INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR DISABLED CHILDREN

Owing to lack of knowledge, educational access and technology, disabled children were initially treated as unwanted and segregated from other children. Later their education was carried out in special schools. In recent times there has been a shift towards having children with disabilities attend the same schools as non-disabled children. The educationists now feel that each child should be allowed to learn in his own way. The concept of inclusive education has been spelt out in the Salamanca statement and the framework for action on special needs education 1994. It states that all governments have been urged to "adopt as a matter of law or policy, the principle of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise". The basic premise is that the school should meet the educational needs of all children irrespective of their disabilities or limitations.

What is Inclusive Education?
It is the implementation of the `policy and process' that allows all children to participate in all programmes. `Policy' means that disabled children should be accepted without any restrictions in all the educational programmes meant for other children. It denotes equality, and accepts every child with his own unique capabilities. This principle must be accepted by all the international, national and local programmes. The `process' of inclusion denotes the ways in which the system makes itself welcoming to all. In terms of inclusion of disabled children, it means the shift in services from `care of the disabled child' to his `education and personal development'. Inclusive education goes one step further by defining these children as `children with special needs' who need special attention, rather than children who are `impaired' or `handicapped'. Inclusive education is nothing but `Making the programme for disabled children as an integral part of the general educational system rather than a system within general education'.

Objectives of policies on inclusive education

1. The governments have to give the highest policy and budgetary priority to improve their education systems to enable them to include all children regardless of individual differences or difficulties.
2. The governments have to adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise.
3. The training programmes for the teachers have to include the education of disabled children.
4. All children have access to general education system, to expand the coverage to reach the unreached population.

Why Inclusive Education?
UNESCO (1994) states that `All children learn together, whatever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have. Inclusive schools must recognise and respond to the diverse needs of their students, accommodating both different styles and rates of learning and ensuing quality education to all through appropriate curricula, organisational arrangements, teaching strategies, resource use and partnerships with their communities'. Inclusive education promotes child-to-child learning and participation of parents and community in planning and execution of services for children in general and disabled children in particular.

Some Pioneering Experiments
In several parts of India, the Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED) has been functioning since 1987. A Composite Area Approach (CAA) is followed where regular classroom teachers, specialist teachers, parents and community members jointly work in the programme. The regular teachers are given training in handling disabled children.