People in Need Nepal (PIN Nepal) is leading the European Union-funded project, “ACCESS – Accelerating Civil Society’s Role in Securing Education for All in Madhesh, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces”, in collaboration with its implementing partners: the National Campaign for Education Nepal (NCE), the Nepal Disabled Women Association (NDWA), and Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN).

The project aims to strengthen civil society’s role in ensuring equitable education and to enhance the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to promote education for marginalized children across 60 local governments in the three provinces. The project runs from May 2024 to October 2027.

ACCESS contributes to Nepal’s broader national priorities of providing free and inclusive education for all children, particularly those with disabilities and out-of-school children, who are often excluded. In response to these challenges, the Government of Nepal introduced the School Education Sector Plan (SESP) in 2021 to improve access, equity, and quality in education.

However, local governments often overlook the SESP, resulting in inadequate implementation and limited budget allocations for marginalized groups. In this context, the role of CSOs is vital in promoting inclusive education and supporting government and school efforts to ensure the effective implementation of the SESP.

PIN and its partners are implementing the project with two major outputs: 1) Improved organizational and technical capacities of CSOs to apply inclusive education methodologies and approaches. 2) Local CSOs are equipped to enhance transparency and accountability in education planning through the mobilization of the Girls and Inclusive Education Network (GIEN) and the CivActs model—through review, training, policy engagement, and information sharing.

The Civil Society Now (CSN) platform serves as a space for project-related resources and helps bring visibility to the project’s capacity-strengthening components. Explore below to learn more about how ACCESS is driving meaningful change.