Educational challenges and socio-cultural barriers of Muslim minority in Nepal: An analysis of literacy, access, and integration

Abstract

Nepal is a country characterized by multiethnicity, multilingualism and multi-religious nature with a population composition of 5.09% Muslims (NSO, 2023). While being one of the major religious minorities, Muslims in Nepal encounter various educational issues caused by socio-cultural factors, economic deprivation, linguistic issues and deficiencies in educational institutions. Muslims literacy rate is 61.6% while the overall literacy rate in Nepal is 76.2% (National Statistics Office [NSO, 2023] and Commons-Nepal, 2025). This study aims to discuss the educational condition of the minority group, the socio-cultural problems that hinder the minority group to enter into mainstream education and madarasas education and government policy regarding this issue. By applying descriptive analytical approach, the findings suggest that poverty, gender discrimination and language issues and lack of integration of madarasas with mainstream education are the major constraints based on the information presentations from both the census and peer-reviewed articles and organizational information. Based on the findings, certain policy recommendations have been suggested to overcome educational obstacles. This covers education strategies for the Muslim minority in Nepal, madarasas, literacy and social inclusion.