Study on educational assessment system for blind and visually impaired students in Nepal.

This report presents a comprehensive overview of the accessibility and inclusiveness of Nepal’s educational assessment system for students who are blind or have visual disabilities. Beginning with the background, it explores current practices in educational assessment, the need for reasonable accommodations, and the gaps in accessible learning materials and exam modalities. The findings highlight major challenges related to participation in examinations, including oral tests, Braille and computer-based exams, use of human readers and scribes, lack of consistency in extra time allocation, difficulties with diagrammatic and geometric questions, and problems in practical exams and result publication. It also captures the lived experiences of students, showing systemic issues such as the unavailability of accessible textbooks, insufficient assistive technology, dissatisfaction with accommodations, and logistical barriers like finding ascribes.
Building on national and international legal frameworks—including the CRPD, SDGs, Nepal’s Constitution, and educational policies—the report compares Nepal’s current practices with global examples from the U.S., India, the U.K., Australia, and South Africa. The core contribution of the report is a proposed Blind-Friendly Assessment Framework, which outlines guiding principles, rights of examinees, institutional responsibilities, accessible exam formats, standards for exam materials, provisions for computer-based testing, management of human and technical assistance, and mechanisms for grievance-handling and monitoring. The final chapters provide actionable recommendations for government bodies from the Ministry of Education to local governments, offering a clear roadmap to make Nepal’s assessment system inclusive, equitable, and responsive to the needs of blind and low-vision learners.