. Minister for Education and Sports Sasmit Pokharel, who is also the spokesperson of the government, held discussions with the stakeholders on the status of neurodevelopment, current status of child mental health services in Nepal, challenges and strengthening of services.
The meeting was attended by representatives of concerned ministries, health workers, non-governmental and international NGOs, development partners, organizations working in the disability sector, therapists, psychologists, special education experts and representatives of parents’ groups. Topics related to neurodevelopment, current status of child mental health services, early detection and diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation services, inclusive education, skilled human resources, infrastructure and expansion of access to services across the country were discussed in the meeting. On the occasion, Minister Pokharel said that the government was committed to advancing inclusive and special education.
Stating that the Ministry would take suggestions and experiences received from the stakeholders seriously, he said necessary policy-level initiatives would be taken to make inclusive education effective.
According to him, the discussion is important in the context of the process of formulating the Education Act and amending the national curriculum framework.
Minister Pokharel said that the discussions with the stakeholders would be continued to address the issues raised in course of formulating the policy and laws in the coming days.
Lawmaker Sarita Mahato stressed on increasing access of children with autism to education and creating employment opportunities for them.
She said that the suggestions received from the discussion should be taken forward with a clear implementation roadmap along with policy reforms.
Shailendra Jha, chief advisor to the Minister of Education, said that reforms in the education system were in the priority of the Ministry and the topics related to neuro development and child mental health would be included in the upcoming education act and national curriculum framework. Ram
Prasad Sharma, Chief and Director of Inclusive Education Section of the Department of Education, said that more policy initiatives are needed to ensure education of children with physical disabilities and autism.
Surendra Bajracharya, executive director of Autism Care Nepal Society, stressed the need of ensuring special inclusive education through policy-level reforms.
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