Disability and barriers to education: evidence from Nepal

In this article, barriers faced by Nepalese with disabilities in obtaining a school education are discussed. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative method to analyse the barrier using unique data collected from survey and in-depth interviews. It was found that some barriers were impairment-specific, while some were faced commonly irrespective of the type of impairments. People with visual and hearing impairments faced the inadequacy of support systems in schools, whereas participants with physical impairments mainly faced difficulties caused by physical barriers, such as inaccessible buildings and the lack of safe, accessible roads. Additionally, the barriers faced in common by the participants were financial barriers, resulting from parents' poverty; and barriers resulting from parental attitude, social stigma and lack of awareness. Participants with hearing impairments were found to be more vulnerable to the barriers to education, and as a result they had fewer years of schooling than their counterparts with visual and physical impairments. Results suggest that awareness of disability issues at all levels is the first step toward implementing strategies and policies to combat other problems like poverty and the lack of resources. Only with a more comprehensive understanding can effective policies to eliminate these barriers be developed.