4. Inclusion in Schools

Inclusive and equitable education — while an essential goal in its own right — is also critical to achieving an inclusive and equitable society in which every citizen has the opportunity to dream, learn, thrive, and contribute. NEP 2020 aims to create an education system where all of India’s children get equal opportunity to learn and excel, regardless of circumstances of birth or background.

Existing inequalities create several roadblocks in the process of achieving inclusive and equitable education across all Stages. Studies show that a large percentage of students who either drop out of school or discontinue their education after school belong to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs). Many among these groups who manage to continue their education struggle to achieve appropriate Learning Outcomes due to a lack of adequate support, nutrition, access to learning resources, or various sorts of social and/or economic distress.

The commitment to inclusive education is an integral and important part of the design of this NCF. Schools must ensure that every student gets full opportunity and access to learn and experience a sense of belonging. To ensure this, schools and the overall education system must take many actions. The curriculum must be truly equitable and inclusive in practice for all students.

Education is the single greatest tool for achieving social justice and equality. Inclusive and equitable education — while indeed an essential goal in its own right — is also critical to achieving an inclusive and equitable society in which every citizen has the opportunity to dream, thrive, and contribute to the nation. The education system must aim to benefit India’s children so that no child loses any opportunity to learn and excel because of circumstances of birth or background. This Policy reaffirms that bridging the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes in school education. [NEP 2020, 6.1]

This Chapter outlines the basic principles of inclusion and illustrates some practices of inclusion that is appropriate in schools. This is followed by a Section on practices appropriate for students with disabilities and another Section for students with special talents.

Section 4.1 - Principles of Inclusion

The practices for inclusion in school education is driven by some fundamental principles. These are articulated below.

a. All education begins with the foundational principle that every child is capable of learning. Children learn best when they are respected, valued, and involved in the learning process.

b. Student success and failure are often determined by the nature of school culture and the learning environment.

c. Inclusion is an integral part of school culture that manifests in the relationships in school, organising of school processes, accessibility of resources, and fundamentals of classroom pedagogy and assessment. The School Principal is critical for setting the vision and culture, and ensuring its translation into practice.

d. There should be equitable and non-discriminatory access to, both physical and curricular resources. Schools must make necessary infrastructure and learning resources available to help every student learn better, and this can happen with appropriate provisioning at the school level. For example, TLMs have to be reviewed for biases against any category of people or culture, and different aids for learning for students with visual, speech, or hearing impairment must be procured. Physical spaces too would require assessing with these disabilities in mind.

e. Schools should develop safe environments with credible mechanisms to ensure there is no discrimination, harassment, or bullying. Classrooms must be safe spaces for students to ask questions, make mistakes, and try out ideas.

f. Having adequate number of Teachers is necessary but not sufficient. Teachers need to be able to respond to the context such that principles of equity and inclusiveness are of the highest priority — this should be a fundamental ingredient of teacher professional development.

g. All members of the school will need to be sensitised to the requirements of all students, the notions of inclusion and equity, and the respect and dignity of all persons. Aspects of the curriculum that emphasise equity and inclusion and the values that underlie this must be significantly strengthened.

h. Schools must engage with the local communities around them. An educational institution cannot meaningfully engage in its educational endeavour while being insulated from the communities around it.

i. This NCF is in consonance with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 and endorses all its recommendations regarding school education. The Act clearly states that children with disabilities shall enjoy their rights equally with others.

j. These principles of inclusion are equally applicable for any and all students whose differences may require specific attention. While the sections below detail measures for students with disability and those with special talents, the principles must also be practised in schools and school systems for any other form of difference, for example, transgender students, temporary migrants, physical differences, amongst others.

Section 4.2 - Illustrations of Inclusive Practices across Stages

This Section gives illustrations of appropriate practices based on the principles of inclusion stated in the previous section. Illustrations of inclusion are categorised in terms of physical infrastructure provision, language usage, safety measures adopted, use of curricular content, and inclusive pedagogy.

a. Physical access

i. There is barrier-free access into and inside the school for all.

ii. Toilets are well maintained, functional, safe, and suitable for all including people with disabilities, and there are separate toilets for boys and girls.

iii. Common spaces and common property on the school campus meant for students and Teachers are equally accessible to all students and Teachers without discrimination (e.g., furniture, stationery, plates used for meals, glasses used for drinking water).

*b. Language *

i. There is extensive use of home language/familiar language in the classroom and in curricular material, especially at the Foundational and Preparatory Stages.

ii. All languages, including regional variations in accents and vocabulary, are given equal dignity and status.

iii. Indian Sign Language is used wherever necessary.

c. Safety

i. Students feel safe enough to take intellectual risks, make mistakes, experiment, and freely express their opinions without the anxiety of being ridiculed, reprimanded, or punished.

ii. Inequity on the basis of caste, gender, religion, socio-economic conditions, physical characteristics, or performance of students is not tolerated and actively discouraged.

iii. Bullying, harassing, intimidating, and use of derogatory or demeaning language with or by students is not tolerated.

iv. Threats or physical punishments are never used.

v. Confidentiality of sensitive information (regarding a student’s background and circumstances) is maintained.

d. Curricular Material

i. All backgrounds, genders, and abilities are represented in a manner that upholds their dignity and empowers them.

ii. Special care is taken to avoid promotion of stereotypes.

iii. Experiences from the lives of all people and children from SEDGs are represented. NEP also recommends that curriculums should be free of all forms of bias and stereotypes and ‘more material will be included that is relevant and relatable to all communities.’

iv. Images and illustrations also reiterate inclusion.

e. Pedagogy

i. Classroom processes are flexible and inclusive, and reflective of diverse needs.

ii. School timetable/calendar is adjusted to suit the needs of students and the local community.

iii. There is heterogeneity in seating arrangement and fixed seating arrangements on the lines of background, gender, abilities, or performance are discouraged.

iv. Assessments use multiple modes to ensure that all students can meaningfully demonstrate their learning.

Section 4.3 - Inclusive Practices for Students with Disabilities

To be truly inclusive, all schools must be prepared to give meaningful and effective educational opportunities for students with disabilities.

a. The RPWD Act 2016 defines inclusive education as a ‘system of education wherein students with and without disabilities learn together and the system of teaching and learning is suitably adapted to meet the learning needs of different types of students with disabilities.’

b. Physical access for all students with disabilities is enabled through barrier-free structures as per the RPWD Act. Adequate attention must be paid to the safety and security of children with disabilities.

c. Early identification and early intervention for children with developmental delays, disabilities, and children at risk is a strong focus at the Foundational and Preparatory Stages.

d. Curricular and pedagogical accommodations:

The idea of accommodations is different from modifications. While modification is about altering or changing the difficulty levels of the content or the expectations of learning of the student, accommodation is about making changes to assist a student to work with the conditions of disability and be able to demonstrate their learning achievement on the same standards. With accommodations, neither what is being taught changes nor does the grading criteria for students with disabilities.

i. Illustrative content accommodations: Use of bigger fonts of the printed material with adequate spacing, sharing printouts of summarised notes of the class, using assistive technologies (e.g., text-to-speech read aloud, speech-to-text software), repeated and reinforced ideas and concepts in the TLM are important support mechanisms.

ii. Illustrative pedagogical accommodations: Teaching strategies will require a Universal Design in their planning and structure for equitable access. This is an important accommodation that will help meet learning challenges that students face. Allowing students to use word processors with/without spellcheck (through the use of assistive devices to practise spelling, grammar, and computing), creating a system of peer support, and organising special educator support in the classroom whenever necessary would make for an inclusive pedagogy.

iii. Illustrative assessment accommodations: This typically involves changing or reorganising the order of tasks or questions for assessment, making assessment question papers or worksheets with large font print for ease of reading, allowing extended time for completion, organising for a scribe/writer or reading assistant, allowing the use of word processing software on a computer, organising a distraction free room, allowing for the use of a calculator or a tablet, permitting more frequent breaks in the course of the assessment, and providing alternative furniture.

iv. Assistive devices and appropriate technology-based tools, as well as adequate and language-appropriate TLMs (e.g., textbooks in accessible formats, such as in large print or Braille) are made available. This applies to all school activities, including art, sports, and Vocational Education. More details on aspects of using technology for students with disability is addressed in Part B, Chapter 6 on Educational Technology in Schools. The core intention of accommodations is to ensure equity in learning opportunities in the classroom. This means enabling equal access for all students. It also means effectively assisting learning for students with specific learning needs because of disabilities of any kind that they may have.

Section 4.4 - Inclusive Practices for Students with Special Talents

There are innate talents in every student, which must be discovered, nurtured, fostered, and developed. These talents may express themselves in the form of varying interests, dispositions, and capacities. Those students that show particularly strong interests and capacities in a given realm must be encouraged to pursue that realm beyond the general school curriculum. Teacher education will include methods for the recognition and fostering of such student talents and interests. The NCERT and NCTE will develop guidelines for the education of gifted children. B.Ed. programmes may also allow a specialisation in the education of gifted children. [NEP 2020, 4.43]

The commitment to inclusion in schools also implies accounting for the educational needs of students with special talents. Identifying students with special talents is often easier when they excel in their academic performance in some subjects in the classroom than those who excel across the spectrum of Curricular Areas.

Special talents can independently exist in intellectual, creative, social, musical, and psychomotor domains. Care must be taken to identify special talents in students in all areas of the curriculum and to plan for enriching their learning in depth and breadth. This will ensure these students do not get frustrated and lost in the class, and that their enthusiasm and motivation to learn are maintained.

Some key considerations for the inclusion of students with special talents are as follows.

a. Special attention and special support: Contrary to popular belief, students with special talents may need special attention and support with their school learning experience and cannot be left to their own devices. This may include using richer reading material, as well as assigning more challenging exercises.

b. Inclusion of students from across the socio-economic spectrum: Students with special talents who come from economically-advantaged backgrounds tend to get better overall support than students from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. Schools need to ensure equal opportunities for all students in this realm.

c. Differences in behavioural traits: These students are often reported to have certain social/emotional traits in common, including heightened sensitivity, emotional intensity and reactivity, perfectionism, and uneven development of intellectual and emotional capacities. Teachers and parents/families need adequate orientation to understand and deal with these needs.

d. Rethinking pedagogy: Teaching strategies/practices require review and redesign based on the degree and kind of special talents students display across the Stages.

e. Supportive and democratic school culture: Peers and other adults in the school must also be oriented to support these students which requires the development of a school culture that values special talents while acknowledging other students’ talents as well. Schools must guard against giving undue attention to students with special talents at the cost of others.

As stated in NEP 2020, a good educational institution is one where every student feels welcomed and cared for, a safe and stimulating learning environment exists, a wide range of learning experiences are offered, and good physical infrastructure and appropriate resources conducive to learning are available to all students. The fundamental principle that guides good education is that all children are capable of learning. Thus, equity and inclusion are the cornerstones of our education system.