Support to Nepal's School Sector Development Plan (SSDP), Covid-19 response

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.

In spring 2020, the Nepal Ministry of Education and the Nepal Education Cluster have jointly developed a separate COVID-19 adaptation plan (COVID-19 Education Cluster Contingency Plan - Nepal Education Cluster, 2020) for the education sector programme SSDP (The School Sector Development Plan). The Ministry of Education made a general request for all donors, including Finland, of additional funding for covid-19 emergency response. The overall objective of the Education Cluster Contingency Plan is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from education institutions into local communities by providing safe learning environments by putting in place appropriate prevention measures in Nepalese schools. To achieve this objective the immediate response of the Education Cluster will focus on a) Ensuring adequate capacity for management and coordination during the response period, b) Strengthening prevention and resilience within the school system and among students, teachers, parents and caregivers and c) Support Continuity of Education/Learning for all children in all areas including children with disabilities and from marginalized backgrounds. Finland's financial contrbution for the implementation of the Education Cluster Contingency Plan for COVID-19 is EUR 2 514 999. The support will be channeled and monitored as part of Nepal School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) programme. The School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) program covers the entire basic education system in Nepal and is funded jointly by the Government of Nepal and its Development Partners. The program is implemented during the years 2016-2023. Finland supports the program with a total of 20 million euros in the years 2016-2020.