Nepal, Oct. 27 -- The government has spent Rs 2.676 billion over four years on teacher capacity development. Yet the National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA), conducted by the Education Review Office, shows that student learning outcomes remain poor. As many as 78 percent of Grade 5 students fall below the minimum proficiency level in mathematics. In Grade 10, the figures are equally concerning: 60 percent of students fail to meet the minimum proficiency level in mathematics, 50.1 percent in science and 53.8 percent in Nepali. The gap between public investment in teacher development and student achievement raises serious questions about the effectiveness of educational programmes and the returns on public spending. Teachers are ...