Integrated education for children with special needs in India: Awareness and future challenges

Pages: 384-386
Uma Rani (Department of Psychology, SPW Degree & PG College, Tirupati, Uttar Pradesh)

Education for disabled children in India is lacking either in its efficacy, infrastructure, implementation and/or other causes. One of the causes is the exact figures of disabled children. It is very difficult to find reliable data about the prevalence of disability in India. Despite India’s attempts at inclusive education, schooling for special needs children has usually been a story of lack – of will, infrastructure and personnel. Schools, both private and government, would avoid admitting children with disability. Since the PWD Act of 1995, and the RTE Act of 2009, there has, however, been an improvement in the record of disability education, certainly in terms of its awareness and future challenges, and seeing it as a matter of right for a large section of young India (Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, 2012). For life to go onchange is inevitable. Change is never easy especially when it involves a large number of individuals and an established system. Yet change is necessary when innovative practices demonstrate greater effectiveness than past services. This paper highlights the vast inter-state variations in responding to the educational needs of children with disabilities. It then concludes by attempting to bring together a range of disparate themes to suggest the fundamental dilemmas faced in planning and providing for children with disabilities and discusses some ways of moving forward. It is important to note here that there is currently a significant lacuna of knowledge in the field of special and inclusive education for Disabled Children in India.