Children with intellectual disabilities forced into crammed classroom in Nepalgunj

kATHMANDU – Children with intellectual disabilities are compelled to study in a crammed classroom at an intellectual disability day care service centre operating from Saraswati Basic School at Nepalgunj Sub Metropolitan City-9 in Banke district.
As the temperature in the district is soaring often recording as high as 45 degrees Celsius during summer, it is increasingly difficult for the children to take classes in a crowded newsroom. It feels like being tortured by taking a class at the centre, said one of the students. What’s more, the classroom has been also used as a room for storing educational materials and utensils for making day meal for the children.
A total of 34 children are forced into the classroom without infrastructures friendly to children with intellectual disabilities, said a teacher Biraj Singh. It also involves difficulties in teaching and learning activities, he added.
Children are taught through sports, entertainment and practical knowledge, he said. “We have kept the profile of each student and the progress report. It is increasingly becoming difficult in learning and teaching activities due to a lack of toilet and drinking water, and a crowded classroom,” he said.
Set up in 2049, the centre has faced an economic crisis due to a halt in foreign donation. Initially, the centre continuously operated from Mangal Prasad Secondary School for 16 years with financial support from a US citizen. However, after a halt to the support, it is operating from Saraswati Basic School.
Children from within the sub metropolis and other parts of the district are enrolled at the centre, said Kaushal Kumar Chaudhary, chairperson of the school management committee.
A lack of school buildings friendly with children with intellectual disabilities and economic sources has made the matter worse, he said.
The centre is operating under the direct care of the association for the welfare of mentally retarded, Nepalgunj. It does not have its own income sources except for foreign donations. Around Rs 60,000 is spent monthly to run the centre, said Gokarna Acharya, chairperson of the association.
“It faces economic problems and lacks physical infrastructures friendly with children with intellectual disabilities,” he said.