Inclusive Education

According to UNESCO, India is home to 8 million specially abled students and among them 45% fail to attain literacy. (UNESCO Office in New Delhi, 2019) This is a huge concern as we are losing talented individuals from the education system due to the exclusive nature of our Indian education infrastructure.

Inclusive education is an absolute necessity for the benefit and well-being of humankind but one may wonder what all does Inclusive education stands for.

Inclusive Education broadly encompasses a learning environment which is welcoming and supports all learners regardless of learning styles, abilities and disabilities. (Learning For All: Equitable and Inclusive Education, 2024)

WHY INCLUSIVE EDUCATION MATTERS

The best way to understand the topic better is by asking why inclusive education matters and why is it such a pressing issue.

We are living in a time where huge strides are being made with respect to inclusivity and diversity, but for a sustained growth we must have a bottom-up approach towards it and education is the building block of our society.

If inclusivity can permeate into the education system, such that equal opportunity be available to everyone in every stratum of education levels, we will be able to nurture a society which will have ethos of leaving no one behind.

And inclusive education isn’t just beneficial for the specially abled, it is also a boon for the education system as a whole, lets look at some ways in which inclusive education will build for a better future

Richer Learning Experiences: Inclusive A education system that is inclusive in nature procides everyone a unique opportunity wherein they get to learn from varied perspectives which they might not encounter in exclusive settings. It opens up new horizons for the students by enhancing the emotional quotient of individuals and provide the learning that differences are not hindrances.

Enhanced Teaching Framework: When teachers are trained to be inclusive, they become better educators for everyone as they become skilled in acknowledging the individual needs of the student and can design curriculum which brings out the best of each in their own ways.

BUILDING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

As we saw above, inclusive education is very important for better learning and for creating an equitable environment in schools and colleges. Now let’s look at how we should look to create an inclusive education framework.

It first begins with having a welcoming attitude towards every learner coming into the premises, and the teachers being trained in harbouring a safe environment. Eliminating discrimination and negative attitudes is essential for creating a safe and inclusive atmosphere.

Another important step in inculcating an inclusive education setup is to have parents and guardians of specially abled children be involved in the decision making positions, so all stakeholders play a part and bring new perspective to the school.

Furthermore, the assessment criterion should be defined in such a way that it does not focus on singular aspects like memorization, but should be holistic in its overview. A continuous nature would help better understand the abilities of various children, and they could explore and carve their niche accordingly.

Finally, the education institutes should also work to incorporate ramps in their buildings to make them wheelchair-accessible and the library should ideally be equipped with braille books so the needs of differently abled students are adequately.

EXAMPLES OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

In the blog, we have discussed the importance of inclusive education and some ideas as to how the implementation of such premises can be accomplished. Now, let’s see a working example to understand the real-world application of such practices.

SIKSHIT YUVA SEVA SAMITI , BASTI , UTTAR PRADESH

Sikshit Yuva Sewa Samiti (SYSS) was founded in 1994 to provide jobs for young people while also working to improve the neighbourhood. At the same time, the Danish Embassy chose Basti for a pilot initiative to rehabilitate the incurably blind. Prior to this initiative, SYS trained three individuals at Gramoday Vishwavidyalay in Madhya Pradesh as special educators for the blind.

Initially, 16 children were incorporated into schools, and approximately 25 field workers received training in community-based rehabilitation. At this stage, the organisation focused on the teaching and rehabilitation of children and people with visual impairments. SYSS currently employs 28 trained teachers with varied disabilities for the IEDC project and nine for the DPEP project. (UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia)

A fantastic example of them going above and beyond to make their facility accessible is the utilisation of technology for the benefit of blind pupils, as they have incorporated Amazon’s Alexa in the teaching environment.

Mr.Mishra, a special educator, stresses one of the most significant challenges that visually impaired children face: isolation, as some of them do not have friends to talk to. So, even on vacation, he takes his Echo gadget to the homes of such children. “When I first introduced Alexa, I saw it was a terrific method to alleviate the loneliness of visually impaired children and can be a huge help to them, from teaching them daily living skills to their schooling. They can speak with Alexa, listen to stories, songs, jokes, and much more,” he explains. When youngsters ask Alexa about the time, weather, or news, they become more aware of their surroundings. (Jain, 2023)

CONCLUSION

As a society, we have taken baby steps towards inclusivity but this is only the beginning and we still have a long way to go in order to build a truly inclusive educational environment, decades of negligence need to be overcome to provide a safe and secure space for specially abled students to prosper.

Inclusive Education will be the building block of creating a just and equitable society so let’s do everything within our powers to make education accessible for each and everyone

Bibliography

Jain, D. (2023, June 23). How Alexa is helping special educators make learning more inclusive. Retrieved from AboutAmazon: https://www.aboutamazon.in/news/devices/how-alexa-is-helping-special-educators-make-learning-more-inclusive
Learning For All: Equitable and Inclusive Education. (2024, January 17). Retrieved from DSEL: https://dsel.education.gov.in/inclusive-education
UNESCO Office in New Delhi. (2019). N for nose: state of the education report for India 2019; children with disabilities.
UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. (n.d.). Examples of inclusive education, India.

Written By : ATIF AHMAD,  Jaipuria Institute of Management