Inclusive Education in India: Challenges and Prospects

Authors: Raj Lakshmi

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UJZ9V

Short DOI: https://doi.org/ggngsb

Country: India

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Abstract: Inclusive Education denotes that all children irrespective of their strengths and weaknesses will be part of the mainstream education. The feeling of belongingness among all community members – teachers, students and other functionaries is developed through inclusive education. Inclusive education is for all, irrespective of any social community, caste, class gender and (dis-) ability of the child. This is a world where 120 million children are not enrolled in primary school. There are an estimated 30 million children out of school in India (MHRD statistics, cited in World Bank), many of whom are marginalised by dimensions such as poverty, gender, disability, and caste. Many educational programmes have attempted to reach out to these previously excluded children, but those with disabilities are often forgotten, emphasising their invisible status in a rigidly categorized society. Therefore undoubtedly the idea of inclusive education is certainly highly relevant to our current condition, where differences in religion, faith, gender, ethnicity and ability are often seen as a threat rather than a source of richness and diversity. Inclusive education stands for improvement of schools in all dimensions to address the educational needs of all children. The major support for inclusive education came from the 1994 World conference on Special Needs Education in Salamanca, Spain which emphasized that: Schools should accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions. Thus inclusive education is an approach that ensures the presence, participation and achievement of all students.In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss the issues relating to the challenges and prospects of inclusive education in India. The paper analyses the issues and constraints faced by the stakeholders involved. This is followed by discussion of the implications for the future of inclusive educational for the children of India.

Keywords: Inclusive education, challenges, prospects, approach

Paper Id: 333

Published On: 2018-09-07

Published In: Volume 6, Issue 5, September-October 2018

Cite This: Inclusive Education in India: Challenges and Prospects - Raj Lakshmi - IJIRMPS Volume 6, Issue 5, September-October 2018. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/UJZ9V

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