Inclusive Education - How Do We Go About It In Schools

“Inclusion begins with the belief in what is Possible and not what is Impossible”

This is the answer to all those who say that inclusive education is impossible in the Indian education system.

Research shows that one of the reasons inclusion s difficult to implement in the Indian education system is because a lot of confusion stems from the fact that inclusion means different things to different people. Therefore we clearly need to understand what inclusion is in order to be able to implement it effectively.

The essential component of inclusive education is the changing or modifying  of the education system to accommodate the different learning styles and needs of students. Please note that the focus is on changing the system and not the child. For most people inclusion means accepting the child into the school system and then letting him/ her find their own way. Many schools say that they practice inclusive education. By that they mean they accept children with special needs. That is the first step in the inclusive process. The next step is to offer the child support in the form of remedial education, a modified curriculum and concessions. It is at this stage that the process begins to break down. Very few schools are willing to pursue the process that goes with hiring a special educator or adopting concessions provided by the government. The lack of clear guidelines from the government in hiring teachers adds to the reluctance of this process.

Today schools are under pressure to accept children with special needs (CWSN). That is because the law says that no one can turn away any child on the basis of disability. Most schools admit that if they do not know a child has a disability they do not turn the child away after it is discovered. But if they know up front that the child has any kind of special needs, they immediately refer the child to a special school. The more severe the need the less chance the child has for gaining admission into a regular school.

Therefore what needs to be done? To bring inclusive education into schools, we cannot wait for children with special needs to be admitted. All schools should begin to work towards being inclusive in nature from the very start.

1.    Develop an inclusive attitude-  An inclusive attitude is an attitude where children with different learning needs are not just accepted but welcomed. Principals, teachers, non teaching staff, students parents should all come to gather and take pride in a school system where differences are celebrated. Parents of CWSN should feel that they are a part of this school and children with special needs should feel that they are productive members of the school

2.    Provide training to the staff- Teachers should clearly understand what is expected of them in order to include children.  Knowledge of disability is important but it is more important to give the staff hands on training on teaching CWSN, handling behavioural issues as well as implementing accommodations. There are specific strategies to make classrooms more inclusive in nature. Staff and principals should collaborate to implement these inclusive strategies.

Provide support- A very important factor in making  a school inclusive is providing the regular teachers with support. This means employing special educators as part of the regular school system in anticipation of having CWSN. Research has shown that at least 10% of the class has  learning disability. In addition if we take into account second language difficulty intellectual disability and autism we know that most schools will have CWSN in them. Today the trend is towards waiting for schools to have a particular quota of CWSN and then fighting for a special educator. The opposite has to happen. As a norm the school should have 3 special educators one for the primary, one for the upper primary and one for the secondary. Thus schools are already prepared and do not have to turn away students.

Schools that have an environment of inclusion are paving the way for a more inclusive society. Today’s students are tomorrow’s doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers and bus drivers. If we sensitize them today in schools we are creating a brighter future for all children.

Giselle Lobo

Special Educator