Paper_Inclusion in Education_Olivia DMello

Paper on

Inclusion in Education

BY

Olivia DMello

Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai

PGDM (HR) 2010 – 12 | Trimester V

Specialization: Human Resource Management


Paper Authored by: Olivia DMello, PGDM HR 2010-12, Welingkar Institute of Management


Introduction:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

These are lines from the famous speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King to the people of

the United States of America. He called for inclusion of the black people in all walks of life

in America. Today, the blacks in America are already living this dream.

Closer home, Mahatma Jotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule were the pioneers of

women's education in India. Jotiba Phule is most known for his efforts to educate women and

the lower castes as well as the masses. He, after educating his wife, opened one of the first

schools for girls in India in August 1848. B R Ambedkar also did a lot of work for the

upliftment of the Dalit community.

Today, when we talk about inclusive education, the generally accepted definition is only

limited to children with either physical or mental disability. This paper seeks to go much

beyond this accepted definition and also looks at education for the backward – both socially

as well as economically. Inclusive education is not just about being handicapped. It’s about

integrating into the mainstream, those who have been denied this opportunity, for whatever

reason. It’s also about making India a country where education is the birthright of not just a

privileged few, but of each and every child born here. It’s not just about those born rich and

affluent, but also about that little boy who serves you tea at the ‘nukkad’ around the corner.

A lot has been done in India in this regard. A lot yet remains to be done. 8.1 million children

in the age group six-14 still remain out of school and there’s a shortage of 508,000 teachers

country-wide. This paper attempts to shed light on some of the inclusive practises adopted by

the government of India. It then seeks to highlight some of the Best and Next Practises that

are prevalent in India today in the field of inclusive education.



Education in India – A Background

India has a rich history of education. Under the Buddhist influence, education was available

to virtually everyone who wanted it. During the 11th century the Muslims established

elementary and secondary schools, madraisas or colleges and even universities. With the

arrival of the British, the English educational system was adopted. Through the Act of India

in 1835 and the Woods Despatch in 1854 a basis for a properly coordinated system of English

education was determined.

At the time of its Independence, India inherited an educational system which was not only

quantitatively small but was also characterized by regional, gender, cast and structural

imbalances. Only 14% of the population was literate and only one out of three children were

enrolled in primary schools. (Government of India, Ministry of I& B, (1996), India 1995,

p.79)

As of today, following are some of the Inclusive Education practises implemented by the

Government of India:

1. Right to Education Act

On 4th of August, 2009, the parliament passed the historic Right to Education Act. The Act

makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and

specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools to reserve

25% of seats to children from poor families (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the

public-private partnership plan). It also prohibits all unrecognized schools from practice, and

makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for

admission. The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to

pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a

provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the

same age.

The RTE act requires surveys that will monitor all neighbourhoods, identify children

requiring education, and set up facilities for providing it.

The World Bank education specialist for India, Sam Carlson, has observed ‘The RTE Act is

the first legislation in the world that puts the responsibility of ensuring enrollment, attendance

and completion on the Government. It is the parents' responsibility to send the children to

schools in the U.S. and other countries.’



The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age is laid down under a

separate legislation- the Persons with Disabilities Act. A number of other provisions

regarding improvement of school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in

the Act.

The Act provides for a special organization, the National Commission for the Protection of

Child Rights, an autonomous body set up in 2007 to monitor the implementation of the act

together with Commissions to be set up by the states.

2. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement

of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by

86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the

Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right.

SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country

and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations.

The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling

facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class

rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.

Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while

the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for

developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at

a cluster, block and district level.

SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special

focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer

education to bridge the digital divide.

Committee on Implementation of RTE Act and the Resultant Revamp of Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan

In September 2009, the Government set up a Committee under the chairpersonship of Shri

Anil Bordia, former Union Education Secretary, to suggest follow up action on SSA vis-à-vis

the RTE Act. The Committee had a series of interactions with State Education Secretaries,

educationists, representatives of teachers’ unions, voluntary organisations and civil society



organisations. The Committee’s report, entitled “Implementation of RTE Act and Resultant

Revamp of SSA”, submitted in April 2010, was guided by the following principles:

(i) Holistic view of education, as interpreted in the National Curriculum Framework

2005,with implications for a systemic revamp of the entire content and process of education

with significant implications for curriculum, teacher education, educational planning and

management.

(ii) Equity, to mean not only equal opportunity, but also creation of conditions in which the

disadvantaged sections of the society – children of SC, ST, Muslim minority, landless

agricultural workers and children with special needs, etc. – can avail of the opportunity.

(iii) Access, not to be confined to ensuring that a school becomes accessible to all children

within specified distance but implies an understanding of the educational needs and

predicament of the traditionally excluded categories – the SC, ST and others sections of the

most disadvantaged groups, the Muslim minority, girls in general, and children with special

needs.

(iv) Gender concern, implying not only an effort to enable girls to keep pace with boys but

to view education in the perspective spelt out in the National Policy on Education 1986 /92;

i.e. a decisive intervention to bring about a basic change in the status of women.

(v) Centrality of teacher, to motivate them to innovate and create a culture in the classroom,

and beyond the classroom, that might produce an inclusive environment for children,

especially for girls from oppressed and marginalised backgrounds.

(vi) Moral compulsion is imposed through the RTE Act on parents, teachers, educational

administrators and other stakeholders, rather than shifting emphasis on punitive processes.

(vii) Convergent and integrated system of educational management is pre-requisite for

implementation of the RTE law. All states must move in that direction as speedily as feasible.

My Take:

The RTE and SSA policies have gone a long way in making education a reality for all the

children in India. But there is still a long way to go. The government needs to ensure that the

policies it frames on paper are actually implemented. The 8.1 million children who are out of

school need to be integrated into the system. It isn’t an easy task, but then, change never is.



3. Reservation Policy

In central government funded higher education institutions, 22.5% of available seats are

reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students (15% for SCs, 7.5%

for STs). This reservation percentage has been raised to 49.5%, by including an additional

27% reservation for OBCs. The exact percentages differ from state to state:

o In Tamil Nadu, the percentage of reservation is 28% for SCs and 8% for STs, being

based on local demographics.

o In Andhra Pradesh, 25% of educational institutes and government jobs for BCs,

15% for SCs, 6% for STs and 4% for Muslims.

o In West Bengal, 35% of educational institutes and 45% of government jobs for

SC,ST, and OBC.(25% SC, 12% ST, and 8% Muslim).

My Take

Reservation is a welcome move for deserving youngsters who are marginalised and excluded

from the arena of higher education. At the same time, it serves as a double edged sword. In a

free and fair country like India, it’s extremely important to give equal opportunities for

everyone to grow and progress. In some cases, due to reservation based on the caste,

deserving youngsters who are from the upper caste do not get the opportunity to get the seats

that are rightfully theirs. The government, instead of imposing quotas upon quotas for

reservation, can create more opportunities for the socially backward to get the same quality of

education that the forward classes do. That is how the society as a whole can progress.

Quotas, if at all, should be based on the economic status rather than the caste. This will at

least ensure that those truly deserving get a chance to go ahead in life rather than just by the

virtue of being born in a particular caste.



PAINPOINTS

Following are some of the reasons why education for all still remains a dream:

1. Mindset

There is a lack of proper mindset required for the education of children, especially in the rural

areas and among those who are economically backward. They look at education as a

complete waste of time and not as something that will be the means for them to come out of

their poverty. There has to be a change in this mindset for the status quo to change.

2. Lack of Specialised Teachers

For inclusion of special children in the mainstream education, there have to be teachers who

are trained in dealing with the special nature of the needs of these children. This sadly is

lacking, especially in the public education space. Most of the schools for special children are

in the private education space, which is unaffordable for poor parents.

3. Bad Timing

A lot of times, the education calendar is not planned in a thoughtful manner and clashes with

the agriculture season which makes a lot of farmer kids leave their education midway.

4. Lack of Teachers

Even for general education, there is a lack of educated teachers who can deliver good quality

education, especially in the rural areas. The government needs to provide incentives for

people to take up the teaching profession in the rural areas.

5. Bias towards the Girl Child

Girls are often not sent to school because of an inherent bias in the mindset of parents. They

consider the girl child to be a burden that needs to be taken off as soon as possible.

6. Lack of Infrastructure

The infrastructure in India is poorly equipped to handle the needs of its entire population.

Lack of proper school buildings, access roads, eating facility etc deters the chidren from

going to school.



‘BEST and NEXT’ Practises

Project Netrutva by Welingkar Institute of Management

The true yardstick of a leader’s ingenuity lies in the scale of his vision and his passion for

executing breakthrough social projects which seek to challenge the status quo and look to

create value for each stakeholder in the value chain. This unique ability is best exemplified by

Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Welingkar’s, personal conviction and belief that

Management Education should be within the reach of normal average students. His inherent

belief in the ability of every individual and the conviction in his teaching learning

methodologies led him to pilot a project whereby elusive access to premiere quality

management education was made available to a graduation drop out. The philosophy was to

create an enabling environment that would make it conducive to nurture and groom future

managers and leaders out of normal youth who have been disadvantaged or marginalised

from the mainstream due to lack of resources to access high quality management education.

This was by far the most path breaking pilot initiative in the realm of inclusion in

management education which was christened as “Project Netrutva”

This project needed a corporate buy in – which Dr. Salunkhe ensured was made available

through the partnership forged with Mahindra Group led by Inspirational Corporate Leader –

Mr. Anand Mahindra. A degree college dropout was inducted into the flagship course at the

Institute on a pilot basis. The entire cost of education, scholarship and other ancillary

expenses were born by the Institute in partnership with Mahindra Group. Students, who were

peers with the Project Netrutva student, were made mentors to assist, guide and help

assimilate the Project Netrutva Candidate within the normal campus like and to facilitate

bridging of the academic gap left in the student due to incomplete graduate studies.

Over the 2 years of the course, the performance of the Netrutva student was tracked, feedback

was given, faculty mentors were assigned and finally the emancipation came our way, when

the Netrutva student was placed during the placement week alongside all the other normal

students, some of whom had been the mentors to the Netrutva student during his stint. The

best part of the entire exercise was that at no point of time in the entire placement process,

was it disclosed to the company about the differential status of the Netrutva Student to avoid

any sympathetic gestures by the corporate and to assess the success in developing the

Netrutva student to bring him up to the norms of competence required of a manager and a

leader.



Project Netrutva started with 2 students, one of them working in Anand Mahindra’s office as

a coffee boy earning a monthly salary of Rs.3500. Welingkar took them on board and

subsequently they were put through the entire rigour of the MBA course, assigned mentors

and taught everything including English lessons, Etiquette training etc. At the end of the

program, they graduated with a salary package of 6 lacks p.a. This is the kind of tangible

impact in the society that the institute is looking to create.

Azim Premji Foundation

After chipping in for the country's educational system for a decade, the Azim Premji

Foundation (APF), run by the third richest Indian on his own money, is all set for a generous

initiative. The foundation plans to start 1,300 schools across the country- two per district -

which will be free, impart education in the local language and be affiliated to the state board.

If the idea succeeds, it could shame India's dysfunctional public education system - and

perhaps inspire other wealthy tycoons to look beyond their personal status-building.

The APF schools, from preschool to class 12, will be on the lines of government ones. The

difference will be in quality. "Quality education is fundamental to our becoming a developed

nation. And the final crucible of learning is the classroom," says Azim Premji.

Those associated with the planning of this Rs 9,000-crore project say that the schools will

focus on the overall development of their students, including their health and nutrition. The

attempt is also to establish schools in corners that are currently educationally under-served

and not to compete with existing schools, whether public or private. Seven schools are slated

to start within a year-and-a-half in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. If

things go as forecast, all the 1,300 schools should be up and running by 2025.

The aim behind the schools is two-pronged. One is to build social pressure for other schools

to follow suit and provide quality education. Two, the foundation wanted to test themselves,

understand what it takes to deliver quality teaching and learning. One cannot tell the world to

improve unless one actually leads by example.

A focal aim of the foundation is to get each school to evolve, over time, as a development

centre integrated with the community. Thus, the schools will be staffed with teachers from

the rural areas, but appointed after written tests and an interview.



Emphasis will be placed on their expertise in the subject, their understanding of pedagogy

and their social orientation. Parents of the children will be important partners in the process

of development.

Conclusion

One can go on and on about what has been done and what more can be done. Finally, it

would be right to say that the government of India has shown the right intent in making

education a fundamental right of every citizen. In doing so, it has definitely set the right

context. Now all that is needed is affirmative action on part of the government and the

citizens of India to convert this dream into a reality.


Paper_Inclusion in Education_Olivia DMello

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