Rohit Dhungana of Mangalsen Municipality-5 is 16 years old. Rohit, who is deaf and cannot speak, has not been able to complete his school education. When Rohit was 6 years old, his father enrolled him in Tripura Sundari Secondary School in Sanphebagar Municipality-2.

His family was informed that the school was for deaf students, so they enrolled him in it. The school said that they would only teach him until he was 12 years old and that they would not be able to teach students older than that.

‘We received news that children above 12 years old could not be taught. When we reached the age limit, they refused to teach him. My son was able to study there until grade 6,’ said his father Bedraj Dhungana, ‘I enrolled him in grade 7 at Shodsha Secondary School in Mangalsen. He also went to regular school. The teachers said that he could not be taught because he was deaf and could not speak. His studies were stopped right there.’

When it was not possible to teach his son in Achham, he also went to a school in Surkhet, but he did not succeed there either. ‘Initially, he was taken to various hospitals in India to see if he would get treatment. Treatment was not possible. He also visited many schools to teach his son. Neither treatment nor education was possible,' he said, 'There are no schools for children with disabilities like my son. Nor does anyone care.'

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Rohit Saud of Rithatoli village in Kuskot, Mellekh Rural Municipality-4, was 6 years old. He was born a 'disabled child'. Both his legs were twisted at birth and one eye is still unable to look straight. Rithatoli village is a remote and isolated village about 100 kilometers from the district headquarters, Mangalsen.

The family was not aware that Rohit, who was born with a disability, would receive a disability identity card. According to his grandfather, Dambar Saud, Rohit had been receiving the nutrition allowance that other children receive from the Nepal government for 5 years. But his family was not aware that a disability identity card would be issued.

'My grandson was born disabled. Both his legs were twisted. He cannot even see. Even though he is five years old, he is still unable to speak. We had asked the village elders many times whether our grandson would get a disability identity card,' he said. 'Rohit was receiving a maintenance allowance. But we did not know that a disability identity card would be issued. They said it could only be issued after completing five years.'

It takes about three hours to walk from Rithatoli to the rural municipality office. The Saud family, who lives in a remote area, had to wait years to find out about the facilities that disabled children receive from the state. 

'An organization informed us that services are available for disabled children. We went to a camp organized by the organization and got a red card,' said Rohit's grandfather, Dumber, 'The grandson's age was increasing day by day. Other children who were born with him started going to school. If the disabled cannot be educated in the school here, then they cannot be educated at all. This is how my granddaughter's life ended.'

She complains that no one from the state has looked after her granddaughter, who is born with a disability. 'It takes three hours to reach the village office. The outside world knows nothing. No one has even helped her.' 

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Sushmita Nepali of Alani village, Mellekh rural municipality-4, is now 15 years old. She has four brothers and two sisters. Due to the poor financial condition of the family, her eldest 21-year-old brother left school after the eighth grade and went to India in search of work. Her younger 18-year-old brother also left school in the eighth grade and went to India. After that, Sushmita also dropped out of school after failing in the fourth grade.

Both her brothers got married as soon as they left school. Seeing her brothers dropping out of school due to the poor financial condition of the family and the lack of an environment for studying, Sushmita also dropped out of school after failing twice. Sushmita, who was weak in studies, started keeping her mother busy with household chores. Sushmita also started enjoying household chores and fairs and reached the point of not studying.

‘My brothers also haven’t studied. Many of my friends have also dropped out of school. I have to go to work for others all morning,’ says Sushmita. ‘I was always late for school after returning home from work. I had to do other people’s work to meet the household expenses.’

After failing the fourth grade twice, she dropped out of school thinking that she would never be able to study. ‘I never studied because of household chores. I couldn’t go to school even two days a week,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t even afford to buy paper and pens. I feel like I’d rather do someone else’s work than go to school.’

Sushmita, who was deprived of education due to poor financial condition, household chores and excessive pressure of fairs, has now developed the mindset that she must study no matter what. ‘Two years after dropping out, I started going to school thinking that I had to study again. There is no environment for studying at home either. I can’t afford to pay. "I feel like I can't read anymore," she said, "It has become very difficult to understand what is being taught in the classroom."

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The rate of functional difficulties among children aged 2 to 17 in the Far West Province is 12 percent. This rate is much higher than the national average of 7 percent. According to the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 (NMIS-2019), about 1 in every 10 children in the Far West has some kind of difficulty related to vision, hearing, learning or emotion.

The survey shows that functional difficulties are often socially invisible or not formally registered. This has created a direct challenge in the education and daily life of children. Experts have said that it is necessary to provide education and health services with special attention to these children.