Inclusive Education or Unbiased Teaching: What NEP 2020 has to offer?

Education is the right for every human being. Education helps you understand equality and social justice.  The term “Inclusive Education” is a part of NEP 2020 and with it the education system bridges the gaps in the learning access and participation outcomes. In layman’s term it means that every child should have access to education under one roof irrespective of whether they belong to any caste, religion, gender, economic background or disability.

Under inclusive education policy all students welcome and even support each other in the classroom. This way the learnings become diversified. It is the responsibility of the teacher inside the classroom to engage all the students in an activity-based environment.

Inclusive education or Unbiased Teaching helps students to improve their communication skills, socio-emotional skills, and cognitive skills. It even reduces the discrimination against the child who is from low-income group, or specially-abled category child. He/she will get the same access, equity, and the right to education.

Challenges of Inclusive Education

There are many different factors for which the enrolment of specially-abled children, underprivileged children, students from ST and SCs and female children in schools are decreasing. They are:

·        Quality schools

·        Social customs

·        Lack of enthusiasm in teachers

·        Poverty

·        Language barrier

·        Less number of special educators in schools for specially-abled children

·        Geographical factor

·        Education system irrelevant to tribal children

What measures are listed in NEP 2020 about Inclusive Education?

1. For tribal communities, several initiatives have to be taken toward programmatic interventions. It uplifts the tribal communities’ children.
2. Schools have to make specific mechanism so that tribal students get benefits from these programmes’ inclusion.
3. For minority group schools must promote education and its overall importance.
4. The policy provides Divyang or Children with Special Needs (CWSN) the perfect mechanism that will help to provide quality education with same opportunity like any other child.
5. Reduce social gaps with the formulation of separate strategies. It improves attention and focus.
6. Socio-Economic Disadvantaged Groups must get the critical solutions on ECCE, FLN, attendance, enrolment and education access.
7. Introduction peer tutoring, one-to-one teacher, student tutor, open school idea, age-appropriate infrastructure, relevant technology integration for Children with Special Needs.
8. Social workers and counsellors must connect with parents, children, teachers to increase the enrolment and attendance of the students and teachers in schools.
9. To meet the geographical limitation, the region with big number of populations that comes under low-economic group must be declared SEZs (Special Education Zone)
10. Introduction of specific schemes and policies and Gender-Inclusion Fund for girls and transgender students respectively to increase the number of these students in the school.
11. Introduction of free boarding facility for students who come from a long distance to school and also fall under low-income group.
12. Participation of Children with disabilities must be regular in schooling process from Foundational Stage to Higher Education.
13. Recruitment of special educators are must for children with disabilities. Depending upon the children’s disability, the special educator must be appointed.
14. Classrooms must be inclusive like age and language appropriate learning materials, both for academic and co-curricular activities.
15. NIOS will introduce modules that are of high quality so that teachers can teach Indian Sign Languages.
16. Measures to be taken for safety and even security of the children with disabilities.
17. Teaching must include gender sensitivity and awareness, knowledge to teach specially-abled children.
18. Teaching must include gender sensivity and awareness, knowledge to teach specially-abled children.

1. Schools must encourage and join hands with Ministry of Défense to open NCC Wings. 

   
   

   Conclusion
   
   Above all these measures that NEP 2020 talk about, are important to bring a change in school culture and this is the only thing that is constant. To bring forth the inclusive education, all the administrators, principals, teachers, counsellors and students must work hand-in-hand. This type of educational culture helps the students to establish as a knowledgeable individual who will later transform the society and become a responsible citizen. Also, schools must appoint teachers, coordinators and leaders from socio-economic challenged background to establish a better role model for students.