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Once, the sound of laughter echoed through playgrounds. Now it’s the screen lighting up young faces. Not long ago, the sound of children playing  guccha, flying kites, or chasing each other around the galli was a common scene in  neighborhoods. From climbing trees to clicking apps, childhood has taken a sharp  digital turn—and it’s time we asked: are we gaining innovation or losing innocence? 

Today’s youth are more connected than ever, yet increasingly detached from their  surroundings. Social media, mobile games, and YouTube have become modern  playgrounds. While technology offers incredible opportunities, access to information,  global communication, creative platforms; it’s also quietly stealing something precious:  presence. We see the signs everywhere. Attention spans are shrinking. Face-to-face  conversations feel awkward. The joy of outdoor play is replaced by the dopamine hit of  a ‘like’. Even family dinners are interrupted by notification pings. The shift is  subtle, yet serious.  

According to a 2023 report by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), over 72 percent of Nepal’s population has access to the internet, with a majority of young users  spending more than four hours a day online. A study by UNICEF Nepal found that 60 percent of adolescents prefer screen-based entertainment over outdoor games, citing boredom  and peer influence as key reasons. Globally, research published in the Journal of the  American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that high digital media use is linked to  increased rates of anxiety, sleep issues, and reduced attention span in adolescents. 

Yet, this is not a call to ban screens. Rather, it’s a call to restore balance. Let’s create  spaces where our youth can embrace both tradition and technology. Let’s encourage  digital literacy alongside cultural literacy. Families can start small tech-free meals,  storytelling nights, or weekend hikes in the hills. Schools can incorporate local games,  festivals, and community projects to keep traditions alive in young hearts. 

From swings to screens, the world has changed. But maybe, just maybe, we can help  our youth find their way back—without taking the screens away, but by giving them  something even more powerful: perspective. 

Ayushma Budhathoki 

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

General Secretary of the Nepali Congress, Gagan Thapa, recently made a statement suggesting that youths in Nepal can earn Rs 200,000 to 300,000 per month by working remotely in the IT sector. While his comment drew massive criticisms online, it’s worth noting that his statements were neither entirely baseless nor entirely practical in Nepal’s current context. 

In this article, we’ll break down how Nepali youth currently stand in the IT industry, the actual potential of remote work, the skills and experience required to achieve such income levels, challenges they face, and the reforms that are needed to make such aspirations more realistic.

Former education minister, Sumana Shrestha, also shared her thoughts with more logical commentary in a recent interview. She has been an advocate of this industry even before she became a minister. While Thapa’s insights were pragmatic about global trends, the dreams he portrayed to the youths of Nepal seemed overambitious. Given Nepal’s current infrastructure and education system in the IT sector, it’s early to forecast that youths have a genuine platform for such income sources. The current infrastructure and scenario in Nepal are hardly laying  any foundations to withhold Thapa’s expectation.If government were to make a concrete plan to promote IT industry in Nepal, allocating budgets, investing in training and education, Thapa’s statement would have made more sense

The path to Rs 200,000-300,000

For an IT enthusiast in Nepal to earn Rs 200,000–300,000 per month, the journey starts with the smallest of steps. There are certainly individuals earning that amount or more, but their journeys are filled with years of learning, internships, low-paying jobs, and freelancing work. 

To earn that income remotely, a person typically needs a solid portfolio, technical expertise, and work experience. This usually starts with internships in local IT companies. Once the internship period is over, they begin with the smallest amount of salaries, which is somewhere between Rs 17,000 and 35,000 per month.

The challenging part for businesses and employees is the reliance on international clients. Most IT firms in Nepal rely on international clients, particularly those seeking low-cost outsourcing. While this creates opportunities, it also means job security is fragile. Many IT professionals frequently rotate  between companies due to job dissatisfaction, payment delays, and limited growth opportunities. As a result, the companies in Nepal are sourced by middlemen, sometimes even taking commissions up to 60 percent. 

After gaining some experience, many attempt to go freelance. But even here, earning over Rs 100,000 per month is rare, especially without a strong international client base or specialization in high-demand skills like AI, blockchain, or cybersecurity. Gaining these skills while remaining in Nepal is challenging. Even self-learning has not been encouraging as the Nepal government has made no such attempts to incorporate these technologies into the system.

Therefore, earning Rs 200,000–300,000 through freelance IT jobs with over reliance on international clients seems ahead of time for Nepali IT professionals. Even with a rich portfolio and strong skill set, breaking past the Rs 300,000 earning threshold as a freelancer is far from common.

Barriers to digital income: Payments, policies and platforms

Nepali freelancers and digital entrepreneurs face another critical challenge: an unregulated and restricted payment ecosystem. Platforms like PayPal are not fully functional in Nepal, limiting access to smooth global transactions and delaying payments. Receiving as well making payments is challenging despite the dollar card service as there are transactional limitations.

Not just for IT professionals, the payment policies and platforms have been bothering various business owners and digital users. It keeps the international brands from trusting the Nepali professionals given the difficult scenario for platforms. Amrit Thapa, founder and content creator at Misguided Nepal, noted that if platforms like Facebook allowed monetization in Nepal, independent content creators could make a comfortable living without having to diversify their portfolio and seek professional jobs, potentially growing the income by fivefold or even more.

Education: The foundation is weak

Perhaps the biggest hurdle lies in Nepal’s education system, especially in the IT field. IT graduates often leave university with minimal practical exposure and outdated syllabus that don’t match global demand. As a result, many choose to self-learn through YouTube, online courses, or bootcamps.

It leaves youth to cope up with the fierce competitions with professionals from countries like India, Philippines or Ukraine. However, most of the IT professionals learn through internships or on-the-job training.Youths and  even teenagers are interested in this sector, as news of Nepalis being rewarded for identifying bugs in the security systems of platforms like Google, Open AI Facebook etc. are shared online.It proves the immense possibility that Nepali minds hold in this sector.But the earnings are not justifying and valuing their effort and time inside the country.

Yes, it’s possible—but it’s not simple

The dream of earning Rs 200,000–300,000 remotely in IT is not entirely impossible. But it’s not an overnight success story, and it’s certainly not accessible to everyone without effort, infrastructure, and support.

There are inspiring examples of Nepali youths earning more than $2,000/month as freelancers or remote employees. But they often come from urban centers with stable internet, mentorship access, and years of trial and error.

If Nepal truly wants to tap into the digital goldmine, reforms are needed from the national to local level. Right type of investment and transparent advocacy is necessary from the representatives and the business owners. Modernizing IT education with updated curriculum, digital infrastructure expansion and legalization of global payment gateways can be undertaken. Also, the tax incentives for tech startups should not be overlooked.

Dhiraj Thapa

BBA Graduate, Pokhara University

The current education model prioritizes rote learning, academic performance, and passing rates, thereby overlooking the wellbeing and needs of the students. There are many educational flaws that are being worked on, but some key points are not being prioritized.

Schools today no longer serve as spaces for learning, recreation, and social growth. Instead, they have become institutions that mold young minds into rigid expectations. This deprives a student’s originality and essence of childhood and true holistic development is often unfulfilled.

The students are burdened with an unnecessary amount of homework. It is even seen as a sign of prestige and effectiveness. It is believed that more a school makes a student busy at home the better it is. Whether it be for the belief that it will make their child more productive or the fact that parents do not have time to deal with their child, parents even ask schools for extra homework. The assignments leave little to no time for children to explore, learn beyond curriculum, play, develop themselves and be a part of the society. The young kids are left with energy drainage and under an overwhelming pressure and fear of ‘homework’ which was supposed to aid learning and holistic performance and a fun overview. 

To ensure the effectiveness of homework, children of grade 3 and below should not be given any homework at all. Grades 4, 5 and 6 should be given less than 30 minutes of homework per day. Grades 7 and 8 should be given less than 60 minutes of homework per day and grades 9 and 10 should be given less than 120 minutes per day; Learning assignments also count as homework. During vacations like Dashain, students are often given more homework, but holidays should be for relaxation, not extra work. It’s a time to connect with traditions, learn about our rituals, and spend time with family, rather than being burdened with assignments.

Many institutions have made morning and evening classes mandatory in addition to the regular day class for grades 8, 9 and 10. A school day ranges from 6 am to 6 pm, and in some cases, as late as 8 pm. On top of it lies homework yet to be done after reaching home. With more than 12 hours dedicated to school followed by assignments and additional tasks, there is no time for relaxation. This causes students to sacrifice their sleep, free time, social life and overall wellbeing. This practice for simple grade levels and young students is simply unnecessary. The topic must be addressed immediately, as it stifles critical thinking and passion for learning. 

According to Nepal Labor Act 2074, No workers shall be employed to work more than eight hours a day and 48 hours a week. There needs to be recognition of learning labor of students. So, regardless of the grades, a school day must be eight hours or less. No student should be obliged to attend morning or evening class. Extra classes must be voluntary, and they should not introduce new syllabus content that compels students to attend.

Some private schools punish and fine students for the sake of speaking their mother tongue (Nepali) and have made it mandatory to speak in English. This is a crime against identity, cultural heritage and language. It develops foreign languages but puts our languages on the verge of extinction and inaccuracy. This links student’s mother tongue with fear and a sense of shame, inferiority, and disrespect. 

According to the 2020 National Assessment of Student Achievement (NASA), only 58 percent of eighth graders achieved basic proficiency in Nepali indicating that over 40 percent lacked adequate skills in their national language. Despite other contributing factors, students should develop proficiency in their mother tongue before focusing on another foreign language. Even the institutions identifying themselves as English medium, students should be allowed to speak their native language without any fear.

In our culture, where intelligence is measured with thickness of books, A heavy backpack is a significant problem. A typical school bag consists of eight subject copies, eight textbooks, a school diary, water bottle, pencil case and even eight additional notebooks for homework.

The heavy bag develops back strain and bad posture from a young age. Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that school backpacks should weigh no more than 10-15 percent of the child’s body weight. Students are encouraged to bring all tools to be “well equipped”. Schools should manage lockers and should not promote the use of unnecessary number of stationary.

The mentioned changes will help the schools be what the students need it as and will help overcome the problems that remain in our education policy.

Uma Regmi

Grade: X

Shree Bal Uddhar Secondary School

Budhanilkantha Municipality-10, Kapan, Kathmandu

In our day-to-day lives, we often cross paths with people whose work keeps our communities functioning—bus conductors, street cleaners, garbage collectors, security  guards, and others working behind the scenes. Yet, these are the very people we so  often ignore, look down upon, or treat with impatience. It’s time we asked ourselves: Why? 

There is a deeply rooted tendency in our society to equate respect with position, wealth, or educational qualifications. Those who wear uniforms, perform physically demanding  tasks, or work under the sun are often treated as if they are somehow “less.” But the  truth is this: every job has dignity and every person deserves respect. 

Consider this: Kathmandu Valley alone generates over 1,200 metric tons of solid waste  every day, much of which is managed by over 1,500 sanitation workers, many from  marginalized backgrounds. These workers rise before dawn, clean our roads, and  handle the very waste we throw without a second thought. Yet, a 2023 study by the  Centre for Labour and Social Studies Nepal found that 65 percent of sanitation workers  reported being treated with disrespect or ignored entirely by the public. 

Public transport workers, too—like bus conductors and microbus helpers, help tens of  thousands of people reach their destinations daily. Despite their essential service, they  are often met with rude behavior or treated as if their efforts have no value. This  behavior isn’t just unkind—it’s unjust. 

It reflects a societal gap in empathy and awareness. We must understand that dignity is  not tied to one’s income, title, or background, but to the fact that each of us contributes,  in different ways, to the collective good of our society. The health of our communities,  the smooth functioning of our cities, and even our personal comfort depends on the  labor of these hardworking individuals. 

What we need is a culture shift. A shift that starts with something simple: respect. Meet the people we usually ignore. Let us teach our children to thank those who serve us—not just doctors and teachers, but also the cleaner who makes their school safe and  the driver who takes them home. Talk to the street vendor and parking attendant. These small acts can build a more inclusive and humane society. But the real change begins with us—how we think, how we speak, and how we treat those  around us. 

In a just society, no one is “too small” to be seen or heard. Let us remember that the  hands that sweep our streets and carry our garbage are just as important as the hands  that sign documents and sit in offices. Respect should not be a luxury for the privileged.  It should be a shared value that defines who we are as a people. 

Ayushma Budhathoki 

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar