Abstract:
With the growing importance of equal opportunities for education for all. one of the
important aims of schools has become to include students with special needs in the
regular classrooms. The Government of India has enacted the legisiation Persons with
Disabilities (Equal Opportunities and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD Act-95) to
achieve amongst other things, the goal of providing access to free education in an
appropriate environment to all learners with disabilities till she or he attains the age of
eighteen years. The Act endeavors to promote the integration of learners with disabilities
in mainstream schools.
UNICEF's (2000) Report on the Status of Disability in India states that there are around
30 million children in India suffering from some form of disability. The Sixth All-India
Educational Survey (NCERT, 2000) reports that of India's 200 million school-aged
children (6-14 years). 20 million require special needs education. While the national
average for gross enrolment in school is over 90 percent. less than five percent of
children with disabilities are in school.
