Acute shortage of spl educators hampers inclusive education under NEP-2020

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s efforts to implement inclusive education under the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 are being hampered by an acute shortage of special educators, with only 11.6% of schools having access to one even as more than 91,600 Children with Special Needs (CwSN) are enrolled in the state’s schools.The issue came up during the recent Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting of the department of school education and literacy (DoSEL) under the Union ministry of education, which reviewed Odisha’s implementation of the Samagra Shiksha programme.The latest UDISE+ data shows Odisha has 76.44 lakh students, including 91,631 CwSN, accounting for 1.2% of the total enrolment. The state has engaged 1,896 special educators under Samagra Shiksha.

However, they serve only a fraction of the state’s 61,565 schools, leaving many institutions without access to specialised support.The shortage is compounded by inadequate teacher preparedness. Of the state’s 3.44 lakh teachers under the school and mass education department, only 1.5 lakh (43.71%) have received training in inclusive education, meaning more than half the teaching workforce is yet to be equipped to address the diverse learning needs of children with disabilities.

Another 2,930 teachers possess a diploma or degree in special education, but experts say this too falls well short of the state’s requirement.“Inclusive education cannot succeed merely by enrolling children with disabilities in neighbourhood schools. They require specialised pedagogical support, individualised learning plans and regular interventions from trained professionals. Without adequate special educators, inclusion remains largely on paper.

The number of special educators we have is insignificant considering the number of CwSN in the state,” said Shruti Mohapatra, a disability rights and inclusive education activist.The shortage assumes greater significance as Odisha shifts from segregated education to inclusive classrooms under NEP-2020. While children with disabilities are increasingly being encouraged to study in neighbourhood schools, the state continues to maintain a network of dedicated special schools for those requiring intensive support.The social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities (SSEPD) department runs 103 grant-in-aid special schools and one higher secondary school for hearing-impaired students, with an approved intake of 6,815 children. These include 37 schools for children with hearing impairment, 27 for visually-impaired students, 34 for children with intellectual disabilities, two for children with autism and three for children with cerebral palsy.

Four additional special schools in Bhubaneswar and Burla are managed by the school and mass education department.Against Odisha’s proposal of Rs 55.5 crore for inclusive education for 2026-27 session at the PAB meet, the DoSEL approved Rs 49.19 crore for the component under Samagra Shiksha. The funds will be used for identification and assessment of more CwSN, enrolment drives, orientation of teachers, parents and administrators on inclusive education, and capacity building of special educators.