Issue Details
INDIA AND INCLUSION
Dr. Lalit Kumar
Page No. : 127-133
ABSTRACT
Inclusive education policy has been introduced in India; however the concept is in its infancy. In India, inclusive education for children with disability has only recently been accepted in policy and in principle. Inclusive education stands for improvement of schools in all dimensions to address the Educational and social needs of all children. In a world where approximately 113 million children are not enrolled in primary school (DFID, 2001) Lewin (2000) highlights the potential for education to reverse the negative effects of social exclusion. There are an estimated 25 million children out of school in India (MHRD 2003 statistics, cited in World Bank, 2004), many of whom are marginalized by dimensions such as poverty, gender, disability, and caste. While many educational programmes have attempted to reach out to these previously excluded children, those with disabilities are often forgotten, emphasizing their invisible status in a rigidly categorized society. This paper, while limited by the lack of available empirical data and constraints of desk research, aims to present a case study of the current status of inclusive education in India.
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