Inclusive Education | Samagra Shiksha Govt. of Meghalaya

The objectives of the scheme are:

To enable all children and young persons with disabilities to have access to inclusive education and improve their enrolment, retention and achievement in the general education system.
Identification of children with disabilities at the school level and assessment of her/his educational needs.
Provision of aids and appliance and assistive devices, to the children with special needs as per requirement.
Removal of architectural barriers in schools so that students with disability have access to classrooms, laboratories, libraries and toilets in the school.
Supplying appropriate teaching learning materials, medical facilities, vocational training support, guidance and counselling services and therapeutic services to children with special needs as per their requirement in convergence with line departments.
General school teachers will be sensitized and trained to teach and involve children with special needs in the general classroom. For existing special educators, capacity building programmes will be undertaken.
CWSN will have access to support services through special educators, establishment of resource rooms, vocational education, therapeutic services and counselling.

Samagra Shiksha,

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Education for the Disabled Children was introduced in 1992 with a view to providing educational opportunities for children with disabilities in general schools, to facilitate their retention in the schools system. It provided for facilities to students with disabilities including expenses on books and stationery, expenses on uniforms, transport allowance, reader allowance, escort allowance, hostel accommodation and actual cost for equipments. The scheme also supported the appointment of special teachers, provision for resource rooms and removal of architectural barriers in schools.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of SSA of 2001 had set time-bound targets for the achievements of UEE. With “zero rejection’ as its cornerstone, the programme provided support for the inclusion of children with disabilities in general schools at the elementary level. The SSA norms were further strengthened by the RTE Act, 2009 which talks about free and compulsory elementary education to children without any discrimination on the basis of caste, gender, disability etc. While the RTE Act mandates inclusion of CWSN, some may be unable to attend school despite specific interventions designed for their education. The amendment of RTE Act (in August 2012) has included CWSN in the definition of disadvantaged groups. It includes children with severe - multiple disabilities with the right to opt for Home Based Education (HBE), thus creating an enabling environment for all children.

As SSA supported inclusion of children with special needs at the elementary education level, a need was felt for a scheme for the disabled children at secondary stage. The IEDSS scheme was, therefore implemented to enable all children and young persons with disabilities to have access to secondary education and to improve their enrolment, retention and achievement in the general education system. Under the scheme every school was proposed to be made disabled-friendly. The Centrally Sponsored IEDSS Scheme aimed at enabling all students with disabilities completing eight years of elementary schooling an opportunity to complete four years of secondary schooling (classes IX to XII) in an inclusive and enabling environment and provided educational opportunities and facilities to students with disabilities in the general education system at the secondary level (classes IX to XII).

Samagra Shiksha aims to look at education of all children including CWSN in a continuum from pre-school to class XII. The scheme will cover all children with special needs with one or more disabilities as mentioned in the schedule of disabilities of the Right of the Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 201615 studying in Government, Government-aided and local body schools.

Inclusive Education is a flexible and individual support system for children with special needs. It forms an integral component of the overall educational system, and is provided in mainstream schools committed to an appropriate education for all. It recognizes and responds to the diversity of children’s need and abilities including differences in their ways and pace of learning. It does so by using individualized teaching methods, adapted curricular, as well as tailor-made teaching aids and materials.

Inclusive education presupposes team work and the responsibility has to be shared by the school as a whole. But it is the teacher who provides with the support-services and therefore role to play. Thus, capacity building of Special Educators, General Teachers, and Parents/Guardians of CWSN for imparting quality education to children with special needs should be the focal point to ensure universalisation of elementary education.

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan focuses on Quality Education. Children and Students with Disabilities are also supported with adequate resources in regular schools. In addition, they are provided with appropriate environment and amicable peer group support. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan has made a step-by-step progress to imitate, implement and monitor the programme of educating Children/Students with Disabilities. Thus, inclusive education lays the foundation to an inclusive society accepting, respecting and celebrating diversity.

The scheme stresses on working in convergence with all the line Departments/ Ministries and intends to provide relevant holistic support for effective and appropriate services for education of CWSN.

Distribution of Aids and appliances, South West Garo Hills

Student oriented component:

Identification and assessment of children with disabilities.
Provision of aids and appliances, medical services, diagnostic services etc.
Access to and development of teaching learning material as per requirement etc.
Provision of facilities like transport/escort facilities for children with severe disabilities, hostel facilities, scholarship, assistive devices, support staff (readers, amanuensis) etc.
Provision of large print text book, Braille books and uniform allowance.
Stipend for Girl Students @ Rs. 200 per month for 10 months to encourage their participation in the school system for all girls with disabilities studying in Classes-I to XII.
The use of ICT to increase access to a vast amount of information not otherwise available.
Awareness and motivation camps for increasing enrolment and retention.
Provision of Home Based Education for children with severe multiple disabilities with a view to mainstream them in the general education system.

Coverage of CWSN

All the enrolled CWSN will be covered through UDISE/SDMIS and will eventually be linked with Aadhaar, ultimately facilitating the State/UT to track CWSN of both systems i.e. those that are in school and those with Home based. The UDISE will have the relevant details of children. Further an extensive database will be developed which will cover all the particulars of children including the type of disability, degree of severity, medical needs, emergency contacts and all other relevant details that will help the School management to cater to the needs of the CWSN. Girls with disabilities will receive special focus and efforts would be made under the scheme to help them gain access to schools, as also to provide motivation and guidance for developing their potential.

Education of teachers and other stakeholders

Intensive teacher education programme will be undertaken to sensitize and build capacity of the regular teachers and resource teachers on meeting learning needs of all teachers to provide quality education to CWSN and improve their learning outcomes. This teacher education programme will be recurrent at block/cluster levels and integrated with the on-going in-service teacher education/training schedules in DIETs and other Institutions. Teacher education modules at SCERT, DIET and BRC level should include suitable components on education of children with special needs. Training of educational administrators including headmasters, all other staff & relevant personnel of school education should be regularly organized. Special focus should be given on mechanisms for safety and security of children with special needs.

Curricular access

The curriculum is inclusive as envisioned in NCF-2005. It also should ensure that the same curriculum be followed for children with and without special needs, but with adaptations/modifications if required in learning content, teaching learning processes, teaching learning materials/aids and in evaluation, etc. Provision will be made to provide text books and curriculum in accessible formats to CWSN.

Research and Development

The Integrated Scheme will encourage research and development activities in all areas of education of children with special needs including action research, researches to improve learning of CWSN, especially focusing on children with high support needs (Thalassemia, Hemophilia, Sickle Cell disease and Chronic neurological conditions etc), eventually leading to concrete learning outcomes. For this, convergence with different Ministries like Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, MoWCD, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, private organizations with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds etc.