Despite widespread ideals of free school education, household financing constitutes an increasingly large share of the funding of formal education globally, especially in low-income countries. Decisions of what and whom to invest in are laden with conflicting expectations of care, responsibility, duty and guilt, turning economic priorities into moral concerns. Grounded in the concept of ‘moral economies of schooling,’ this project investigates the relationship between economic investments, social relations and moral obligations in household financing of education in Nepal.
Sub-study 1 focuses on the aspect of education of the children of former bonded labourers, Kamaiya, in Southern Nepal. Although the Kamaiya system was officially abolished in 2000, former Kamaiyas remain one of the most impoverished and disenfranchised groups in Nepal, reflected in landlessness and low employment.
Sub-study 2 focuses on the education of the children of Gurkhas (Nepali soldiers that join the British or Indian army) in Pokhara, where one of the main recruiting centres is located. Becoming a soldier (lahure) is associated with considerable social prestige, leading rural families to invest enormous amounts of time and money to ensure their children complete their schooling due to the prospect of joining the army and a potential career abroad.
Sub-study 3 focuses on the financing of education by the new elite in a ‘gated community’ in Kathmandu. With Nepal’s rapid urbanisation and domestic migration to the capital city, gated communities provide urban landholding, home ownership and shared infrastructure, catering to new class imaginaries among the growing urban population.
Sub-study 4 focuses on education financing an urban squatter (sukumbasi) settlement in Kathmandu. Coming to Kathmandu 30-40 years ago to improve their livelihood through, among other things, their children’s education, the inhabitants, claiming to be landless, occupied public land.
The project runs from January 2024 to August 2027
The research is funded by:
David Gellner, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Oxford, UK
Prachi Srivastava, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Western University, Canada
Peggy Froerer, Professor of Anthropology, Brunel University London, UK
Atreyee Sen, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
The project is conducted by DPU, Aarhus University, University College London (UCL), and Kathmandu University (KU).
