Inclusive education in India: interpretation, implementation, and issues

Children with disabilities are a minority that are not prioritised in the context of education programmes in India, although they are often found in many marginalised groups that are catered for if non-disabled ? for example, girls, scheduled tribe, scheduled caste, and other backward caste children. Inclusive education may be a way of merging these children’s needs in order to improve school quality and achieve EFA. However, a dominant special needs conceptualisation of IE in India, combined with negative attitudes towards disability, are currently preventing this approach. After exploring the relevance of disability and inclusive education in the context of EFA, this paper analyses the interpretation and implementation of inclusive education in India. The issues and constraints faced by the stakeholders involved, and the implications these may have, particularly for children with disabilities, lead to the conclusion that a twin-track approach to disability may assist not only in improving education access, but also the reconceptualisation of inclusive education as a school quality issue. In the long-term, it is hoped that this could assist in fulfilling the right to education for all children.