Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, May 25

A strong reason for the disabled being constantly branded as incapable and a burden to family and society, is due to their restricted access to education. Even financially secure parents hesitate to invest on their disabled children’s further studies. The country’s situation is such that a majority of them do not have access to education.

To make matters worse, there are absolutely no concrete structures of education acts and regulations for those with disabilities in the country. The only aspect mentioned in the existing act is – education will be provided to the handicapped but it fails to provide clear-cut details on the matter.

“We had raised a nine-point demand for the disabled concerning the education system during the amendment process of the Seventh Education Act but we were told then that they came under regulations,” said Muneshwar Pandey, president of the National Federation of the Disabled-Nepal.

He pointed out that the education regulations currently in the amendment procedure have slightly touched upon one of the demands – that a four-hour examination duration could be provided to the disabled. “Regulations providing up to six hours is most definitely a necessity,” he emphatically stated.

Providing education materials such as brail books for the blind for free and scholarships to the physically impaired in schools and colleges is the need of the hour, he added.

Although the government has been holding various programmes nationwide to prevent disabilities in the new-born, government officials agree that the existing education acts and regulations are not in favour of those with disabilities.

“Since the education act lacks provisions for the disabled, the education ministry must work towards providing appropriate measures for those with disabilities,” stressed under-secretary of the ministry for women, children and social welfare, Ganesh Prasad Upadhyay. He pointed out that the National Plan of Action focusing on the disabled children is in the final phase, which will be released in the current fiscal year. The plan will focus on health, education and services of the disabled, he said talking to the Himalayan Times at the concluding programme of ‘Listen to Us.’ The team comprises of 22 disabled children and young people from 16 districts of the country, supported by Save the Children UK (STC-UK).

To promote a global call - ‘Education For All’ and also making the education system inclusive for both regular children and those with disabilities, STC-UK has been supporting the Listen to Us team for the past two years. It will continue its support for the team for a further two years. The organisation does not support the team financially, its main objective is to strengthen the group, helping it to grow and extend its outreach through-out the country, said Prakash Koirala, training programme manager of STC-UK.

He pointed out that the mentally retarded and mentally-ill also come under the division of the disabled, however providing education to them is extremely difficult and they are the ones who are secluded from society by their parents.

According to him, the interaction of the Listen to Us team with governmental officials on the first day of the conference did not prove to be substantial. Concerned officials failed to show commitment for the cause, he added.