by- Salil Kumar Tripathy
INTRODUCTION
The education system in India has evolved in the past decade upon various dimensions such as improved infrastructure, increasing student count and new enrolments. The Right to Education Act 2009 has been a pivotal force in bringing this transformation in the educational map of India. The same soon translated in numbers, and the reflection was extensively felt upon the ground level as an increase of 19.4 per cent of students in the upper primary level was recorded between 2009– 2016.
Disabilities have crippled India for long, and with augmenting population, it is also on the surge, even though medical science has evolved over the years. The world bank estimates that person with disabilities constitutes around 4-8% whereas the Indian Census, 2001 reports it to be lesser, i.e. about 2.2% translating into 21.9 million.[i]
There have been some significant improvements attained in the educational sector in the past decade, yet they are inadequate for the inequality that prevails. The inequities result as a roadblock for a comprehensive and all-inclusive education system that fosters a dream of quality education for all. This has eventually led to discrimination and marginalization of students who seek knowledge fighting all odds. The rural and urban divide has also been vast and causes the widespread exclusion of students with special needs at all level of education. Hence, the National Educational Policy (NEP), 2020 was introduced envisaging to reduce and eliminating the ever-expanding inequality from its roots. Some children are ready to embrace education for realizing the human possibility to its fullest. Our education system faces varied issues at different levels like high drop out level, financial constraints and complicated family dynamics, linguistic barriers, and infrastructure not being friendly for children with special needs. NEP, 2020 have eloquently dealt this, yet some more efforts must be made to make the inclusion of all students a reality.
THE STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY- AN ARRAY OF HARDSHIPS
It will be like living in oblivion if we turn our back to the hardships that the students with special needs regularly face. These include, but not limited to, the discrimination by the peer in schools and in those activities, which require physical effort. Hence, this takes a toll on the mental health of the persons with disability and education must cater to better inclusion of such people by enabling them to live a life of dignity and self-reliance.
The most vital prerequisite to achieving that is quality skill training that would enable teachers to embrace and impart meaningful educational discourse to hundreds and thousands of well-deserving students who possess some disability. These Gurus can show these children the path to their purpose in life and make them realize their disabilities are not at all a hindrance to success when the determination as resolute as a mountain.
However, another essential factor to transforming the idea of an inclusive pedagogy into reality, it is pertinent to shape the education policy in a manner that positively assists the children with disabilities to study like other students. As a guiding principle, the legislators may take into consideration the UNICEF recommendations that revolve around increasing the accessibility, making educational campuses friendly for students with disabilities and making critical investments in the training of teachers with an objective of inclusive education.
UN TO NEP 2020 via RTE
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)[i] and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)[ii] are two major multilateral treaties that play a prominent part in guiding states to reinstate the idea of inclusiveness in their education system and hence, emphasize on the duty that government must sincerely undertake in this regard.
The Right to Education[iii] that was introduced in the Indian Constitution in 2002 under Article 32 A. This became historic since it had ensured free and compulsory education for all children between the age group of 6 to 14 years. Consequently, various steps have been taken to realize the dream of inclusive education for such students who have some form of disability. However, they have not been adequate for living this dream due to different reasons such as prevailing stereotypes and the rural-urban divide. The hostility of people towards those children who are disabled needs to change in the first place as they are ousted from educational setups.
This eventually leads to marginalization, and hence, India’s New Education Policy (NEP) (2020) was introduced to cater to such issues. NEP vehemently advocates for the Special educational zones to assist those students who are at a disadvantaged position due to their physical deformity which may prove to be incremental in the process of learning for such students who have been for long faced constant undue pressure of discrimination.
However, there is no one size fit all formula for such students since the needs vary with the variation of disability. A student with a hearing impairment has a different set of requirements in comparison to a student who is blind or who has a deformity in limbs. The SEZs do not render a comprehensive response to such needs and don’t help navigate the ship of education that is envisaged.
Even then, the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP)[iv] is considered to be a game-changer in the educational sector and a revolutionary approach in taming the unruly system for the best. Perhaps it is the beginning of a new era, but there are various loopholes and gaps which makes the education of students with a disability no better. The education system has always been devoid of opportunities and conducive learning atmosphere for Inclusive education in India. These can be concluded from the fact that only 9% of students with a disability successfully achieve the feat of finishing their secondary education.[v]
There are around 45% of people who are illiterate and unfortunately disabled.[vi] This further becomes upsetting to realise that a significant chunk of people with disabilities which amounts to 62.9% are in the age group of between the ages of 3 and 35 who need education in vocational training if not a degree in the technical course. Still, they haven’t been lucky enough to see the face of the school.[vii] The gap seems to widen further when other sociological aspects like gender come into the picture. When it comes to girls with disabilities, the picture becomes gloomy with regards to their enrolment in schools is concerned.
Globally the numbers become further meek when it comes to women where it is reported that only 1% of the global population of women who face some disability are literate.
In-country like India, where stigma and prejudice are prevalent against women, they are further deprived of any basic level of education due to their disability. This forces them into a vicious cycle of disability and poverty, which also isolates them from primary healthcare, education, and employment.
The enrollment of children with a disability becomes low at primary schooling because of various reasons concerning infrastructure impediments as ramps are missing in 40% of the schools.[viii] Though NEP targets to maintain a technologically equipped study, the reality is far from the target as only 59% schools enjoy the luxury of electricity.[ix]
SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION- A BEGINNING OF THE NEW JOURNEY- NEP 2020
The NEP may take into consideration the understanding of disability rather than teaching as an absence or burden on the governmental machinery. The steps of inclusion must be realizing the rights of the persons by a welfare state and to help. Such citizens to use their potential to become independent financially. Therefore, the policies must look forward to making infrastructure improvements as a matter of fulfilling the duty of the state towards citizens.
The policies must look to eliminate the bubble of stigmatisation that is attached to children with disabilities. A change in the viewpoint of masses can help transform the entire landscape of education for such people with special needs. The policies must look to assist in regular scrutiny and evaluation of creating a conducive study environment for one and all.
In the end, there must be a robust system that puts checks and balances in handling instances of discrimination with remedial alternatives by putting stringent policies in place. There all the stakeholders must be taken in the loop to consult, access and revise the policies whenever necessary on a timely basis with the objective of an inclusive society that starts with inclusive education.
NEP must move forward with a clear understanding of a historical dilemma of inclusion and integration, also the fine line between them. The compromise of disabled students to adjust and fit is integration, whereas inclusion particular policies are drafted keeping in view the special needs of differently-abled students to make them achieve their dream by utilizing their talents to the optimum level.
The fundamental deficiency in NEP 2020 is that the policy, therefore, undermines the notion of inclusive education by taking into consideration the situation of students with disability from the macro level. Further, the challenges faced by such students are a consequence of the structural incapacity of the system as a whole and not an individual limitation.
“There is no greater disability in society than the inability to see a person as more.”.
~Robert M. Hensel
[i] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx.
[ii] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html.
[iii] http://righttoeducation.in/know-your-rte/about.
[iv] https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf.
[v] https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000186611.
[vi] https://scroll.in/article/833784/why-12-1-million-45-indians-with-special-needs-are-illiterate.
[vii] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/indias-2-2-population-suffering-from-disability-nso-survey-for-july-dec-2018/art.
[ix] https://disabilityglobalsouth.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/06_02_04.pdf.
[i] https://censusindia.gov.in/census_and_you/disabled_population.aspx.
Author:
Salil Kumar Tripathy,
Course- B.B.A LL.B; 5th year; Institution- University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU