A Strive for Inclusive Education

On International Disability Day

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The National Education Policy 2020 emphasizes the importance of creating enabling mechanisms for providing Children With Special Needs (CWSN) or Divyang, the same opportunities of obtaining quality education as any other child.

UN convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities, 2006 accentuates the need of effective access to free and compulsory primary and secondary education for children with disabilities. The National Curriculum Framework on school education (NCF2005) recommendsformaking the curriculum flexible and appropriate to accommodate the diversity of school children including those with disabilities in both cognitive and non-cognitive areas.

The Right of Children to free and compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 provides for children's right to an education of equitable quality based on principles of equity and nondiscrimination. It mandates inclusion of children with special needs (CWSN). The amendment of RTE Act (in June 2012) has included the children with multiple disabilities and severe disability with the right to opt for Home Based Education (HBE).

Given the shift in the approach to development of school education from input based to outcome based central sector interventions as envisaged in the document entitled, India:Three Year Action Agenda, 2017-18 to 2019-20 (NITI Aayog, 2017), a "paradigm shift" is envisaged in the approach to central sector spending on school education.The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education states that "By 2030, ensure equal access to all levels of education & vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities".

The "SamagraShiksha", a centrally sponsored educational scheme, aims to look at education of all children including children with special needs (CWSN),studying in Government, local body and Government-aided schools,in a continuum from pre nursery to class XII.