The full paper is attached The findings of a qualitative study commissioned by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in six states - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - during 2011-12 to look at inclusion and exclusion in schools may not be original. But they make it possible for policymakers to officially acknowledge the prevalence of exclusionary practices in schools and the urgent need to address them. One of the overarching insights from this study is the need to view inclusion and exclusion from different vantage points: from the outside (who goes to what kind of school); from the inside (what happens inside the school); and in society (who is visible and who is not visible; for example, seasonal or new migrants are often invisible in data on out-of-school children). Equally significant is the influence of the larger society and social norms on what happens inside a school, the attitude and behaviour of teachers and the involvement or lack of involvement of parents and community leaders. Political and social assertion of the rights of dalits and adivasis also influences practices and attitudes.
Vimala Ramachandran (vimalar.ramachand...@gmail.com) is with the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi and Taramani Naorem (tara.nao...@gmail.com) is Consultant (Research and Evaluation), Technical Support Group (SSA and RTE), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi. Based on a study commissioned by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Government of India in 2012. The principal investigators were Vimala Ramachandran and Taramani Naorem. The state reports were prepared by: A Padma and P Prasanthi of Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samatha Society; Gita Rani Bhattacharya of Assam Mahila Samata Society; Ajay Kumar Jha, Taramani Naorem and Ajay Kumar Singh of A N Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Patna and Educational Consultants India, Delhi; Anjali Noronha and Kavita Suresh of Eklavya in Bhopal; and Shobhita Rajagopal and Radheshayam Sharma of the Institute for Development Studies, Jaipur Important Sections from the article 9 Children with Special Needs It is important to note that in all the schools visited there were either very few or no CWSN. This raised a serious question: Were these children actually being included in schools or not? Under inclusive education, the SSA framework clearly mandates that the programme will ensure that every child with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category and degree of disability, is provided education in an appropriate environment and that SSA will adopt zero rejection policy so that no child is left out of the education system (GoI, SSA website).3 In all the six states, factors such as availability of CWSN friendly infrastructure and a positive and supportive attitude of the teachers and students towards CWSN did not seem to refl ect this mandate. Even though ramps have been provided in some schools and there was also a CWSN friendly toilet in one school in Andhra Pradesh, their usability still remains a big concern. However, there is a silver lining as in the case of one school in AP where teachers and the headmaster were observed taking an active interest in school activities and being supportive of the needs of the CWSN and children from deprived social groups. 10 Can We End All Forms of Exclusion/Discrimination? As the research teams travelled across the sample states one question kept cropping up: “When and how will the situation change?” There are no easy answers and given our track record of the last 65 years, some prejudices have only become more palpable. Issues such as caste, religion, and economic status, place of residence and knowledge of English have become signifi cant markers in our social and political life. Many older teachers admitted that the feeling of national unity and of being one is fading. Many of them attributed this to the way our electoral system has evolved whereby mobilisation of political support is done on the basis of social, religious, caste and cultural identities. However, despite the fact that the larger sociopolitical environment is becoming more stratifi ed and divisive, there are islands of hope across this vast and diverse country. Taking the Constitution as the guiding spirit, teachers, administrators and community leaders need to be told that any violation of the right to equality and the right against discrimination will invite strict penal action. A non-negotiable code of behaviour needs to be communicated to all those who are involved in school education. This needs to be done in writing and prominently displayed in all schools and educational institutions. Simultaneously, children need to be involved in activities that enable them to understand and appreciate diversity, respect differences and formulate school level norms of behaviour. Involving children in creating an egalitarian atmosphere could bring moral pressure on teachers, administrators and local leaders to not differentiate or discriminate. Teacher orientation and training is often limited to administrative requirements and subject knowledge. There is also growing evidence of training fatigue among teachers. Equally, short duration training programmes are not able to do justice to supporting basic subject knowledge and pedagogy issues. Creating alternative forums/platforms where teachers and community leaders can come together to communicate the need to ensure that schools are free of discrimination may well be a worthwhile exercise. -- Avinash Shahi M.Phil Research Scholar Centre for The Study of Law and Governance Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi India Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. 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