Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 6:

Speakers at a programme here today stressed on providing inclusive education to disabled children. Ankur Foundation for Inclusive Education (AFINED) organised an interaction on inclusive education to children hard of hearing, blind and disabled. AFINED secretary Madhav Prasad Aryal said children with multiple disability need longer time to learn. “Educating children who have multiple disabilities is a very tough job. A lot of patience is required to teach them,” said Aryal. The programme is supported by Hilton’s Perkins Programme of Perkins School for the Blind, USA since 2001 for manpower production. Aryal said the programmes need to be extended outside Kathmandu, with a view to provide services to disabled children. Tika Prasad Sharma, central president National Private and Boarding Schools Organisation Nepal (NPABSON) expressed his committment to extend support for the programme. The disabled population comprises 10 per cent of the total population. In Nepal, the education for the physically challenged was started from 1981 on International Disabled Day from Laboratory School, targetted at blind children.