Inclusion of Children with Visual Impairment in India

Abstract

The Right to Education (RTE) Act is anchored in the belief that availability of equal educational opportunities to children belonging to different social and economic background will reinforce the idea of equality enshrined in our constitution, and ensure that children are not discriminated on the basis of social or economic background or any such criteria. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme under RTE Act for achieving the universalization of elementary education. Since its launch in 2001, SSA has infused substantial new resources into India’s elementary education. But current schools are not delivering what is expected of them. Many NGOs initiated training and empowering students with visual impairment (VI) along with Government initiatives through SSA in Gulbarga in the state of Karnataka in India. A retrospective research was conducted in Gulbarga to find out the status of inclusive education of primary, middle and high school students with VI. The research included 12 students randomly selected from different schools: 6 were from Gulbarga Taluka where IEFs (integrated education facilitators) were providing support to VI students studying in IE schools, and 6 from Sedam Taluka where only SSA IERTs (integrated education resource teachers) were providing support to the IE schools with VI students. A qualitative approach was adopted and students with VI, their class teachers, resource teachers, principals, parents, siblings, and grandparents were interviewed. This research presents the current status of inclusive education in India with a focus on children with visual impairment in Gulbarga. The research findings highlighted an urgent and imperative need for making structural changes in the policies for implementing inclusion.