In India, the count of children with disabilities has been on the rise, reaching around 79 lakh as per UNESCO’s 2019 State of the Education Report for India . However, the number of special educators registered with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is as low as 1.2 lakh. This disparity highlights a critical issue in our education system — the severe shortage of special educators to keep up with the growing number of such children.
Special educators are a rare species and the precarious position of their profession has resulted in a growing discontentment among them. Lack of cross-disability training, absence of clear regulations for utilisation of their services, the itinerant model of employment, inadequate support from administrators, lack of lucrative job opportunities and low pay are some of the many challenges faced by special educators in India. While they grapple with these challenges, the population of children with disabilities continues to grow. Consequently, the responsibility to educate a majority of them lies with teachers who have little or no training in special education. This implies that every ‘general teacher’ will inevitably encounter students with disabilities in their classroom and therefore, should be adequately equipped to work with them.
While it is clear to us that teachers are at the forefront of inclusive education, why do they still find themselves unequipped or hesitant to work with children with disabilities?
