NEED BASED INCLUSIVE SCHOOL MODEL:REDEFINING INCLUSION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN NEPAL

Abstract

Many countries, including Nepal, face challenges in providing equitable access to quality education for children with disabilities. Even with concerted efforts being made, gaps still. It lays out a comprehensive model that meets individual requirements for developing an inclusive school but without these shortcomings in offering quality education and promotes holistic inclusion of children with and without disabilities in ensuring their rights to education. The model presented in this study is a model of inclusive school. It houses special needs children, having diversified disabilities like deafness, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disability, and multiple disabilities along with functional limitations, marginal, and orphan children, and integrates children without disabilities. This is done using individualized education programs and creating inclusive learning environments to take all children, regardless of ability, through learning effectively. The plan provides inclusive infrastructural setup, innovative teaching techniques, and a blended education that promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities. A team of specialists in special education, medical doctors, psychologists, counselors, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists will be formed to deal with the support services. Accessible means of communication, teaching-learning materials, physiotherapy, and vocational training are the approach which will be used. This school is located at Aanboo khaireni, Tanahun, Gandaki Province, Nepal. There will be governments participating through a specialized NGO, with national and international support. The school will also become a national training center for people with disabilities, as well as a research hub, having an outlook for duplication of the model in all seven provinces. Additional livelihood skills opportunities geared to students, siblings, parents, and caretakers are also expected to further facilitate a sense of self-reliance among the beneficiaries while transferring skills. It is based on a community model targeted toward SDG, which ensures measurable progress in education, fostering inclusive societies, leaving no child behind.