Current status of education of children with disabilities:

An analysis of the current situation in India indicates that an estimated 7.8 million children aged under 19 live with disabilities. National estimates of the proportion of population with disabilities is much lower than international estimates, leading to questions about the disability measures used in the Indian census, as will be discussed later in the report.

Among 5 year olds with disabilities, three-fourths do not go to any educational institution. Nor do one-fourth of the CWD population aged between 5 and 19. The number of children enrolled in school drops significantly with each successive level of schooling. There are fewer girls with disabilities in school than boys. The proportion of children with disabilities who are out of school is much higher than the overall proportion of out-of-school children at the national level. Thus, although the schemes and programmes have brought children with disabilities into schools, gaps remain.