A provincial government creating large-scale enrolment of pupils with disabilities in cooperation with a foundation

Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Programme, Nepal: A partnership between Koshi Province and Karuna Foundation Nepal since 2008. Constructed 35 accessible schools, enrolling 1,267 children with disabilities. By 2023, expanded DPRP model throughout Koshi Province, with Nepal's government piloting it in other provinces.

The Provincial Government of the Koshi province has partnered with the Karuna Foundation Nepal (KFN), a Netherlands-based foundation focusing on development support in Nepal, to carry out the Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Programme (DPRP) by training teachers, identifying out-of-school children, and improve school accessibility, among other activities. Since 2008, DPRP has built 35 accessible schools and enrolled 1,267 children with disabilities. By 2023 all schools in the Koshi province have adapted the DPRP model, and the Government of Nepal started to pilot it in other provinces as well.

Problems Targeted

In Nepal the perception exists that children with disabilities cannot be educated together with children without disabilities.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

In an innovative collaboration called the Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Programme (DPRP) the Provincial Government of Nepal’s Koshi province and the Karuna Foundation Nepal (KFN, the Nepalese arm of a Netherlands-based foundation) initiated a large-scale programme aimed at enrolling students with disabilities into mainstream education. Launched in 2008, this tripartite initiative encompasses two core components: prevention and community-based rehabilitation, with education as the main driver for change. One of the programme’s core objectives is to provide training in inclusive education to teachers and school management committee members. Beyond training, the programme takes active steps to identify children with disabilities who are not enrolled in schools and offers counselling to parents and children to facilitate their inclusion, or organize school enrolment campaigns. DPRP is designed to address a wide range of needs, including physical, sensory, intellectual, and developmental impairments. It emphasizes personalized support structures, but also works on the accessibility of school buildings, teaching materials, teacher training, etc. DPRP is part of a larger cooperation between KFN and regional governments. Its unique approach involves collaboration among the provincial government, local government, and development partners at all levels, and puts responsibility and ownership on school management committees.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

DRPD has developed a funding model with the Ministry of Social Development, the rural municipality, and the Karuna Foundation Nepal whereby each are responsible for a third of the cost. The education dimension is only a part of the larger development funding programme that is conducted jointly, with the education dimension amounting to €341,258 in 2022. Koshi province policies and programmes have integrated DPRP into their regular programme and as well as their developed directives and manuals so as to implement it more fully. Additionally, the Government of Nepal has allocated funds to implement the programme in two additional provinces of Nepal, namely Lumbini and Karnali.  (Awardee 2024)

Pictures

In Koshi, Nepal, the DPRP model gives children with disabilities access to schools.

In Koshi, Nepal, the DPRP model gives children with disabilities access to schools.

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