In the past few months, we have highlighted the work of organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in the Philippines and Rwanda. This month, we turn attention to the work of Krishna Gajurel, General Secretary of the Kathmandu Association of the Deaf in Nepal. Since its inception, the disability rights movement has used the mantra of “nothing about us, without us” to call for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all matters that impact them. School-to-School International (STS) uses this mantra as our guiding principle in our inclusive education work by ensuring we partner with OPDs wherever we support inclusive education projects.
Developing Inclusive Learning Materials and Strengthening Teachers’ Capacity to Use Them
Krishna Gajurel is General Secretary of the Kathmandu Association of the Deaf, as well as affiliated with the Nepal National Federation of the Deaf. He recently collaborated with School-to-School International on their endline evaluation of the USAID/Nepal Leveraging Existing Accessibility Resources in Nepal (LEARN) project, where he served as a technical advisor for the adapted EGRA for deaf students.
We spoke with Krishna about his work late last year. The interview has been edited for clarity and content.
STS: Can you tell us about the state of inclusive education in Nepal, particularly with children who are deaf or hard of hearing?
Krishna: There is a huge challenge because of the [lack of] resources and the communication barriers [for] the teachers and the students. Teachers don’t know sign language, so the deaf children are left behind. The students only see the whiteboard and copy the written language as well, so there is no education access for the deaf children at all.
STS: What are your organization’s goals to foster inclusive education?
Krishna: First of all, we need to develop the teacher manual guidelines, and we need to develop human resources. Then we have to produce sign language materials for the deaf children to [give them] equal access to school education with others. We need to change the curriculum in sign language, like [using] video methods. We need to manage the sign language interpreter in classrooms, as well, because teachers do not know sign language. We are advocating for this with the government—especially CEHRD, the Center for Education and Human Resource Development, under the Ministry of Education. We need to provide training for teachers.
STS: What is your specifical role to work toward the goals you just mentioned?
Krishna: My role is like an advocate to the government bodies like the CEHRD. I also advocate with the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens. We are now especially focusing on the advocacy to change the curriculum and provide educational materials in sign language in different government bodies.
STS: Can you tell me about your role within the USAID/NEPAL LEARN project?
Krishna: During the project period, I was a sign language teacher for the training sessions. After the training, the result was promising. Previously, teachers didn’t know techniques or teaching methods for deaf children. So here we can see some changes in resource classes. I also taught them about facial expressions and body movement as well. I only taught them basic sign language. It was ten days of training. That is not enough for them.
STS: What changes did your work with the project bring about in Nepal?
Krishna: We found many changes in teachers’ capacity building, their teaching style, and the teaching materials they developed themselves. Because we only focused on the project districts, we did not focus on the other districts. The other districts also want to have the same training. We need to continue this kind of training.
STS: What do you feel are the greatest barriers to education for children with disabilities in Nepal?
Krishna: There are negative thoughts about students with physical disabilities or any kind of disabilities, and there is no peer support for the students with disabilities. Some of these schools do not agree to enroll children with disabilities. In some of these schools, the school environment is not disability friendly, as well as the curriculum.
STS: What has resulted from your advocacy with the government?
Krishna: The government agreed to develop training materials for deaf children. They developed the teacher training manual recently for the teachers who are working in a resource class, like a deaf resource class and blind resource classes. They also conducted training recently.
STS: What do you think implementers and donors can do to include OPDs more meaningfully in inclusive education programming?
Krishna: In Nepal, especially in the deaf community, we don’t have [a lot of] knowledge about inclusive education, so we need to learn about the best practices around the world where inclusive education is successful. Most of all, we need to develop materials and human resources. The main thing we found is the communication barrier. We have to train the teacher in sign language. Then we can go to the inclusive education model. If we have the materials and new technology for deaf children, that could be better.
STS: Has USAID or other donors consulted with your organization about Deaf education?
Krishna: While we were in the project period, we only talked about Deaf education. We didn’t have direct contact with USAID, so we needed to go through World Education and other partners.
STS: Is there anything that you feel USAID or other donors should focus on in terms of future programming for learners who are deaf?
Krishna: We need this kind of support to develop deaf-friendly resource materials. In project districts, we found very good results, so we need to cover all the districts as well. It is also very important to publish the sign language dictionary.
STS is grateful for the time Krishna Gajurel spent with us for this interview and the valuable insights into advocating for inclusive education in Nepal and for the needs of teachers. This blog is the fourth in a multi-part series, other posts in the series include:
- “Involve people with disabilities fully—full involvement.” – An Interview with Samuel Munana
- Supporting Inclusive and Special Education in Rwanda – An Interview with Callixte Ikuzwe
- “Nothing about us, without us” – An Interview with Justine Barcenas
Explore more of STS’s work to advance education equity and inclusion.
