• Hearing-impaired learners
  • 104 students in Siddha Bahira Balak ko School
  • 55 boys and 49 girls
• Teachers
  • All teachers at the school will gain access to NSL content
  • Will receive initial and refresher training on embedding digital content in classrooms
• School Management Committee (SMC) and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members
  • Opportunity to learn about and engage with the program
• Parents
  • parents per child (directly reaching hundreds of families)
  • Benefit from access to NSL integrated learning materials to support their children’s education
• Wider community
  • Unlimited beneficiaries through online access to project resources

Access to quality education remains a significant challenge for children with hearing impairments in Nepal. Despite progress in the education sector, the availability of inclusive and accessible learning materials is limited, particularly in digital formats that integrate Nepali Sign Language (NSL). As a result, deaf learners are often excluded from mainstream curriculum-based digital resources, restricting their opportunities to achieve academic success on par with their peers.

The Empowering Accessible Education in Nepal (EAEN) project addresses this gap by translating E-Paath (curriculum-aligned and interactive digital learning platforms) and Hamro Ramailo Katha, designed by OLE Nepal into Nepali Sign Language. By integrating NSL into these digital resources, the project seeks to provide hearing-impaired learners with equitable access to engaging and culturally relevant educational content. Furthermore, teachers, parents, and school communities will be equipped with training and awareness to support inclusive learning environments.

Linkages to Strategies and Goals

National Strategies:

• Aligns with Nepal’s School Sector Development Plan (SSDP), which emphasizes inclusive and equitable quality education.
• Supports the government’s priority of digital learning integration and the promotion of education for children with disabilities.

Organizational Strategies (OLE Nepal):

• Builds on OLE Nepal’s mission to promote equity in education through the use of technology and localized digital content.
• Expands OLE Nepal’s commitment to inclusive education by addressing the needs of marginalized groups, especially learners with hearing impairments.

Local Level Strategies:

• Collaborates with local governments (e.g., Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Birendranagar Municipality) and schools serving deaf learners, ensuring contextualized implementation.
• Strengthens school-level practices in accessibility, teacher training, and community engagement through SMCs, PTAs, and parents.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 4: Quality Education: Ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all, with a focus on children with disabilities.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: Contributes to reducing educational inequalities by enhancing access to technology-enabled learning for hearing-impaired learners.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: Fosters collaboration among government agencies, local stakeholders, NGOs, and communities to strengthen inclusive education.

From June 2025 to March 2026, the project will perform the following activities:

• Project Approval from Social Welfare Council (a body of Nepal Government) and local government body of project site.
• Collaborate with National Federation of the Deaf Nepal and local educators to ensure alignment with the Nepalese education curriculum.
• Develop E-Modules and E-Stories with Nepali sign language integration.
• Make a Pilot deployment/end user testing to ensure an interactive feedback mechanism for users (teachers and students) to refine modules.
• Procure, prepare and deploy computers and offline servers with the digital contents.
• Conduct initial teachers training for the teachers in the program school.
• Organizing follow-up sessions and refresher courses for teachers to sustain the impact. Project completion and closure reporting.

• Translate OLE Nepal’s E-Paath and Hamro Ramailo Katha into Nepali Sign Language (NSL) to make the content accessible and inclusive for hearing-impaired learners.

The Empowering Accessible Education in Nepal (EAEN) project is designed to ensure that no learner is left behind. By translating digital learning resources into Nepali Sign Language (NSL), the project directly addresses the learning barriers faced by children with hearing impairments. This inclusive approach enables them to participate meaningfully in classroom activities alongside their peers.

The project also emphasizes gender equity, ensuring that both girls and boys with hearing impairments benefit equally from accessible digital resources. Recognizing that women often face additional barriers to education in marginalized communities, EAEN provides teachers, parents, and caregivers including women with training and culturally relevant materials to better support learners at home and in schools.

By partnering with local schools, governments, and community groups, EAEN extends its reach to marginalized communities that are often overlooked in mainstream education initiatives. Parents, School Management Committees (SMCs), and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) are engaged in awareness and capacity-building activities, fostering an environment that supports inclusive learning for all.

Through these measures, EAEN promotes accessibility, equity, and inclusivity, contributing to the broader vision of an education system that empowers every child regardless of disability, gender, or socio-economic background.

The Empowering Accessible Education in Nepal (EAEN) project is designed with a long-term vision to ensure that its benefits extend well beyond the project’s completion. Sustainability is promoted through three key strategies:

Capacity Building of Teachers and Schools

• Teachers receive both initial and refresher training on how to integrate Nepali Sign Language (NSL) content into their classrooms. This builds their confidence and skills, ensuring that they continue to use the resources effectively after the project ends.

Integration with Existing Platforms

• By embedding NSL into E-Paath and Hamro Ramailo Katha, the project leverages OLE Nepal’s existing digital learning platforms. These platforms are already in use in schools and communities, which ensures that the NSL-integrated content remains accessible and relevant in the long term.

Community and Institutional Ownership

• Engagement of parents, School Management Committees (SMCs), Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), and local governments fosters shared ownership of the initiative. This community-level involvement helps sustain awareness, support, and use of inclusive digital content.

Open and Scalable Access

• The project’s resources are made available online, making them freely accessible to schools, families, and organizations across Nepal. This allows for continuous use, adaptation, and expansion, reaching more learners over time without additional project costs.

Expected Sustained Impact

• Deaf learners will continue to benefit from accessible digital content that supports their learning journey.
• Teachers and schools will retain the knowledge and skills to embed NSL resources in regular teaching.
• Parents and communities will be better equipped to support inclusive education.
• The digital platforms will continue to evolve, allowing future integration of additional subjects and stories, amplifying the project’s reach and impact.

Himalayan Pariwar Munchen e.V., Germany