Report on Baseline Data Collection on Deaf Education in Nepal
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The purpose of this report is to share findings from a consultancy project for the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), funded by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland through the International Disability Alliance, regarding inclusive and equitable quality education through the medium of sign language for deaf learners in Nepal. These recommendations are based on this report’s review of literature and national and international policy regarding deaf education in Nepal, and analysis of data gathered during fieldwork in Kathmandu and Makwanpur, Parsa, Bara, and Chitwan Districts during March and April 2019, including recommendations from deaf and hearing educators, school administrators, and government authorities.
The objective of these recommendations is to orient the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education in the medium of sign language, and of sections 3, 4, and 5 of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which call for learning of sign language in tandem with promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community; the deliverance of education in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual; and the employment of teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language. The recommendations are in keeping with Nepali legislation in the form of the 2017 Rights of Individuals with Disabilities Act and 2015 Constitution. Reference is also made to the CRPD Committee’s (2018) recommendations regarding establishment of a sign language research centre and greater support for trained teachers and Nepali Sign Language (NSL).