Nankana Sahib Public School is among Punjab’s few schools to promote inclusion

Our story in the Top Inclusive Schools series today comes all the way from Ludhiana in Punjab. The Nankana Sahib Public School, is among the rare schools in the state that is inclusive. It did not start out that way when it was set up in 1978. The school changed its policy based on the needs voiced by parents.

School became inclusive in response to needs voiced by parents

“We had many parents with disabled children who wanted them to have the opportunity to study in mainstream schools,” says Dr Harmeet Waraich, principal of the Nankana Sahib Public School.

“We too felt that it was unfair to exclude children just because they had a disability when they could be a part of a mainstream system.”

The school has ramps so disabled children can move around the school campus easily. There are students who are deaf, blind, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and paralysis.

School reaches out to kids with various disabilities

“We send our teachers regularly for training and sensitisation workshops“, says Dr Waraich. Staff meetings are also held regularly to motivate them.

The school is supported by a private trust and does not charge any fees from families with disabled children.

“You can see that there is strong support for and belief in giving an equal opportunity to all children at the school”, says Dr Neelam Sodhi, founder of Ashirwad, a Ludhiana based NGO that works among children with cerebral palsy.

“”Such schools help build a greater sense of tolerance and compassion for people who are different in our world.” – Neelam Sodhi, NGO Aashirwad

To view the other schools which were part of the Inclusive Schools series, click below:

Orchid School,Pune

APL Global School,Chennai

St Mary’s School, Delhi

Riverside, Ahmedabad

Gamru Village School,Himachal Pradesh

Akshar,

Vivekalaya, Coimbatore

The Heritage School,Kolkata

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