Perspectives of children with disabilities and their guardians on factors affecting inclusion in education in rural Nepal: “I feel sad that I can’t go to school”

Globally, children with disabilities are significantly less likely to attend school compared to their peers without disabilities and, even if they do attend, have poorer educational outcomes. In order to understand why these inequalities persist, this study explores the barriers and enablers to accessing education. We focus on the perspectives of guardians and children with disabilities – voices that have thus far been underrepresented – complemented by perspectives from local and national level stakeholders. Data was collected in three rural districts in Nepal, using semi-structured interviews; data was analysed thematically. Overall, the research found that challenges to inclusion are complex, involving a mixture of individual, family, school, community and policy level factors. Notable barriers were attitudes towards education for children with disabilities, the low capacity of schools to provide an inclusive education, as well as the interplay of additional ‘push factors’ such as poor health and poverty.