Inclusive Education Nepal (IEN) and the Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED) have formalised a collaborative partnership to advance inclusive and equitable education across Nepal jointly. The Letter of Understanding, signed on 24 June 2026, brings together two institutions with a shared conviction: that Nepal’s teachers deserve more than good intentions. They deserve preparation, tools, and systems that work in real classrooms, for every learner.
KUSOED, established in 1997, is one of the seven schools of Kathmandu University and a leading institution in teacher education. IEN is a national organisation working toward system-wide transformation of inclusive education, spanning policy, practice, infrastructure, and public understanding. This partnership reflects a recognition that sustainable change in Nepal’s classrooms requires collaboration between civil society and academic institutions.
Areas of collaboration in the partnership include:
- Co-design and delivery of short courses on Universal Design for Learning and inclusive pedagogies
- Co-hosting of the annual Transformative Inclusive Education Conference
- Joint research and innovation in inclusive education
- Fellowship, exchange, and professional development opportunities
- Internship and field engagement for students in inclusive education
- Community awareness and institutional capacity building
“Nepal has strong policy commitments to inclusive education, but the implementation gap remains real. Partnerships like this one are how we begin to close it: by connecting the institutions that train teachers with the organisations working directly in schools and communities.” Ram Tiwari, Director, Inclusive Education Nepal
The partnership is anchored in IEN’s Transformative Inclusive Education Ecosystem (TIEE) framework, which treats inclusion not as a placement decision but as a coordinated transformation of mindsets, practices, and systems. Together, IEN and KUSOED will work to embed this understanding into teacher preparation, research, and public dialogue.
