Education in Nepal was long based on home schooling and Gurukula (a type of residential school with pupils (shishya) living near the guru, often in the same house. Before British rule, they served as South Asia's primary educational institution.). The first formal school was established in 1853, but was intended for the elites. Poverty & social exclusion of women, lower caste & indigenous people are nowadays the main constraints to an equitable access to education