CBM India & UNESCO collaborate on report on education of disabled kids

The regional launch of report ‘N for Nose: State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities’ took place in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 11 December. The launch of this crucial publication was a collaboration between UNESCO New Delhi, Samagra Shiksha Karnataka, and CBM India Trust. CBM is a pan India organisation that is dedicated to the improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in the poorest communities.

The “N for Nose: State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities” report sheds light on the state of education of children with disabilities in India. The detailed report contains the information about number of children with disabilities (CWDs) that have access to education and those that are missing out. It also contains the various initiatives and schemes in place when it comes to providing education to disabled Indian children.

Report Launch in Bangalore

The launch of the report was held at an event Shikshakara Sadan in Bengaluru and saw the presence of more than 200 people including government representatives, academic experts and many others.

S Suresh Kumar, Minister, Primary & Secondary Education, Government of Karnataka, V S Basavaraju, State Commissioner for Persons with Disability, UNESCO New Delhi Director Eric Falt, and Dr Sara Varughese, Managing Trustee – CBM India Trust were present.

S Suresh Kumar promised an “inclusive effort to bring children with disabilities into mainstream.”

The report is the first of its kind and aims to provide vital information about education of disabled children. It has data that will help set future goals for education-related schemes. It can also help make the education system more inclusive for children with and without disabilities.

As per the report, 47% girls below 5 years of age attend special schools while 53% boys below 5 years of age attend special schools in the country. The report cites the 2011 census and states that there are 368,697 five year olds with disabilities in India.

Contributors of the report

Among the contributors to the report are Archana Mehendale, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Rajive Raturi, Law and Policy Division, NCPEDP, and Arman Ali, Executive Director, NCPEDP and many more.

With this report we are suggesting a number of concrete recommendations to take several more steps forward and help nearly 8 million children with disabilities in India to get their share of an education. There is a long way to go when it comes to providing equal academic opportunity and resources to children with disabilities. Lack of resources, social and economic conditions, non-inclusive infrastructure are some of the barriers faced by these children in India. – Eric Falt Director UNESCO Delhi

The UNESCO report has valuable recommendations that can bring about positive change in the form of 10 key suggestions. These suggestions are policymakers.

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