Thousands of students across Nepal are reportedly under stress after the government reinstated the age restriction for participating in the Secondary Education Examination (SEE), four years after it was removed.
According to Rule 78(6) of the Education Regulations, students must be at least 14 years old by the end of Chaitra in the academic year they appear for the SEE. While this provision was removed in 2078 B.S. through a ministerial decision, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology has now directed the National Examination Board to enforce it once again.
With this implementation, only students born on or before the end of Chaitra 2068 B.S. are eligible to take the SEE in 2082 B.S. As schools are currently processing registration forms for Grade 10, with the deadline set for the end of Jestha, many students are discovering they do not meet the age requirement.
According to Dr. Ganesh Bhattarai, Controller of Examinations (Class 10), some students are just a few days short of the age limit, while others are as young as 12 years. “In such cases, it is evident that some students were either admitted with altered birth dates or were promoted by skipping grades,” he said. “These discrepancies are not legally valid.”
The decision has triggered a flood of complaints from schools, students, and parents. Many are concerned about the sudden reintroduction of the age policy, which had been relaxed in 2078 B.S. as part of the move to align secondary education up to Grade 12.
However, the Ministry defends the policy, stating that the original removal was an error. Ministry spokesperson Shiv Kumar Sapkota said, “We are simply enforcing the regulation as it stands. The Board has been advised to facilitate any necessary adjustments.”
Temporary Relief Through Birth Date Adjustment
To mitigate the issue, the Examination Board has allowed students who do not meet the age requirement to submit their registration forms using Chaitra 2068 B.S. as their birth date, provided they later correct the official record. This flexibility is based on a proposed legal amendment currently under consideration in the National Assembly. The amendment includes a one-time provision allowing birth date corrections.
However, it remains uncertain when this legal provision will come into effect. The Board has expressed its willingness to support affected students once the law is enacted.
