Developing schools without barriers
#GS-02 Social Security
For Mains
The need children with disabilities (CWD) friendly infrastructure
- A UNESCO 2019 report discovered that Children With Disabilities comprise 1.7% of the total population of children in India.
- More than 70% of five-year-olds with disabilities in India have never attended any educational institution due to physical, institutional, socioeconomic and communication barriers.
Barriers to Education
- Lack of accessibility in school buses.
- Inaccessible facilities such as drinking water facilities, canteens and toilets in schools.
- Lack of appropriate infrastructure in classrooms such as uncomfortable seating, slippery flooring and low illumination.
- Prejudiced attitudes and stereotyped perceptions among parents, teachers, staff, and communities.
- The lack of teaching and learning practices such as assistive devices that integrate inclusive technologies and digital equipment to engage the child.
Measures taken
- Article 21A of the Constitution guarantee the fundamental right to education for children aged 6-14 years.
- And the Right to Education Act, 2009 guarantee the right to have free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 years.
- The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, adopted a ‘zero rejection policy’, which emphasises meaningful and quality education for every child with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category and degree of disability.
- India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and pursuant to this launched the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) in 2015.
- Pilot training programmes on enhancing accessibility and inclusion were implemented in two schools in Delhi under the Mainstreaming LNOB (Leave No One Behind) project by UN-Habitat.
Source “Developing schools without barriers”
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