Principal Investigator for Nepal
Dean School of Education (KUSOED)
Professor KUSOED
Kathmandu University, Nepal
Mahesh Nath Parajuli is the Dean and a Professor of the School of Education of Kathmandu University. He holds a master’s degree in Geography of the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal and an MSc degree in Rural and Regional Development Planning from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. He gained his PhD in Education at the Danish University of Education in Copenhagen, Denmark. The title of his doctoral thesis is: “The state, the school and the society: Dilemmas and Crises in Education in Nepal”.
Since 2013, he is the General Secretary of the Comparative Education Society of Nepal (CESON) and since 2014 a board member of the Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA). Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Education Research, a publication of Kathmandu University, he has published several articles in different journals and in edited books.
Mr. Prakash Kumar Paudel is graduated MPhil in Development Studies from School of Education, Kathmandu University. Mr. Paudel completed his Master Degree in Social Science in 2009 and started teaching in graduate level which has been almost a decade. Along with long academic engagement, Paudel has published his research based couple of articles and book chapter in national and international peer reviewed journals. Besides academic engagement, Mr. Paudel is actively engaged in development sectors. He has worked for government, non-government and international organizations as a researcher. Currently, he is working as a project member in Linking Education with Labour Market project at Kathmandu University School of Education.
Doctoral Student under the Project
Researcher
School of Education (KUSOED)
Kathmandu University, Nepal
Durga Prasad Baral is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED). Mr. Baral has acquired two university degrees: a Masters in Civil Engineering from the Kiev Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers (at present known as National Aviation University) Kiev, Ukraine, and an MPhil in Educational Leadership from the Kathmandu University, Nepal. He has more than 20 years of work experience in the sector of TVET of Nepal including at the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). Mr. Baral’s research interests include educational leadership, technical and vocational education and training, as well as entrepreneurship development.
Doctoral Student under the Project
Researcher
School of Education (KUSOED)
Kathmandu University, Nepal
Laxman Acharya, PhD, is Postdoctoral researcher in the project since November 2019. He obtained a PhD in Education in 2018 from Kathmandu University and two Master degrees in Economics and Public Administration from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. His research interests include out of school children, financing education, inclusive education, and technical and vocational education and training. His PhD thesis is entitled as ‘Exploring the Dynamics of Out-of-School Phenomenon in Nepal’. He has been facilitating the course Statistical Methods in Education and Social Science Research in MPhil/PhD program as a visiting faculty in School of Education, Kathmandu University since 2013. He has published some books, book chapters, and research articles.
Dr. Acharya has 30 years of experience in teaching, research, management and coordination, and project evaluation. After working with various I/NGOs, he worked for National Institute for Research and Training (NIRT), as a Managing Director since its establishment in 2011 and played a lead role in coordinating and managing all NIRT projects. Major projects he involved for NIRT includes National Early Grade Reading Program, School Sector Development Plan (SSDP 2016-2022), and Technical Assistance for Soft Skills Project.