State of the Education Report for India: Children with Disabilities report has been released by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and highlights accomplishments and challenges with regard to the right to education of children with disabilities (CWDs).
Highlights of the Report
CWDs constitute 1.7% of the total child population of India.
Challenges
Significant gaps remain in spite of multiple government schemes and programs have brought large numbers of children with disabilities into schools.
Recommendations to Improve the State of Education for CWDs
Alignment of the RTE Act (Right to Education Act) with the RPWD Act (The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016) by including specific concerns for education of such children.
Way Forward
Although with a range of programmes and schemes the enrolment rates of CWDs are increasing in schools but further measures are needed to ensure quality education for every child to achieve the goals and targets of agenda 2030 and more specifically Sustainable Development Goal 4.