We need systemic teacher capacity-building, backed by curriculum adaptations & resource development

Sol's ARC started its journey in 2003 through a center-based model, working directly with children and young adults with special learning and psychosocial needs.

- RITWIK MUKHERJEE

To date, it has helped over 200,000 youngsters drastically improve their academic performance. After a decade of working directly with less than 5000 children, it has extended its program to over 200,000 children in the last five years and is now collaborating with two state governments. In the next three years, it hopes to reach a million youngsters.

The organization worked through this model for a decade in 3 centers in Mumbai and Pune, working directly with 1000 children and adults. While working with these children and young adults, they realized that no matter what they do in their centers, the world outside is not ready to accept them and will still exclude them from mainstream living. They needed a way to close the loop to help these children and young adults achieve their dreams.

Sol's ARC's inclusive education solutions address the inequities faced by vulnerable populations to improve their learning and employment outcomes, ensuring that no one gets left behind. It seeks to achieve this by focusing on building an ecosystem that includes and empowers struggling learners across their lifespan, leading to improved life outcomes. The mission is to increase educational possibilities for all people in India by implementing suitable research-based inclusive pedagogy, training, and delivery.

Speaking to The Statesman, Sonali Saini-Founder & Executive Director, Sol's Arc, explains why real education equity begins with inclusion and why, in order to reach every kid, a scalable, reproducible approach must be developed throughout all states of India.

Excerpts:

Q: Children with disabilities often fall through the cracks in this system. What are the biggest barriers they face today in accessing meaningful education?