IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2020) 11-2

Research article
erd

Improvements in Agricultural Education at Secondary
Schools in Nepal: A Case Study in Mustang District
YUSUKE KURATA
Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshuu University, Nagano, JapanKAZUKI ADACHI
Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshuu University, Nagano, JapanSIRJANA KAFLEAST Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal

KAZUHIRO NEMOTO
Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshuu University, Nagano, Japan

MITSURU HAMANO*
Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshuu University, Nagano, Japan
Email: hamano_m@shinshu-u.ac.jp
Received 25 January 2020

Accepted 9 November 2020(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The Nepal government introduced Technical Vocational Education to secondary
schools nationwide in 2014 as part of its School Sector Reform Plan (running from 2009
through to 2015). The purpose of agricultural education in secondary schools is to develop aworkforce to support the nation’s agricultural development and alleviate poverty. This casestudy analyzes the current status of and issues with agricultural education at a secondary
school in epal’s Mustang District. First, the curriculum and syllabi of the Plant Science
Stream program were reviewed. Second, the school’s teaching activities were analyzed andcompared with the teaching methods in use at a Japanese agricultural high school in the
Nagano Prefecture. The head of the school and a teacher of agriculture conducted
observations and interviews regarding the Japanese high school’s teaching practices in
September 2017. After observing the Japanese high school, focus group discussions wereconducted with five other agriculture teachers at the targeted school in Nepal. The discussions
found that the content of the lectures did not adequately explain local farming practices. It
was determined that the study program should conduct cultivation trials of local products inthe school farm. Students could interview local farmers and observe their crop production,agro-processing, livestock rearing, and natural resource managements. Students could
practice farming to use the products for their own consumption or sales at school and local
markets. These activities can strengthen students’ understanding of agricultural informationand techniques. The suggested activities would also allow the teachers to learn what
information to include in the lectures and practices to support students’ knowledge of farming
practices relevant to the local area.
Keywords Nepal, mountain area, rural development, practical education

INTRODUCTION
A quarter of epal’s total population of 27 million falls below the poverty line. More than 80% of
the population lives in rural areas, and 73% are engaged in agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 33%
of epal’s gross domestic product (World Bank, 2017). epal’s ational Strategy Plan (13th threeyear plan) aimed to improve living standards and reduce poverty to 18% by 2020 (National Planning
Commission, 2013). Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) (2016)prioritized the strengthening of agricultural education to improve agricultural productivity and reduceⒸ ISERD

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poverty. However, public agricultural extension services have been limited to reach the rural farmers
due to lack of the budget, infrastructure and qualified extension workers. In addition, the supply
driven extension approaches rather than demand driven have been failing to cater the needs of the
farmers (Dhital, R.P. 2017). Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program
under the Council of TVET have allocated 175 training centers in different areas of Nepal but they
are mainly in urban areas. Agricultural training service are also limited in only 20 training centers(Asian Development Bank, 2015).
In 2013, as a part of epal’s School Sector Reform Plan (2009-15), the Ministry of Education(MoE) established a technical and vocational education (TVE) program in secondary schools,
covering the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades (MoE, 2009; MoE, 2016). The TVE program includes
Plant Science, Animal Science, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer
Engineering. The aim of introducing the TVE program was to promote technical studies and facilitate
the development of practical engineers who could contribute to epal’s economic development andpoverty alleviation (MoE, 2016; Santwona Memorial Academy Pvt. Ltd., 2017). The Plant Science
Stream program aims to attract students to pursue higher education in the subject who can then workin agricultural organizations or companies and promote the role of local agricultural businesses andfarming within the overall economy (MoE Curriculum Development Center, 2015; MoAD, 2016).
In 2014, the MoE introduced five TVE program in 99 model schools nationwide (MoE, 2015;
Santwona Memorial Academy Pvt. Ltd., 2017). As of 2017, 284 schools had adopted a TVE programin secondary school, including 94 which introduced the Plant Science Stream, the largest among all
the programs (MoE, 2018).
The Plant Science Stream in secondary schools is expected to enhance the capacity developmentof national human resources to promote agricultural and rural development in Nepal. However, there
is no study, yet which clarifies the current situation since agricultural education has only recently
been introduced in secondary schools.
OBJECTIVE
This study analyzes the current status of agricultural education, focusing on Plant Science Stream insecondary schools in Nepal, and identifies issues and ways to improve the program.
METHODOLOGYThis study employed action research which involved both the researchers and targeted beneficiaries,
agricultural teachers in this case, to address the existing issues together (Greenwood and Levin, 1998).
Education research has often utilized action research for not only teachers’ learning to develop
teaching methods and skills but also the solutions of significant problems in classrooms and schools(Gregory S. C. Hine. 2013). A teacher or a group of teachers try to identify the issues in their classes
and come up with causes and possible solutions with a concrete action plan to apply to the actual
lessons as trials. The trial results are monitored and evaluated to ascertain the effectiveness of thesolutions. This process is often repeated until addressing the issues and the findings can be sharedwith other teaching staff and researchers as a valuable reference for further developments(Greenwood and Levin, 1998; Gregory S. C. Hine. 2013.).
This study tried to identify the issues of the teaching methods and other related environmentsof the surveyed school through the observation of those in Japan for comparison, and several focus
group discussions to identify the issues and necessary action plans to solve them with the researchers’
facilitation. A targeted secondary school for this study was selected in a mountainous area where thealtitude is around 2,600 m in the Mustang district of Nepal (MP RC, 2017). The school introduced
the Plant Science Stream in 2014 when the TVE program had just started in Nepal (MoE, 2016).
Observations were conducted in December 2016 and again in August 2017, a survey was first
conducted comprising observations of lectures and practices; interviews with teachers on theirteaching methods; and reviews of the curriculum, syllabi, and teaching materials in a Plant ScienceⒸ ISERD

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Stream at the targeted school. A questionnaire survey was conducted with the students to record theirbackground, the agricultural experiences of their family, and their career expectations.
Second, in September 2017, to identify the educational issues, joint observations wereconducted in a Japanese agricultural high school in the Nagano Prefecture with the head of thetargeted school, an agriculture teacher at that school, an MoE officer, and the researchers. The
observation team compared their own education at the targeted schools in Nepal with the education
system and teaching practices at the Japanese agricultural high school. Thereafter, in November andDecember 2017, the teachers led several focus group discussions with five other teachers ofagriculture at the targeted school, through the facilitation of the researchers.

Fig. 1 Target area in Nepal
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Teachers and Students of the Surveyed School
As of August 2017, the targeted secondary school had seven teachers in charge of agriculturalsubjects and six teachers for general subjects. The agriculture teachers came from areas that were all
located at altitudes much lower than that of the Mustang district. The school had 29 students in the
9th grade, 16 in the 10th grade, 20 in the 11th grade, and 16 in the 12th grade. The 12th-grade students
were the first group to join the Plant Science Stream of the targeted secondary school.
Table 1 indicates the results of a questionnaire completed by the 12th-grade students in
December 2016, when they were in the 11th grade. The students originated primarily from the samevillage development committee (VDC) area of the surveyed school and neighboring VDCs. Somestudents came from areas far away from the school or urban areas. The school offered dormitories,
kitchen facilities, and dining rooms for out-of-area students. The parents of 13 out of the 14
respondents were engaged in agriculture. The chief crops cultivated as staple foods were maize,
potatoes, buckwheat and legumes. Most families grew vegetables and fruits such as carrots, radishes,cabbages, cauliflowers, apples, walnuts, and potatoes are planted as cash crops in the region to be
sold to markets in the urban areas. Certain staple foods were generally grown on farmlands using aseasonal crop rotation system. Vegetables and fruits were generally grown in small fields near homes,
or in backyards. Regarding students’ plans after graduation, seven students aimed to study agriculturein university and seven students planned to work in agriculture.

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Table 1 House business and expected careers of the students (December, 2016)
House business

Agriculture: 13 (Maize, Barley, Wheat, Buckwheat, Potato, Common bean, Wildbean, Carrot, Radish, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Apple, Walnut)/ Non agriculture: 1

Expected career
after graduation

Agriculture: 7 (4 males and 3 females) , Study in university: 7 (6 males and 1
female) Expected faculty to be enrolled: Agriculture 6, Other 1

Note: Respondents were 14 (Male: 10, Female: 4) out of 16 students in the 12th grade

Curriculum and Syllabus
The curriculum for the Plant Science Stream at the targeted school included general subjects, suchas Nepali, English, Mathematics and Science subjects, as well as agricultural subjects which are
shown in Table 2 (MoE CDC, 2015; Higher Secondary Education Board, 2015). Each subject has asyllabus covering the course content including the teaching times, objectives, study outcomes,
content of theory and practice, and evaluation criteria and methods. Agricultural subjects
encompassed a step-by-step learning process from basic knowledge and techniques required in the
9th grade to more specific and subdivided subjects in the 10th to 12th grades. The curriculum also
required 3,100 hours of practical work in four years.
Table 2 Agricultural subjects of Plant Science Stream in the surveyed school
Grade

Subjects

9

Principle of Agronomy / Principles and Practices of Fruit Crop / Plant Protection / Soil and Soil
Fertility Management / Extension and Community

10

Vegetable and Medical Plant / Floriculture and Nursery Management / Crop Protection / FarmManagement and Marketing / Aquaculture and Fisheries / Industrial Entomology and Mushroom

11

Commercial Fruit Production and Orchard Management / Food Crops Production and Food
Security / Participatory Agriculture Extension and Marketing

12

Commercial Vegetable Production and Marketing / Sustainable Integrated Nutrient and Pest
management / Commercial mushroom production and marketing

Table 3 Syllabus “Principles and Practices of Fruit Crop Production” in the 9th Grade[Theory] 1. Introduction: 1.1 Meaning & definition of horticulture and branches. 1.2 Importance & scopeof horticulture. 1.3 Types of fruit crops (tropical, subtropical, and temperate) found in Nepal.
2. Climate: 2.1 Environmental factors affecting fruit production. 2.2 Role of climate on fruit distribution.
3. Home garden, 4. Orchard management, 5. Plant growth, 6. Plant growth regulators, 7. Cultivation offruit crops, 8. Harvesting and post-harvest handling of fruits.
[Practical] 1.1 Identify fruit / plantation crops. 1.2 Identify horticultural tools / equipment. 2.1 Lay-out
orchard / tea garden. 2.2 Perform digging and filling of pits and planting of fruits. 2.3 Perform training andpruning of fruit and plantation crop. 3.1 Fertilize / manure fruit trees. 3.2 Prepare Bordeaux mixture / paste.
3.3 Practice cutting / layering / grafting. 4.1 Study the equipment/tools used for preservation. 4.2 Study
ripening of banana. 4.3 Perform dehydration and water loss of different fruits. 4.4 Prepare jam / jelly /ketchup / juice / squash / pickles. 4.5 Prepare green coffee.

On completion of the first agricultural course, Principles of Agronomy, which covers the basic
knowledge of agronomy and cultivation environments, including plant physiology, soil management,
cropping systems, water management, and post-harvest management, students undertook Principles
and Practices of Fruit Crop Production which was conducted in the same year. As Table 3 illustrates,
the syllabus focused on the basic knowledge of fruit production, and on commercial fruit production
and orchard management, which focused more specifically on all kinds of existing Nepalese fruits
from tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas. The class included practical and applied knowledgeⒸ ISERD

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on production skills, farm management, and marketing and distribution systems. Teachers covered
tropical and subtropical fruits in lectures, and temperate fruit crops were introduced later. Practicalactivities offered the experience of identification of fruit crops, the orchard setting, field preparation,
fertilization, grafting, pest control, harvesting, and processing (MoE CDC, 2015).
Teaching Methods in Nepal and JapanAt the surveyed school in Nepal at the time of this study, textbooks or teaching manuals were yet tobe created for the Plant Science Stream. Therefore, as Fig. 2 shows, teachers had to prepare teachingnotes based on the reference books recommended in the syllabi. Moreover, the students studied laterfrom their lecture notes. In class, the teacher explained the content of the teaching notes orally andby writing on the whiteboard. Additionally, cultivation practice was conducted in the school farm.
At the beginning of agricultural education in 2014, one hectare of school farmland had beendeveloped, and cultivation practice was conducted each year.

Fig. 2 Teaching environments in the surveyed school
On September 5th, 2017, teaching activities in the subject Agriculture and the Environment
were observed in a Japanese agricultural high school. As Fig. 3 shows, the teacher first explained in
the classroom about rice grain maturity and the appropriate timing of harvesting based on the
moisture content of the rice. Second, the teacher guided students to conduct field observations on
differences in rice maturity, depending on the varieties. Students sampled the rice stalks with paddy
from different varieties to measure the moisture. After returning to the classroom, the students drew
diagrams of the rice stalks and measured the moisture of the paddy to prepare a report. The classes
covered the entire production process and growing stages of rice, including the preparation of the
paddy fields, seeding, transplanting, growth, and harvesting. The theory and practice wereinterconnected, as Fig. 4 shows.

Fig. 3 Integration of teaching methods, lectures, field practices, and teaching material
at the Japanese agricultural high school
Issues and Improvement Plan Based on the Focus Group Discussions(1) Prioritizing local products in lectures and connecting theory with practice:In the focus group discussion, the teachers suggested focusing more on local agricultural products,
although they recognized the importance of knowledge of Nepalese agriculture in tropical,
subtropical, and temperate areas. These teachers felt that local farming practices should be integrated
into the cultivation practices on the school farm and into the teaching of theory in lectures.
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Fig. 4 Integration of the lecture and field practice at the Japanese agricultural high school
The discussion indicated that the teaching content in the lectures and practices did not appear to
be integrated. A teacher who had visited Japan emphasized issues based on learning points observedin the Japanese teaching method which connected comparative cultivation trials on rice varieties withlecture contents. These points included observation, measurement of the product’s growth and yieldcomponents, and report writing relating to the farming practice season by season.
Teacher in charge of Principle of Agronomy in the 9th grade suggested connecting the contentsof the lecture and the farming practices with popular local crops such as barley. The field practice
could then include a comparison of cultivation among the different varieties of barley. Duringlectures on germination, for example, the teacher could use the barley cultivation practices to teachthe practice of determining germination rate.
Furthermore, the characteristics of plant growth and flowering time could be observed andrecorded in the field when the same contents were explained in the lectures. The harvest season could
offer the opportunity to observe different maturity timing and to collect yield data for comparisons.
The timing of the teaching content in the lectures should thus be matched with the instruction content
in the practice activities.
(2) Introducing comparative research:
In the situation at the time of this study, cultivation at school farms was rather limited in offering theexperience of farming practices. The teacher in charge of “Industrial Entomology and Mushroom”
in the 10th grade also emphasized the necessity of introducing a research context in lectures andpractice. The appropriate varieties of mushroom which were easily grown in the school area could
be produced in the school farm, allowing for several research topics such as variety comparisonsregarding growth and yield. The mushroom beds were available in the agricultural research center inthe region and were easy to obtain.
Comparative research could also be introduced to compare apples in different areas. Even if
apple trees were not grown in the school farm, the school practice could be conducted on apple farms
outside of the school. Teachers and students could visit apple farmers in different areas. The same
variety of apple could be collected from different village and the sugar contents of the fruits could
be compared.
As a plan for cultivation practices and comparative cultivation trials, the teachers suggested thatthe school farm be divided into 20 plots for the 9th and 10th grades and another 20 plots for the 11thand 12th grades. In the school farm, crops and vegetables could be cultivated as experimental fieldpractices. Comparative experimental cultivation could provide opportunities for scientific research
into different treatments and could also develop knowledge and skills regarding data collection,
analysis, and report writing.
It was thus felt that the idea of research should be introduced in lectures and practices. Local
products and varieties of each crop, in addition to local cultivation practices, could be used as
research targets and prepared for cultivation experiments under the supervision of the agriculture
teachers. The experience and knowledge thus gained would later be useful for students, both in higher
education and when or if they engage in agriculture.
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(3) Learning from farming and processing practices at students’ homes and on local farms:
At the time of this study, the families of most students were farmers who cultivated crops, vegetables,and fruits on their own farms or in their home gardens. There were hence many opportunities forstudents to learn from their own agricultural practices. Additionally, students could learn about
natural resources and water management from the real farming practices by local farmers.
Many farmers around the school grew fruit trees, including apple and walnut. The teacher incharge of Principles and Practices of Fruit Crop in the 9th grade suggested that the subject could belinked to the local apple farming and processing which were practiced in the areas around the school
and in the neighboring villages. Apples were processed into dry fruit, alcoholic beverages, juice, andjam. It was suggested that these local production processes should be learned through student visitsand experienced by the students in the practices in school.
(4) Utilizing the school farm more efficiently and effectively for learning and school
management:
The school farm consists of five hectares, including the field and building; however, only one hectare
has been used for farming practices since 2014. Thus, the agricultural field could be extended for
greater production.
Since apple and walnut are popular as cash crops, it was suggested that the plantations on theschool farm be increased for cultivation and research opportunities. These practices could be
integrated into the teaching content of the Principles and Practices of Fruit Crop in the 9th grade.
Moreover, it was suggested that cauliflower, cabbage, radish, ginger, garlic, onion, and several leaf
vegetables be grown as a part of students practice in the school farm. These cultivation practices
should then be connected with Vegetable and Medical Plant in the 10th grade and Commercial
Vegetable Production and Marketing in the 12th grade.
If apples were to be harvested at the school, agro-processing such as the production of dried
apple and apple jam could be practiced in the school kitchen. It was suggested that the learning
opportunities arising from existing local processing businesses should be increased by taking
students to visit the processers.
More than 20 students who came from the villages or cities far from the school stayed in theschool dormitory. The school financially supported the students who stayed at the school dormitory
by purchasing food supplies from local markets or farmers. However, it was proposed that if theaforementioned farming activities could be increased, students could produce food for their own
consumption. Some harvested and processed products could also be sold in the school or to the local
residents. These activities could assist the school management financially, as well as increase
learning opportunities regarding farming and business management.
(5) Accumulating the teaching content of lectures and practices:
Since the training and licensing system for teaching agriculture has yet to be established, the subject
teachers have not been professionally trained. Most agriculture teachers came from other areas andwere not familiar with the farmers’ practices and local products grown at an altitude of 2,600 m. The
teachers therefore also suggested that each teacher should create teaching notes which could be filed
and provided as instructional notes for new teachers. It is important to accumulate teachingknowledge so as to operate efficient schools that incorporate local agriculture.
Relevance of the Results of the Focus Group Discussions
These results identified the issues in agricultural education in the targeted secondary school in Nepal
while TVE in secondary school has just been introduced in secondary schools nationwide since 2014.
Among five discussion points, the essential issue to be improved is strengthening the links between
the educational contents, and regional agriculture and livelihoods with related businesses.
The implementation of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programby Council of TVET has resulted in a low employment rate of graduates largely due to the mismatch
between the market needs and program content (ADB, 2015; Bagale, 2018). ADB (2015) argued thatthe involvement of industry and business is necessary to a market that is responsive in assessing thejob market’s demand to enhance the employability and productivity of the workforce. InformationⒸ ISERD59

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sharing between industry and technical institutions is essential to connect the training content with
the necessary skills and knowledge of the targeted businesses to close the gap between educational
content and learning outcomes which are far from what the market demands (Nepal, 2015; Bagale,2018).
In the case of the technical education in agriculture (Plant Science Stream) at the surveyedschool, a limited connection of the teaching content with local agricultural practices is recognized as
the primary issue as argued by the studies cited above. As the TVET experiences indicate, it is a
critical situation with a high risk of mismatching between teaching content and the real need for
agricultural development in the region. Also, teaching new agricultural techniques, material,
equipment, and economic system without understanding local and traditional farming practices runs
the risk of the students uncritically adopting those new technologies which sometimes ruin the naturalenvironment and unexpectedly change the socio-economic situation in the region.
The rural people’s knowledge and practices on agriculture and natural resources use have been
already appropriate and reasonable in many cases. The traditional livelihoods including farming
system in developing countries are generally complex and diversified so that rural people can reduce
vulnerability and enhance security and ensure long term well-being and sustainability. These
traditional rural practices should be appropriately evaluated and outsiders’ and rural people’sknowledge could combine their strengths and neutralize the weaknesses (Chambers, 1983; Chambers,
1997).
The main purpose of technical education should be to develop the human capacity to improveor optimize the old practices through obtaining the new information, technologies, business strategies,
and even lifestyles without environmental and cultural distraction.
Thus, the learning process from real agricultural practices of local farmers could be fundamental
for agricultural education. Comparative research can provide the opportunities to enhance thestudents’ capacity for critical thinking with a verification (evaluation) method on the traditional
practices and newly introduced techniques. The farming practices through cultivation experiments
and crop–fruit–vegetable production in the school farm can not only give meaningful farming skills
and learning opportunities of the regional agricultural practices but also trial practices of newtechniques and material including seeds and equipment. Crop–fruit–vegetable production forstudents’ consumption in the school can also provide the experiences of processing, storing, andselling the products which enhances the students’ knowledge and skills in agricultural management
and business development.
The record of research process and outputs including the collected data and students’ reports
can be accumulated to utilize as teaching materials and learning references. Kanel (2015) emphasizes
the importance of the TVE in secondary schools to enhance capacity development of the teaching
staff of technical education. The accumulation of the information through the research and practices
in and out of the school can be the teaching contents and manual for the teachers. This practicalinformation can be utilized as effective teaching material during the daily lectures in the classes.
Combining the theory and practical information based on real farming practices in the daily lectures
can synergistically lead to effective and understandable teaching methods in each agricultural subject.
CONCLUSION
This study identified the existing issues and possible action for the improvement of agricultural
education in the surveyed secondary school in Nepal through observations of the Japanese school forcomparison and discussions by the teachers with researchers’ facilitation. The effectiveness of theseideas should be monitored and evaluated through the implementation of the action plan for the
improvements.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was conducted under the implementation of JICA partnership project on Enhancement ofAgricultural Education in Higher Secondary School in Nepal (2016-2018). We thank Kami-inaⒸ ISERD

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Agricultural High School (Nagano Prefecture, Japan), AST Foundation, and Curriculum
Development Center of MoE (Nepal) for their cooperation for the project implementation.
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