Pokhara, the Student City
Long before the lakeside cafes, Kaski was where people came to learn. Today, one in four people in Pokhara is a student.
“If you lose knowledge, go to Kaski”
Pokhara’s link with learning is centuries old. In 1524 B.S., the King of Kaski granted land near Barpatan for traditional Sanskrit teaching, and an old saying followed: if you lose knowledge, go to Kaski. Pathshalas and gurukuls gave way to schools in Bindhyabasini, Nadipur and Tundikhel, and in 2017 B.S. Prithvi Narayan College opened the door to higher education in western Nepal.
The city kept building on that start. Gandaki Boarding School opened in 2023 B.S., Manipal in 1994, Pokhara University in 1997 and Gandaki University in 2019. Add Western Engineering Campus, the Institute of Forestry, Gandaki College of Engineering and Science, nursing campuses and polytechnics, and Pokhara now trains doctors, engineers, foresters, IT graduates and managers for the whole country.
The numbers tell the story. Pokhara Metropolitan City has about 5.1 lakh people and a literacy rate of 88.72%, according to the 2021 census. It has 421 schools teaching Grades 1 to 8, 247 secondary schools, 129 of them running +2, and nearly 400 early childhood centres. About 128,000 students study here, and more than 51 colleges operate across Kaski. That is roughly one student for every four people in the city.
Behind every one of those students is a booklist, a school bag and a family making sure it is all ready on time. That is the part of Pokhara’s education story we are proud to serve. At Gorkhali Stationery, you can shop textbooks and stationery by class and get them delivered anywhere in Pokhara within a day. The Student City deserves nothing less.
