalese students in grades 6-10. The immediate beneficiaries are the Ministry of Education and regional and district level education directorates and offices. In addition, the projects 80 pilot schools and their teachers benefit from focused capacity building support. The Ministry of Education in Nepal implements the project. The proposed budget for the project is 1,7 MEUR for the years 2016-2018.