1. The Inclusive Education Policy and Practice in Nepal
Prof Missy Morton, Dr Annie Guerin and Mukti Prakash Thapaliya
School of Educational Studies and Leadership (EDSL)
University of Canterbury, New Zealand

2. Contents Policy The Gurukul education system The Caste hierarchy
Journey from exclusion to inclusion
Inclusive education
Speaking, thinking and acting in education policy
Nepal strategies for achieving EFA Goals (2015)
Speaking, thinking and acting in these pictures
Findings: contradictory, confusing and competing policies
Conclusion
Present research was conducted in province 1 & 3, Solukhumbu and Kavrepalanchok districts respectively.
Socio- Political- cultural context:
Religion: Hindu, Islam, Buddhist,

3. Policy
A plan or course of action, a of a government, political party, or business, intended to influence and determine decisions, actions, and other matters
Legislations, laws, rules and regulations
Why PhD in Inclusive Education?
1. Personal Experience: : As a school student, I had a disabled friend, Shankar Sharma. Teachers, students and other people discriminate him because most people believes on Karma Theory. Karma3 theory describes that the privileges and deficits of the current life are to be attributed to the sins of one’s past life (Gabel & Danforth, 2008).
2. Professional experience: I completed a Bachelor degree in Education (B.Ed.) from Tribhuvan University in I then went to my village to teach English language for one year. In my village, there was only one school and that school lacked resources for disabled students. There were 60 students in my class. Among them, more than 70% belonged to ethnic minorities’ whose parents were not able to afford the basic things such as a slippers/ shoes on their feet, no stationery, or books. Out of 6o students, two were disabled, namely Laxman and Raju: Laxman, was blind and Raju was physically disabled/lame. Children were teasing them inside and outside the classroom, calling them “Ande”1 and “Langado”2; as well as, the teachers were also ignoring them. After some months, Laxman and Raju left the school forever. I asked myself why people discriminated using the name of the physical status of a person. What crime had the disabled children done and why could they not get equal status and treatment from their friends, parents, teachers, other stakeholders?
- Teacher educator of GAMC: After the graduation, I joined as a lecturer at Gramin Adarsha Multiple Campus, Balaju, Kathmandu in I taught more than 100 students in an undergraduate class. Among them, Kapil, who sat on the first bench, was blind. I asked him if he understood what I taught in the class. He told me that he could understand, but it was very difficult to remember everything. In Nepal, in the examination, a disabled student can have a junior level student as an assistant to write their answer. It means neither our classroom nor our examination are disabled children friendly. I asked myself when there would be Nepalese classroom and exams are disabled student friendly as well as child friendly. -

4. The Gurukul Education system
Ancient learning method, students trained by Gurus/teacher
Vedic education (religious and secret texts); no assessment system.
Discipline, sincerity, desire, determination, level of intelligence
Education for Royal family members, high-clash caste
Exclusion of CWDs form education and social events
The Gurukul Education system

5. The Caste Hierarchy in Nepal (1854 Muluki Ain)
Brahmin
Chhetri
High Caste Newar
Tagadhari "Twic Born"
Unenslavable
Indigenous/Ethbnic Groups
Enslavable
Matwali "Liquor-Drinking"
Pani Na Chalne "Water-Unacceptable"
Muslims & Foreigners
Acchut "Untouchable"
High Caste
“Pure”
“Pure”
Janajati
“Impure”
Dalit
Source: World Bank, Unequal Citizens: Gender Caster and Ethnic Exclusion in Nepal, Washington, DC.

6. Journey from Exclusion to Inclusion in Nepal
Inclusive Education:
A human rights approach to inclusive education argues …that the problems of inclusion do not come from the individual, but the discriminatory attitudes in society…
IE denotes education for all children in the regular classroom – DoE
Exclusion
Segregation
Integration
Inclusion

7. Developmental process of an education system
Inclusive education
Developmental process of an education system
Right for All Children to have useful education in non-discriminatory environment
Inclusive Education
The developmental process of an education system
The right for all children to have useful education in non-discriminatory environment of their own community by upholding multicultural differences of the country-
Department of Education, Nepal,2012

8. Speaking, thinking and acting in education policy
Resource: sufficient teaching and learning resources in sign and braille language
Medium of instruction: Nepali Sign language (NSL) or Braille for visually impaired and deaf learners (The education act, ; the Special Education Policy, 1996)
Value of Education
Respecting humanity, diversity, social justice, democracy, child and human rights, equity and equality and peace" (NCF, 2005, p. 14).
Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
The Nation Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2005) adopted the principle of inclusive education …. children at the centre of learning. The NCF further explained that "it was not children who needed to change to fit into the existing education system, but rather that the education system needed to become child-centred to meet the learning needs of all children” (p. 19).
Continuous assessment policy
However, neither teachers nor students use NSL as a medium of instruction

9. Nepal strategies for achieving EFA Goals (2015)
Nepal government has adopted the rights-based approach to education through different policies.

10. Speaking, thinking and acting in these pictures
Without clear-cut policy directive from the top, there is still exclusionary practices…
25 sub themes were ientified from the data …
Intelligence quotient (IQ) theory :
Hereditarion view of intelligence (Sir Cyril Burt):
Individual deficit model :
Student-deficit outlook… cultural deprivation theory: social class, cultural deficit, inequalities between in working class children and middle class…
Pictures cited from the Kantipur Daily, 29th June, 2016

11. Gap between policy and practice in the Nepalese education system
Findings
Contradictory, confusing and competing : Nepalese policies
National Curriculum Development and Evaluation Committee Council in Education Rules 2059, chapter7, rule 32
“Being required special education and educationist experts”
Finding: Not clear what  kind of experts; need for a curriculum that addresses all learners’ needs.
The education rule, rule 47
“Additional time in exam for CWDs and developing alternative evaluation methods”
Finding: No alternative evaluation methods.
“Teachers must receive training in inclusive education”
Finding: No training or insufficient training.
Also
District Education, Village Education, and School Management Committee in the school community; school management committee on special and inclusive education.
Finding: No school management committee members received training.
Gap between policy and practice in the Nepalese education system
Without clear-cut policy directive from the top, there is still exclusionary practices…
25 sub themes were ientified from the data …
Intelligence quotient (IQ) theory :
Hereditarion view of intelligence (Sir Cyril Burt):
Individual deficit model :
Student-deficit outlook… cultural deprivation theory: social class, cultural deficit, inequalities between in working class children and middle class…

12. …Findings Contradictory, confusing and competing : Nepalese policies
Policy is guided by Medical discourse of disability
Disability is a kind of disease “… fixes type and amount of disability” (SEP, 1996, p.1), which can be fixed and cured by giving medicine
Disability is the condition of difficulty in carrying out daily activities normally and in taking part in social life due to problems in parts of the body and the physical system as well as obstacles created by physical, social, cultural environment
The government of Nepal, 2006
Without clear-cut policy directive from the top, there is still exclusionary practices…
25 sub themes were ientified from the data …
Intelligence quotient (IQ) theory :
Hereditarion view of intelligence (Sir Cyril Burt):
Individual deficit model :
Student-deficit outlook… cultural deprivation theory: social class, cultural deficit, inequalities between in working class children and middle class…

13. Stigmatization, disrespect and discriminatory policy
…Findings
Stigmatization, disrespect and discriminatory policy
Stigma interprets and labels the people with disabilities negatively and in prejudicial ways (Baffoe, 2013).
Superstition, lack of knowledge, traditional beliefs, norms and socio-cultural rituals are some the factors which increase the stigma. Stereotyping, fear, embarrassment, anger, shame, isolation and bullying are the results of stigma (Baffelo, 2013).
Jhamak Ghimire
Derogatory language
(1971), Special Education Policy (1996) and the Education Rule (2001)
2 (d1) “Special Education” means education given to blind (andha), deaf (bahira), Dumb (lata) disabled or mentally retarded (susta mansthiti) children.”
People thought if we did bad sin (Karma theory) /work in our past life due to this my son became a blind. Pregnant women also did want to see Ram’s face because they thought if they saw Ram, they would also have a blind baby in the future.
Ram (a student with visual impairment)

14. Some Examples of Enablers
School B, Hira (visual impaired) said that his friends were very helpful for him. For example they read story for him.
School A, Teacher Ram used “Cooperative teaching methods while teaching social studies. He gave the work in the group and all students engaged in the work.”
School B Parent A
“Mina is happy with her teachers because teachers like Mina. If she was absent in the school, teachers asked why she did not come to school.”

15. Conclusion Paradoxical, unclear, and contradictory policy
The understanding of disability varies
Students’ sense of belonging determined by society, culture, family, school
Stigma & discrimination: Negative attitude-lack of intelligence; Cause to be related to medical conditions and traditional factors (karma or spiritual forces); bullying…
Thus, NEED alternative ways of speaking, thinking and acting to address these issues