I’m not supposed to be alive today. I was born with cerebral palsy, with 70% body restrictions. Got rejected from 30 schools. I chose to attend a regular school, regular college, and make peace with the fact that I would be treated like everyone else in the classroom. And what I realised was all the guidelines, amendments, and helping hands aren't enough if we don’t start from scratch and if we don’t start by changing the way educational institutions look. Probably that is why I am qualified to speak about this topic.
We regularly see economists and governments of our country never stop emphasising the importance of education, but have we ever heard them talk about Special education?
Why do they never talk about educating students with disabilities in a way that accommodates their individual differences? This is because we in our daily lives talk about inclusion, but we don’t really have any idea about what it really means.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Government and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to sanction the posts of 987 special educators for catering to the needs of special children?
Despite recent initiatives, both the rates of educational engagement and the outcomes of education for children and young adults with disabilities remain quite low. This group's illiteracy rate remains substantially greater than the general population, and their school attendance continues to fall behind that of their non-disabled peers.
Nothing appears to be accessible, other than a few government scholarships, facilities in the form of a couple of institutions for boys and girls, and institutes for training teachers for the disabled, and no purposeful developmental scheme is focused on by any of the states.
So when we talk about inclusion, education forms a significant part of it. Why can't we attempt to bring a change? Bring a change in the way we impart education to the ones who are more challenged than others.
There are approximately 32 million children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries who are ruled out of the privilege of attending school. Creating a more inclusive and welcoming campus environment for disabled students is an essential step toward ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed. Education institutes can take several steps to make their campus more friendly.
Various means, including creating more inclusive classrooms, adopting inclusive teaching practices, and providing support and accommodations for students with special needs, thoroughly counts in.
Creating a physical environment that is accessible and welcoming to all students, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, changes the game. For example, this involves installing ramps and elevators, automatic doors, wide hallways and doorways, and accessible bathrooms for students who use wheelchairs or providing assistive technology for ones with visual or hearing impairments. It also involves creating a classroom atmosphere conducive to learning, with a positive and supportive atmosphere and engaging and challenging learning activities.
Inclusive teaching practices are the cherry on top. For example, this involves various teaching methods, such as lectures, group work, hands-on activities, and technology-based instruction. It also involves differentiating instruction or adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of individual students. It can be done by providing additional support and accommodations, using adaptive technology, or collaborating with other teachers and specialists. Assistive technology includes screen readers, speech-to-text software, and other tools like Braille to help disabled students access information and complete assignments. This can be especially helpful for students with visual or hearing impairments.
Supporting and accommodating students with special needs cannot be overlooked. This involves providing specialised instruction, such as speech or occupational therapy, or offering additional support in the classroom, such as a teaching assistant or instructional aide. It also involves providing accommodations, such as extra time on tests, or modified assignments, to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn and succeed. Providing support services, including tutoring, counselling, and other services to help disabled students succeed in their studies, is a plus one. This can be especially important for the ones with learning disabilities or other special needs.
We may view differentiation as a celebration of diversity, but it is more often interpreted negatively, leading to stigma, rejection, or denial. This is especially concerning for individuals with disabilities due to their particular historical, socio-cultural, and economic marginalisation from the mainstream. The dominant medicalised understanding of disability reinforces this distinction, so it appears convenient to distinguish between children who can access educational opportunities available to the majority, and others who are limited by their own restricted (disabled) capabilities and must therefore attend special schools with little regard for a possible lifetime of existence on the margins of society.
Promoting a culture of inclusion and fostering a campus environment that is welcoming and supportive of disabled students, and promoting understanding and acceptance of disability among all members of the campus community are the first steps towards a brighter harmonious future.
By taking these steps, education institutes can make their campus more friendly and welcoming for disabled students and help ensure they have an equal opportunity to succeed in their studies. This benefits individual students and helps create a more inclusive and diverse campus community.
Ensuring inclusive education is a must when we are talking about creating a more equal and fair society for everyone. But inclusivity is not a regular campaign that can be conducted anytime to raise awareness. Rather, it is an ongoing process where awareness is raised through every step. And there's no other weapon as strong as education to solve that case, that purpose. If education can change the world, inclusivity through education can change how we think about diversity in classrooms, and that too for the better, a much better future for everyone around us.
About the author: Sumit Agarwal is the Founder of PR Signal, the LinkedIn Top Voice, the Mentor of Change at NITI Aayog, and a TEDx Speaker. He is a disabled entrepreneur who works constantly to ensure equal rights for Persons with Disabilities, and to increase their inclusion in the entrepreneurship and employment sectors. He constantly talks about hiring people with disabilities with various organisations and is willing to fight every day to ensure that every other such Person with Disabilities gain access to equal inclusive rights in the entrepreneurship and employment sectors. Additionally, he also talks about policies that can be implemented to shape the lives of disabled people. He has been privileged to forge relationships through his experiences with people from organisations like The United Nations, TiE, Della Leaders Club, and many others. As a diversity and inclusion speaker, he has had speaking engagements at Tedx, World Leaders’ Summit, Josh Talks, Reliance, Monster.com + 110 more. So far, he has shared his journey with publications like Yahoo News, Forbes, News18, Fortune India, Telegraph, Business Standard, and many more with the hope of creating a world where diversity becomes a norm.
