The costs of enabling a child in Nepal to study vary from 150-800 euro per year, depending on the financial situation of the parents, the location, age and needs of the child.

Financial situation of the parents

When a child is applied to our scholarship programme our fieldworker first visits the family of the child. He makes an assessment of the home situation and he also talks with the parents about their financial situation. Our point of view is that we should not take all responsibilities away from the parents, so if it possible for the parents to also contribute partly to their child's education we definitely encourage this. On the other hand, some parents are facing such hazards sometimes financially that is even difficult for them to provide their child a good meal every day. These children are then taken into consideration for an extra allowance to pay for their tiffin (lunch) which is provided at school and in some cases even shelter in a hostel is offered.

Location and age

Many of the Nepalese families ended up in Kathmandu during the political conflict from 2001-2006, hoping for a better life. However, it turned out life in the city was much harder than in the villages and thus many families ended up in small huts where they sometimes have to sleep with 6 people in one bed! To then provide the children some education is one of their last priorities, which causes that many children in the city do not receive education, even though they have a right to it... Not just in Kathmandu, but also outside of Kathmandu the circumstances can be terrible and the families cannot afford their children's education. Therefore, most children in the programme are from Kathmandu, but some children outside Kathmandu are also supported in their education. If there is no school in the surroundings of where the children live, or if the children are orphans and have no one to take care of them, we explore the opportunities for the children to live in a hostel at the school.

When the child gets older, the costs for education rise. In Nepal, the first five years of public education are relatively cheap. After that, the cost increase every year. This is one of many reasons why parents pull their children out of school when they are older, the parents cannot afford it anymore. We try to achieve that the children in our scholarship program are able to complete their education up till class 10.

Guaranteeing school continuation

To guarantee continuity for the student and to ensure that a child can at least receive education for 3 years, agreements are being made between the donor and EFF to support a student for at least 3 years. This also gives more certainty to the student and thus he/she can focus on school better.

Our fieldworkers visit the schools and the homes of the students minimally three times a year, and more if the situation requires so. In this way proper monitoring can be done on the situation of the students and the support can be adjusted to the needs of the students if needed. You, as a donor, will receive three progress reports every year, unless the circumstances require receiving a progress report more often.

Overview of estimated costs per child

As described above, the yearly costs for studying depend highly on the situation and needs of the child:

• If a student only needs support in study costs and the parents are still able to pay for materials like schoolbooks, stationary etc., uniforms and lunch themselves, then the costs are approximately around 150,- euro a year.
• If a child is able to live at home under reasonable circumstances, but the parents are not able to afford the study costs, including the costs for materials and uniforms, but can pay for a lunch, then the yearly needed support is around 250,- Euro.
• Usually the parents can still give their child a lunch to bring to school, or some pocket money to buy something. But sometimes this is not even possible. In that case EFF makes sure the children receive a daily lunch so they have enough energy for their studies. These costs including everything are approximately 350,- on yearly basis.
• If the home situation is really bad, if there is no school nearby, or if the child is (half) orphan and EFF's criteria require for a child to stay in a hostel for his/her healthy development then we try to find a suitable new 'home'. This includes everything: shelter, food, clothes, education, school materials, uniforms, love and care. The costs for this are yearly around 800,- euro.

Estimated cost per child per year

* Not all children go to the same school and the prices may vary (greatly). You also need to take an annual increase of 10%-15% into account *

If you are interested in sponsoring a student so he/she can receive qualitative education and comes a step closer to independence, it is best to contact our project coordinator of the scholarship programme, Gautam Maharjan, directly: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We always have students on our waiting list, some more urgent than others, and Gautam can tell you exactly what the costs will be for the next school year for every individual student.