Chapter 4: Education for People with Disabilities

3.1. As for any other group, education is critical to expanding the life prospects of people with disabilities. In addition, the socialization of children with disabilities (CWD) through education assumes an unusually important role in societies such as India where social exclusion of PWD is significant. Despite its importance, educational outcomes for children and adults with disabilities remain very poor. Illiteracy rates both for all PWD and for school-age disabled children remain much higher than the general population, and school attendance among school age CWD massively lags that of non-disabled children. This chapter discusses first the policy developments in India and internationally on education of CWD. It then presents an educational profile of CWD and PWD, and finds that India’s MDG goals in education will not be met with current performance with respect to children with disabilities. A review of the current performance of public initiatives in the general education system to get CWD into school and improve their learning outcomes follows. An overview of non-government initiatives in PWD education then follows, before conclusions and recommendations.