Inclusive education: issues and challenges

Inclusive Education is a relatively new concept, having gained international attention in 2000, following the Education for All campaign. In India, the 86th Constitutional Amendment guarantees education as a fundamental right to all and this includes the child with a disability. The subsequent enactment of two progressive legislative initiatives - the Right to Education Act and The Rights of Persons with Disability Act - reflects a policy shift from a welfare-based approach to one that emphasises human rights. However, Disability Rights activists draw attention to the sobering reality that, despite enrolment, children with a disability are invisible in the classroom. The three cases studies presented in the essay demonstrate that children fall through the cracks of a fragmented system, despite laws recognising disability as an element of human diversity. Some of the critical aspects of the objective of attaining quality of learning are differentiated curriculum, pedagogical innovation, examination reform and, most of all, teacher preparation. A culture of collaboration and dialogue among all stakeholders - teachers, special educators, administrators, families and persons with disability is urgently needed to eliminate social barriers and enable a Whole School Development approach to support Inclusion for all children