The vision for inclusive education:

The international normative framework comprising the UNCRPD and the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 4 and Agenda 2030, provide a strong vision and a set of goals that have guided India’s processes of fostering inclusion in schools.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) Act 2016 have helped create a comprehensive legal framework for inclusive education.

However, there are a few ambiguities about where children with disabilities should study and who should teach them. Gaps remain in the form of appropriate norms and standards applicable to all educational institutions, services provided to CWDs, and the absence of a coordinated authority to enforce the norms and standards.

The operationalization of legal provisions occurs primarily through Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan which envisions inclusive education as the underlying principle of education policy. While it focuses on increasing enrolment of children with disabilities in regular schools, removal of barriers, training of teachers and use of technology, it also provides for home-based education. It expressly envisions special schools as resource centres for general teachers who are required to teach children with disabilities. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan also envisages convergence among the various schemes and programmes for CWDs that are spread across various ministries and departments. Implementation of the scheme through a coordinated effort is yet to be operationalized.