Kathmandu Metropolis is preparing to run a child-friendly school with autism

According to Navin Manandhar, the spokesperson of Kathmandu Metropolis, the committee members include resource teacher qualified Prasai and education officer Indra Prasad Dahal as member secretary. "Children with autism are growing, there is a problem in teaching, it will improve if they learn to read, and since there are no community schools in the metropolis with the special kind of support and facilities they need, the operation process has been started by coordinating with the existing community schools," said Manandhar.

The meeting held on Monday of the city's education committee has given a mandate to the committee formed to identify the physical infrastructure and manpower required for the operation of such a school. The committee has been given one month to submit its report. Kathmandu Metropolitan City is currently in the process of formulating an education policy and during this process also discussed with the parents of children with autism.

Parents complained that there is no suitable school for their children, they refuse to take admission and even if they do take admission, Monteshwari and therapy centers opened by private and organizations charge arbitrary fees. "If people with normal autism have a reading and learning environment, it will improve," said a member of the committee, "The goal is to operate in the public schools of the city from the next academic session."

Children with autism are not admitted as much as possible, even if they are admitted, they charge double fees, the fee rates of each school are different and expensive, including the Kathmandu metropolis, there is a tendency to not take proper care of them. Parents complain that most of the schools charge double the monthly fee when teaching a child with autism in a normal school and 20,000 to 60,000 per month when teaching in a special class (disabled).

In the name of providing therapy to autistic children in Kathmandu, they have complained that therapy centers, clinics, and organizations opened in the name of conducting special classes for autistic children are charging expensive fees. There are at least 60 such organizations in Nepal. There are 41 in Kathmandu Valley alone.

According to the 'Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2074', people with autism have difficulty communicating, understanding and using normal social rules. They are unable to show normal behavior according to age development, show abnormal reactions, repeat the same activity, do not want to mix with others or react quickly.

According to the National Census 2078, 647,744 people, i.e. 2.2 percent of the total population, have some form of disability. Out of which there are 2,258 males and 2,628 females with 4,886 people with autism.