Mahesh Nath Parajuli is a Professor at the School of Education of Kathmandu University. He holds a master’s degree in Geography from 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 the Journal of Education Research, a publication of Kathmandu University, he has published several articles in different journals and in edited books.

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.

Prakash Kumar Paudel is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED). He acquired MPhil in Development Studies from KUSOED and also earned his Master’s Degree in Social Science from Tribhuvan University (TU). He has published his research-based articles and book chapters in national and international peer-reviewed journals. He has worked for the government, non-government and international organizations as a researcher for over a half-decade. Mr. Paudel’s research interest areas include development education, technical and vocational education and training, as well as labour migration.

Er. Jeevan Tamang is an MTVET graduate from Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED). From August 2021, he has been working as a research assistant under the LELAM project. He has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kathmandu University School of Engineering. His Master’s thesis is entitled ‘Career Choice among Diploma Level Engineering Students’.

Advisory Team

PRAKASH C BHATTARAI, PhD  is Associate Dean, External Affairs at Kathmandu University – School of Education, Hattiban, Lalitpur, Nepal. He is the 2015 Paul Begley Award winner for his doctoral thesis on ethical leadership. He is also the Highly Commended Award winner of the 2015 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards, selected by the Journal of Educational Administration (JEA). He teaches the courses: Development Theory and Practices, Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Research Methods, etc, and carries out researches in the diverse area of education, and social science. He has experience working as a project evaluator, researcher, and trainer in several national and international organizations. He is an active member of non-profit and educational forums in Nepal. He has been working as the secretary of the Comparative Education Society of Nepal (CESON). He has keen interests in anti-corruption, integrity, ethics, ethical leadership, inclusion, educational and societal reform, comparative education, TVET, and mixed-methods research. He is engaged in writing and carrying out researches in these areas.

He has been associated with Kathmandu University Since 2009 as a student and visiting faculty. In 2015, He was appointed as a lecturer under the project of Locating Public Finance Dynamics in Education in Nepal and as a tenured Assistant Professor in 2019. He has been teaching the courses such as Sociology of Education and Development, Sociology of Sustainable Development, and Research methods in Kathmandu University School of Education. He is also involved in in-house research and publication of Kathmandu University vis. Journal of Education and Research. He was awarded a Young Research Grant from the University Grants Commission, International Visitor Leadership Program from the State Department of United State, and COMPARE fellowship from the British Association of International and Comparative Education.

Extended Team

Ms. Amrita Sharma
Researcher

Ms. Amrita Sharma is a progressive professional with 20 years of diversified experience in development sectors. She has worked extensively in skills development, entrepreneurship development, environment protection, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), economic empowerment of women, and resource development sectors in her early career phase. She is pursuing PhD in Employability in the ICT sector and also leading research on the Skills Gap in the construction sector of TVET as a part of LELAM project. Her major strength lies in data analysis using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. All these work experiences harnessed her project management skills. She has facilitated various high-level policy discussions and dialogues during her professional assignments. She is a passionate woman interested in working in skill development and employability discourse in Nepal.

Mr. Milan Shrestha
Researcher

Mr. Milan Shrestha is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Education Tribhuvan University (GSETU). Mr. Shrestha has acquired a Master in Philosophy (MPhil) in Educational Leadership from Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED) and also earned a Master in Education (MEd) as well as Bachelor in Law (LLB) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has published several research-based articles in the Scopus index and peer-reviewed journals. He has worked for the government, non-government and international organizations as a researcher for over a half-decade. Mr. Shrestha’s research interest areas include educational leadership, technical and vocational education and training, as well as disparity indexes. Recently, he is engaged in the study entitled “Allocation of TVET Budgets and its Budgetary Sources among Local Governments of Nepal”.

Dr. Sanjay Hamal
Researcher

Dr. Sanjay Hamal completed his Ph.D. in Education from Kathmandu University, School of Education in 2021 with a fellowship awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark, and implemented in collaboration with Martin Chautari, Kathmandu University, Nepal, and Aarhus, University, Denmark. His Ph.D. research is focused on exploring and understanding different dynamics of school governance concerning its everyday functioning. Dr. Hamal is an educational research professional having experience in education policy, development policy, adult literacy, social anthropology, and everyday informal practices. Having worked in the National Planning Commission, the apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal for formulating a national vision, development policy, periodic plans, and sectoral policies, Dr. Hamal has expertise in preparing policy briefs, reports, and consultation. He also has a wide range of publications in journals and participation in national/international conferences