PWD minister Nilesh Cabral on Sunday said that though the New Education Policy stresses inclusive education for children with special needs, it was an “impractical” idea.
“I don’t know who has done that (formulated the NEP), but it’s not practical,” Cabral said while addressing a gathering at the inauguration of the new building of Chetna School for Special Children, at Cacora. “For children with 10-20% disability, we can provide inclusive education, but we can see a lot of children (who have a higher degree of disability) who cannot be made inclusive in regular schools,” he said. “Though the concept is good, it’s not possible. You require special schools for them.”
The NEP 2020 has laid emphasis on the educational rehabilitation of disabled people, and advocates for their inclusion in regular education systems. Hiring special educators in all school complexes, making schools wheelchair-accessible, and providing all such facilities to make instruction more inclusive and sensitive to children’s needs are some of the provisions of the NEP 2020.
Speaking on the occasion, social welfare minister Subhash Phal Dessai also said that though the NEP 2020 envisions inclusive education, the goals in terms of making children skillful and taking care of their every specific mobility needs “may not be achievable” at general schools.
However, both Cabral and Phal Dessai pledged their support for the special school’s expansion plan which includes creating residential facilities and vocational training centers for children with disabilities.
Director of education Shailesh Zingde, and educationist Bhaskar Nayak, also spoke on the occasion.
The new campus of Chetna School has spacious rooms and the most modern educational and therapeutic equipment for children with special needs, as also a landscaped garden and recreational areas.
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