A generation taught itself democracy. Nepal’s schools must finish the job

The Gen Z uprising and the 2026 election proved what an informed, courageous citizenry can achieve. The new government must build that citizenry on purpose.

In September 2025, teenagers in school uniforms made the most powerful argument for civic education in Nepal. A leaderless generation, organised on phones and fueled by anger over corruption, joblessness and the exodus of friends for foreign labour, brought down a government in mere days. Six months later, they voted, peacefully concluding what they had started. In the March 2026 election, voters delivered a decisive mandate to a party founded only in 2022, produced the first single-party majority since 1999 , and unseated three-decade veterans, including a former prime minister who lost his own constituency.