The Rana rulers, who placed Nepal under their feudal yoke for about 100 years until the beginning of the 1950s, feared an educated public. This fear also was held by Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher Rana, who accomplished Tri-Chandra College in 1918 and named it after himself. During the inauguration of the college, Chandra Shamsher lamented that its opening was the ultimate death knell to Rana rule. He personally felt responsible for the downfall of Rana rule, and his words became prophetic for the crumbling of Rana political power in 1950-51. The privileged access of members of the higher castes and wealthier economic strata to education was for centuries a distinguishing feature of society. The Ranas kept education the exclusive prerogative of the ruling elite; the rest of the population remained largely illiterate. The Ranas were opposed to any form of public schooling for the people, although they emphasized formal instruction for their own children to prepare them for a place in the government.

Under the Rana family, which governed Nepal from 1846 to 1951, only the upper class had access to education. After the 1951 revolution, Nepal accomplished an education system with free primary education for all children. Primary school begins at the age of 6 and lasts until age 10. Secondary education that follows lasts until the age of 15. Attendance of primary school was near universal for boys, but only 84 % of primary school-aged girls were listed in 1996. Secondary school enrollment included only 37 % in 1996. Formal schooling in Nepal is constrained by economic and cultural factors such as a bias against educating girls and a need for children to work at home or in the fields. In 2001 the literacy rate was around at 61 % of the adult population, with a large gap between male and female literacy rates. Only 44 % of the female population was literate in 2001 compared to 77 % of the males. Urban areas have higher literacy rates than rural areas. In 1990 Nepal launched a 12-year literacy program targeting 8 million people between the ages of 6 and 45 years old. Tribhuvan University, founded in Kathmandu in 1959, is the only doctoral-granting institution of higher education in Nepal. Nepal also has a number of colleges, all of which are either affiliated with, or follow standards set by, Tribhuvan University.