– Mita Mukherjee

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has released a handbook on inclusive education to help educators and administrators to have better understanding of children with special needs and diversity in classrooms.

The book aims to “foster inclusion at all stages of schooling,” a circular sent by CISCE to heads of affiliated schools on Tuesday said.

“This handbook is designed as a practical guide to support educators in implementing inclusive education (IE) within the diverse classrooms of CISCE affiliated schools.”

The handbook aims to assist schools on strengthening and advancing their inclusive education systems.

” It seeks to raise awareness and empower educators to identify and support children with special needs (CwSN,)” the CISCE circular said.

At the same time, the council says, the handbook expands the idea of inclusive education and to discuss strategies for including all children irrespective of their exceptional learning needs and socio-economic background or gender.

It has been designed to ensure that it facilitates the understanding of the diversity in classrooms across all levels and encourages an emphatic, supportive approach ” so that no child is left behind,” the CISCE said.

The 123-page book identifies the barriers to inclusive education and provides suggestions on how to overcome them. 

According to the book, learning is a continuous process and one of the key elements of an effective and inclusive learning environment is its accessibility.

The council has identified four major barriers to education including infrastructural, attitudinal, social and communication. 

Lack of proper infrastructure is the most common barrier in educational institutions, it said. For example, entrances to the buildings and classrooms and the routes connecting various areas can sometimes be inaccessible for students especially for children with special needs.

It has stressed the need to provide appropriate and adequate teaching material and equipment to students to provide meaningful education particularly to children with special needs. The handbook also mentions the importance of socio-economic and gender diversity in inclusive classrooms.

Also read: Delhi HC panel to determine autistic student’s school