Nepal’s New Rich

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the changing dynamics of class and sociocultural differentiation operating in and through elite private schools in contemporary Kathmandu. Long-standing academic perspectives have held that caste-based privileges in Nepal are reproduced through formal education in Nepal. However, dramatic developments in recent decades, including a massive influx of foreign aid, growing urban labour and remittance economy, and substantial infusion of tourist dollars, have led to a significant amount of cash ‘floating around’ in Kathmandu (Liecthy 2003: 51). This highly monetized economy appears to be reshaping Kathmandu’s socio-economic landscape through the formation of a ‘New Rich’—wealthy families from diverse ethnic backgrounds for whom elite education plays an important role in self-construction. Drawing on the unique position of a teacher turned ethnographer, this chapter explores how elite private schools are creating new spaces for sociocultural performance through a neoliberal, international education paradigm. Furthermore, the chapter examines how elite private schools harness a global education market in order to solidify social status in Kathmandu. By shedding light on the ongoing transformations of class and ethnicity among elite private schools, this chapter aims to stimulate renewed considerations of Kathmandu’s social-class structure and the role of elite education in producing and transforming Nepal’s cultural order.