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Integrated education for all
In October 2009, hearing students enrolled for the new eleventh grade at the School for Deaf Children in Bhairahawa, southwest Nepal. This is the first time in Nepal that deaf and hearing pupils will share the same classroom.
The initiative will help break down social barriers that in the past have been inadvertently reinforced by the educational segregation that goes with the “Deaf School” concept. This radical step forward is being driven by the school’s Head Teacher, Mrs Balkumari Gurung, with our full support.
EBT has been backing the school since 2000. At that time the school had 89 students, who received tuition just up to the third grade. Beyond this, the students’ only chance of enjoying their basic right to a full education was by transferring to a school for deaf children in Kathmandu; this was beyond the means of most parents.
Over the past nine years, the Trust’s financial backing has seen the number of students more than double to 195 with a new grade being added each year. In 2009 for the first time nine deaf students graduated from the tenth grade by passing the coveted School Leaver’s Certificate (SLC).
EBT has responded by building more classrooms at the school to accommodate the 11th and 12th grades and providing further revenue support for additional teacher salaries and through paying scholarships. These scholarships will be extended to disadvantaged hearing students from the local community allowing them to join their deaf peers – an option they could otherwise not afford.
EBT Founder/Director, Philip Holmes, says: “We were thrilled at the success of the school and the recent SLC passes are a credit to the staff and students alike. But I felt we should go even further and make sure that maximum value be obtained from hard-earned charity funds.
"I hope that this initiative can be replicated elsewhere and allow us to fully integrate deaf young people within their local communities and help them into work.”
