Answer:
Nepal is a multiethnic, multilingual, multi-religious and multicultural country. The last census 2011 revealed that there are 123 languages and 125 castes and ethnic groups (CBS, 2014).However, Lewis (2009) and Yonjan-Tamang (2005) claim that there are 144 languages are spoken within the territory of Nepal (as cited in Rai, Rai, Phyak & Rai, 2011). Although, languages are sources of knowledge and icon of identity, the majority of indigenous languages spoken in Nepal are endangered due to various reasons.
According to the last Census 2011(CBS, 2014), the total population of Nepal is 26.5 million with annual growth rate of 1.35per annum. There are 84.56 percent males and 51.43 percent females. The literacy rate of male and female are 75.1 and 57.4 percent respectively giving on average of 69.9 percent.
But when Janga Bahadur Rana seized the power through the Kot Massacre and became Prime Minister, English education was recognized as a hot cake. Janga Bahadur Rana maintained friendly relation with East India Company to remain his power. For this he signed a treaty with the East India Company. He resumed sending Nepalese youth in British army although it began after 1814-16 war between Nepal and East Indian Government. These youth were supposed to take eight years of formal education in English (Kerr, 1999). It played significant role in the spread of English language in Nepal.
The first post-secondary educational institution in Nepal was Trichandra College whichwas established in 1918. In this college, language of education was English. It’s purposed was to shelter students of Darbar School and to prevent them from going abroad (India). His underling purpose was to prevent Nepalese from getting radical ideas which could be by productive for them. Tri-Chandra College was affiliated to Patna University, India. It borrowed syllabus and assessment system fromthere; therefore, there was direct influence of British Indian system of education in Nepalese system too.
Rana rule ended in 1950, then, for the first time, Nepal’s government became interested in cultural unification. According to Rai et al. (2011) Panchayat government imposed their political goals through the slogan of ek bhasha, ek bhesh, ek dharma, ek desh (one language, one way of dress, one religion, one nation), which attempted to spread Nepali, Hinduism, and other symbols of nation throughout the country to create a unified national identity. Its goal was to assimilate people of different culture and linguistic background into a Nepali identity based on the cultural practices of elite, high-caste hill Hindus (Onta, 1996a, as cited in Weinberg 2013). In the Panchyat period, the role of English was changed from medium of instruction to a subject of study.
After the introduction of democracy, new educational policy of language was formed considering the recommendation of Nepal National Educational Planning Commission (NNEPC).The report of the NNEPC strongly supported Nepali as the medium of instruction for schooling, largely for purposes of national integration. The report advocated the use of Nepali language not only in classroom but also on playgrounds and in all spheres of life.
English language education policies, especially in developing countries like Nepal is, mostly based on political motives rather than academic one (Coleman, 2011). It is illustrated by ELT Survey of Nepal in 1983. Overall it aimed to study the ELT situation in Nepal. Regarding English language teaching it recommended that it is better to start from Grade 8. Despite its findings, the ELT Survey reveals strong socio-political pressure to start English from Grade 1. Finally, the survey team had to continue the exiting policy; that is, starting English in Grade 4.The Ministry of Education in 2005 via National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) states that Nepali, English, or both can be the medium of instruction for school level; however it also states that the ‘mother tongue’ will be the medium of instruction for elementary education (Grades 1 -3).In this era, different factors played in the spread of English language in Nepal. The first one is the establishment of Darbar School itself. The next is the recruitment and the retirement of the Nepalese British army. Similarly, when Janga Bahadur established friendly relationship with the East India Company, the British diplomats began to reside in Kathmandu.