ACCESSIBILITY OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES –(CWDs):

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Rights and Responsibilities to assure Educational Access for students with Disabilities. Education is a right of every child whether she/he is disabled or non-disabled or education equips children to meet the challenges of life. Education involves growing up knowing the environment in which we live in.

To make education for all a reality, every child must have access to quality education. The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in education 1960, and other international human right treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Right 1946, Convention on the right of child 1989 and UN Convention on the right of a person and Disabilities 2001 prohibit any sort of exclusive from educational opportunities based on sex, ethnic origin, language, religion nationality, Socio-economic condition abilities, etc. The educational scene India has undergone major changes over the years due to the effort of the government, resulting in the better provision of education. In the context of India changing educational landscape, it is important to look at education for children with disabilities critically. ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION- Accessible Education is the process of designing and developing a teaching style to meet the needs of people from a variety of backgrounds, abilities and learning styles. WHY IT IS IMPORTANT-Designing accessible comes is important it provides educational opportunities to all students. It also provides secure independence for students with disabilities.

STATUS OF EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES-(CWDs)- According to census 2011- There are 1.2billion people in India of which about 8.33million people live in rural areas. The total number of children with disabilities is 164.5million. According to NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY (NSS)-25% of the literate population of people with disabilities had received education up to the primary level (5year of schooling) and 11 % up to middle level(8year). The 2019 ‘state of the education report for India: children with disabilities’ has been released by the UNESCO. REPORT HIGHLIGHT- There are 78,64,636 children with disabilities in India consisting of 1.7% of the total child population. Three- fourths of the children with disabilities at the age of 5years and one –fourth between 5-19 years do not go to any educational institutions. The number of children enrolled in school drops significantly with each successive level of schooling. A large number of children with disabilities don’t go to schools but are enrolled at the (NIOS) National Institute of open schooling. The percentage of children attending schools in the lowest among those with multiple disabilities, mental illness and mental retardation. CHALLENGES AHEAD- 1-Significant gaps remain, even though successive government schemes and programs have children with disabilities into schools. 2- only 6% of CWDs aged between 5 and 19 were attending an educational institution compared to the overall figure of 71%, all children are considered. 3- A review of enrolment figures at NIOS shows a decline in most categories of disabilities between 2009 and 2015. The report has made a certain recommendation to improve the state of education for CWDs – Amend the RTE act to better align with the Right to a person with disabilities (RPWD) act 2011 by including specific concern of education of such children. Establish a coordinating mechanism under HRD ministry for effective education programs of CWDs. Ensure specific and financial allocation in the education budget to meet the learning needs at CWDs. Strengthening data systems to make reliable and useful for planning. Expand the use of Information Technology for the education of CWDs. Give a chance to every child and leave no child with disabling. Overcome stereotype and build positive disposition towards CWDs, both in the classroom and beyond. Improving the work on the identification of children with different disabilities. Creating facilities for house –based schooling or special education for children with multiple disabilities, deaf-blind and intellectual and serve disabilities and severe disabilities who may not be able to attend regular school. Organizing teacher training refresher courses for all teachers form private and government school or information on disability, individual educational plans, teaching-learning methods to support the education of children with disabilities. Conducting parental educational programs such as workshops,training material to help parents support their child’s learning.

POLICIES FRAMEWORK FOR EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES- India is bound by human rights treaties like the UDHR 1946, the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in education 1960 and Convention on the Right to Child 1969, International policies related to disability and education such as the UN, standard rules as the equalization of opportunities for a person with disabilities 1993. United Nations Convention on the Right to Person with disabilities act 2006. The drafting of the new bill for the Person with disabilities act,(PWD) 2011 which replaced the person with disabilities act,1955 is being implemented to fulfill the obligation under International Treaties and to overcome limitations of the previous act. The Indian Constitution prohibits any exclusive from Educational opportunities based on sex, ethnic origin, language, religion,nationality, socio-economic condition, abilities, etc. The preamble of the Constitution embodies the concept of Social-Justice and Equality of States and opportunity to all the people of India. Art-45 of Indian Constitution Provides Compulsory and free-Education of all Children, below 14 year and 86th amendment of the constitution act in 2002 made it clear that education is a Fundamental of every child between the age group of 6 to 14 year. The Kothari Commission of 1964 stressed the education of children with disabilities being a part of the general education system. The National Education Policy in 1968 based on Kothari Commission Educational Recommendation, suggested expanding facilities for children with physically and mentally disabled. In 1992, the Plan of action suggested that the children with disabilities who can be educated in a regular school shouldn’t be admitted to a special school. The District Primary Education System (DPEP) of 1995, focused on increasing the number of girls in primary education. The central and state government have formulated progress and policies over the years, offering schemes and facilities to children with disabilities to enable them to enter maintain society. CONCLUSION- Children with disabilities(CWDs) face many barriers to achieving their full potential. Due to various obstacles, particularly for those who are poor and who suffer other forms of humiliation, the facilities of these children frequently experience a high level of stress. They are more likely to live in poverty and face, increased risk of social exclusion. However, changing approaches to disability, from the charity model to the human rights model, has resulted in a diversity of policy and practice. Lastly, I am ending my article with these lines: “SAB PADHE