Education for Persons with Disabilities in India- The Road Ahead

Disability is a lack of ability which may involve physical impairment such as sensory impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, mental disorder (also known as psychiatric or psychosocial disability), or various types of chronic disease. A disability may occur during a person’s lifetime or may be present from birth.

                Disability may be seen as resulting directly from individuals, in which case the focus is typically on aspects of those individuals and how they could function better. This view is associated with what is generally termed a medical model of disability. Alternatively, the interaction between people and their environment/society may be emphasized.

The United Nations uses a definition of disability as:

Impairment: Any loss of abnormality of psychological or anatomical structure or function.

Disability: Any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. 

Handicap: A disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or disability, that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal, depending on age, sex, social and cultural factors, for that individual. Handicap is therefore a function of the relationship between disabled persons and their environment. It occurs when they encounter cultural, physical or social barriers which prevent their access to the various systems of society that are available to other citizens. Thus, handicap is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others.

Special Education in India-

Along with other parts of the world, India too, witnessed the emergence of Special schools for people with disabilities. The first school for the deaf was set up in Bombay in 1883 and the first school for the blind at Amritsar in 1887. There was rapid expansion in the number of such institutions. Presently, there are more than 4200 Special schools throughout India.

However, these Special schools have certain disadvantages which became evident as the number of these schools increased. These institutions are said to reach out to a very limited number of children, largely urban and they are not cost effective. But most important of all, these Special schools segregated CWSN from the mainstream, thus developing a specific disability culture.

Integrated Education

The emergence of the concept of integrated education in India during the mid 1950s was seen as a solution to these problems. Small experiments in this area were begun by the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind, and the Christopher Blind Mission. The Ministry of Education, too, launched a comprehensive scholarship scheme in 1952 — a rudimentary beginning of the integrated education initiative by the Government.

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action (1992) gives the basic policy framework for education, emphasizing on correcting the existing inequalities.  It stresses on reducing dropout rates, improving learning achievements and expanding access to students who have not had an easy opportunity to be a part of the general system.  The NPE, 1986 envisaged some measures for integrating of children with physical and mental handicap with the general community as equal partners, preparing them for their normal growth and development and enabling them to face life with courage and confidence. 

India has also been a signatory to International declarations like the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (1994) and the Biwako Millennium Framework for Action (2002) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 that emphasize the need for fundamental educational policy shifts to enable general schools to include children with disabilities.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Education for the Disabled Children (revised 1992) is presently  being implemented in States and UTs in over 90,000 schools benefiting over 2,00,000 children with disabilities.  The scheme was introduced with a view to providing educational opportunities for children with disabilities in general schools, to facilitate their retention in the school system.  It provides 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 of equipment.  The scheme also supports the appointment of special teachers, provision for resource rooms and removal of architectural barriers in schools.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC)

Consequent on the success of International experiments in placing children with disabilities in regular schools, the Planning Commission, in 1971, included in its plan a programme for integrated education. The Government launched the IEDC scheme in December 1974. However, educational administrators have been slow in grasping the value of IE.

The aim of IEDC is-

• To provide educational opportunities to CWSN in regular schools,
• To facilitate their retention in the school system, and
• To place children from special schools in common schools.

The scope of the scheme includes pre-school training, counseling for the parents, and special training in skills for all kinds of disabilities. The scheme provides facilities in the form of books, stationery, uniforms, and allowances for transport, reader, escort etc.

In spite of all these facilities, IEDC met with limited success — only a little more than one lakh CWSN have been covered. However, it was successful in creating awareness on the importance of integrating CWSN in the mainstream of education, a fact noted in the National Policy on Education — 1986.

Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED)

In 1987 the Ministry of Human Resources Development, along with UNICEF launched another experiment: Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED) with which there was a shift in strategy, from a school based approach to a Composite Area Approach.

In this approach, a cluster, instead of the individual school approach is emphasized. A cluster, usually a block of population is taken as the project area. All the schools in the area are expected to enroll children with disabilities. Training programmes were also given to the teachers. This project was implemented in one administrative block each in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Mizoram, Delhi Municipal Corporation, and Baroda Municipal Corporation. The approach is an improvement over the special schools in many ways and appears to be the only way towards universalizing education of the disabled children. It is more cost effective and easier to organize, since existing school infrastructure is to be made use of.

Under PIED, there has been a significant increase in the number of not only mildly disabled, but also severely disabled children, with the number of orthopaedically handicapped children far outstripping other disabled children. All these perform at par with non - disabled children; in fact their retention rate is higher than that of non - disabled children and absenteeism is low. PIED has also had a positive impact on the attitudes of the teachers, the heads of schools, as well as parents and the community in general. Also, the interaction between the disabled and the non - disabled children is good.

Inclusive Education-

Another important paradigm shift in this area was initiated with the thinking that any difficulty that a child exhibited in learning was to be attributed not to a problem within the child, but to the school system. The organization and management of schools and the various programmes of teaching and interventions could also be one of the causes of children’s learning difficulties.

The new whole school policy is also referred to as the social or environmental model and rests on the theory that the child is a product of his/her experiences and the interventions the child has with various environments that impinge upon him/her. Thus to a great extent a child’s growth and development depends upon this.

Inclusive Education in DPEP-

This policy dictated the philosophy of inclusive education in DPEP. Moreover, DPEP also addressed core issues related to curriculum such as what factors limit the access of certain children to curriculum; what modifications are necessary to ensure fuller curriculum access. Thus, with its child - centered pedagogy, DPEP set a stage where children with special needs could be provided learning opportunities tailored to their needs.

IED was formally added in DPEP in 1997. By 1998, many DPEP states had conducted surveys, assessment camps and evolved strategies to provide resource support to those children with special needs who were enrolled in DPEP schools.

The IED guidelines in DPEP clearly mention that, “DPEP will fund interventions for IED of primary school going children with integrable and mild to moderate disabilities”. Towards this end DPEP supported:

• Community mobilization and early detection
• In - service teacher training
• Provision of resource support
• Provision of educational aids and appliances
• Removal of architectural barriers

IED was initially introduced in the states in a small way by taking one block/cluster as a pilot project in each DPEP district. From a few hundred blocks in 1998, IED is currently being implemented in 2014 blocks of 18 DPEP states. Ten states of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Uttaranchal have upscaled the IED programme to all the blocks.

DPEP estimates clearly showed that there were a large number of disabled children in the relevant age group. Gradually realization dawned that UPE could not be achieved unless children with special needs were also brought under the ambit of primary education. This led to more concrete planning and strategisation of providing resource support and remedial assistance to children with special needs.

As the programme progressed many models of service delivery evolved with the sole aim of providing supportive learning environment to children with special needs. The thrust was on imparting quality education to all disabled children.

Constitutional and Legal Obligations and Policies at the International and National levels.

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
• UN Declaration on Education for All, 1990 (Jomtein Declaration)
• UN Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, 1993
• The Salamanca Declaration, 1994
• Article 45 and 93rd Amendment.
• National Policy on Education, 1986-
  “…Future emphasis shall be on distance and open learning systems to provide opportunities and access to all the major target groups, especially the disadvantaged, viz., women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the adult working class, and people serving in the far - flung remote areas.”
• Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, Passed by Parliament in 1992- This Act makes it mandatory for every special teacher to be registered by the council and lays down that every child with disability had the right to be taught by a qualified teacher. In fact it provided punishment for those teachers who engaged in teaching children with special needs without a license.
• Education Policy of Government of India, 1992 (Modified)

• Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995-A composite Act covering all aspects, it mainly deals with education and employment.
• National Trust Act (National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability), 1999

Being landmark legislation, this trust seeks to protect and promote the rights of persons who within the disability sector, have been even more marginalized than others. The salient features are:

1. First of its kind in the category of persons addressed
2. Recognition of range of independence in Skills, Daily Living and Financial Management
3. Protection - dominant, rather than autonomy - dominant
4. Local Level Committee - District Level Coverage
5. Decision making powers to Persons with Disabilities
6. Legal Guardianship - even for parents
7. Stake-holdership of Registered Organizations
8. Legality/ Responsibility linked to Bequests

Need for a responsive system-

The Census 2001 states that there are 2.19 crore persons with disabilities in India, constituting 2.13 per cent of the total population. However, this data is keenly disputed, with alternative estimates invariably much higher than the official ones. Compared to Indian statistics, the population of persons living with disability in India’s neighbours is

substantially higher: 5 per cent in China, 5 per cent in Nepal and 4.9 per cent in Pakistan. In the most developed countries this number raises to 18 per cent (Australia), 14.2 per cent (United Kingdom) and 9 per cent (the United States). One WHO report states that ten per cent of the entire world’s population live with disability (650 million) and that there are more people living with disability in India than in any other country. The tragedy is that the Census Commission failed to make any attempt to collect statistics on disability until 2001. The assumption is simple: no census, no statistics, and no problem. And now with a 2.13 per cent estimate in the 2001 census, the contentious status of figures for disability raises a fundamental obstacle to framing and implementing effective policies throughout India. The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 (PWDA) addresses the issue of education for children with disability as an ‘endeavor’ to promote their integration within mainstream schools. The focus is not on building the capacity of people living with disabilities, but rather on helping them cope within the existing mainstream Status of disability laws in India. India is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It is mandated for all countries that the substantive rights and principles of the Convention should reflect on the relevant laws of the land. The aim of this policy brief is to create awareness among parliamentarians, and also to promote and encourage them to respond proactively to the issues related to the disability sector in India today. This document seems to effectively inform and assist our representative bodies in working to secure the rights of people living with disabilities at the appropriate policy levels. In a country where terms like disabled, physically/mentally challenged, handicapped, impaired are used interchangeably to address or refer to a person with disability, it is difficult to protect and affirm the rights and entitlements of persons with disabilities in government policy and laws. This can be easily sighted in all three relevant laws, which are heavily loaded with terms such as ‘welfare’ and ‘endeavour’, and aim to implement all objectives only ‘within the economic capacity of state’. The principal reason for the inadequacies in existing policy can be attributed to the ambiguous approach of policy makers to disability. The existing law perceives a person with disability to have some sort of a ‘deficit‘, in need of social compensations from the government; Welfare based - people with disabilities are objects of state charity in need of medical treatment and social protection and Rights based - people with disabilities are citizens with rights, equally capable of claiming these rights and making autonomous decisions based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society. Participation of people with disabilities, prevention and early detection of the disabilities, employment, affirmative action, non discrimination, research and manpower, recognition of institutions for persons with severe disabilities, social security, etc. Here one clearly realizes that the ACT which is at the heart of all policies pertaining to persons with disabilities is itself conceptually flawed; to expect a Rights Based Policy from a Welfare Based Law is therefore misplaced. Of all people living with disability, 35.9 per cent belong to the 0 to 19 years age group, which in absolute terms amounts to 7 million young people. Across the subcontinent 90 per cent of India’s 36 million children with physical and mental disabilities aged between 4-16 years are out of school.

There is also no synchronization between the ambitious dreams of Education for All - Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) - drawn up by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, and the objective of integrated schooling outlined in the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. One more interesting case of social injustice through disability laws concerns people living with mental illness. The mental illness category has been officially recognized by the PWD Act. Yet, they are denied any employment quota: even free education is not accessible since mental illnesses are in most cases diagnosed after the age of 18, after which point free education is embargoed under PWDA. The definition of mental illness itself is loaded with concepts of illness and dysfunctionality more than functionality. The Mental Health Act, 1987, Out of school rates for CWD are high in all states and CWD account for a higher proportion of all out of school children as overall attendance rates increase. The Government of India has enacted three important legislations for persons with disabilities viz.

1. Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, which provides for education, employment, creation of a barrier free environment, social security, etc.

2. National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability Act, 1999 has provisions for legal guardianship and creation of an enabling environment that will allow as much independent living as is possible.

3. Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 deals with the development of manpower for provision of rehabilitation services. India has also both signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It came into force on 3 May 2008, and makes it obligatory on the part of the government to synchronize laws or legal provisions with the terms of the Convention. However, by not signing the optional protocol India has managed to safeguard itself in case of not fulfilling the commitments made under CRPD. The general principles of the Convention are: recognition of inherent worth and dignity; individual autonomy and independence; non discrimination; full and equal participation; respect and acceptance of human diversity; equality of opportunity;

accessibility; equality for men and women, and respect for evolving the capacity of children with disabilities and their right to preserve their identities. Many of these principles appear in existing laws of disability, but the welfare based approach of the government presents major obstacles to all such concepts of empowerment. Besides the existing rights mentioned in the Acts, there are certain rights under the major themes of life and liberty rights, equality of respect and opportunity, right to association and social participation, right to political participation, right to health and double discrimination in relation to children and women in disability referred to in the CRPD but not appropriately

incorporated within Indian disability laws (Source: SRI survey, 2005).

Lack of disabled-friendly infrastructure and tardy approach towards an inclusive education system forces India’s disabled children stay out of school. A World Bank study points out that they are more vulnerable than those hailing from backward castes due to negative mindsets.

Only one percent of funds under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan are spent on inclusive education; employment of people with disability fell from 43% in 1991 to 38% in 2002 despite strong economic growth; and negative attitudes towards the disabled persist.

According to some of the recent findings of a new World Bank report on disability in India, a lot needs to be done for India’s 40-80 million persons with disability just to get them their basics rights. Low literacy, few jobs and widespread social stigma are making disabled people among the most excluded in India. At least one in 12 households includes a member with disability and children with disability are five times more likely to be out of school than Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) children, and if they stay in school they rarely progress beyond the primary level, leading ultimately to lower employment and incomes. Only around one percent of funds under the SSA are spent on inclusive education. And, the budget for educating children with mild to moderate disability in regular school settings has not increased commensurately since the focus on inclusive education began in the 1970s.Physical accessibility in buildings, transportation and services remain unavailable.

 Negative attitudes towards the disabled, even by their own families, deter disabled people from taking active part in the family, community or workforce. Those suffering from mental illness or mental retardation face the worst stigma and are subject to severe social exclusion.

The report finds that coordination between the Ministries of Human Resource Development and Social Justice and Empowerment, the Rehabilitation Council of India and the general teacher training system needs to be improved. Also, state-wise strategies on education for children with special needs have to be devised.

While the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has made a concerted effort to promote the inclusion of children with special needs, the system faces challenges in identifying these children and responding to their needs.

While the policy initiatives in India have helped in integrating the disabled children with the mainstream society, development with equity; still the country needs more concerted efforts in the area to make the system of education more responsive to the needs of the people and of course, more inclusive!!