Seeking Pollyanna in our education system

Ms Elle is all set to enter the hallowed portals of The Big School. The key question for us is "Which one should she go to?" Early on, one of my main criteria for shortlisting a school for Princess was that it should be one where Angel could also go.

As someone who has written on education for many years, especially on the changing landscape of education and schooling across the country, I was somewhat hopeful that more educational institutions in India might have made progress on the inclusion front.

And recently, I came across this interesting article in the Hindustan Times which got my hopes up even more. This story is about institutes that provide a welcome alternative to conventional schools. These are just the kind of schools where Angel can truly learn and any one of them schools would be perfect for her, I thought.

Unfortunately, what followed is not what I hoped would happen. I chose two city schools from the ones listed in the story and called them only to be told that they don't take children with special needs because they are not equipped to address their needs. It would be an understatement to say I was disappointed with the response. Dismayed is more like it.

As everyone living in Mumbai knows, this city has a dearth of quality schools because of which even average schools have a long list of applicants. I'm pretty much sure that the situation is no different in other parts of the country. It's no surprise then that many schools, especially those that are considered top schools, shun children with special needs.

I have not asked any particular school the reasons for rejecting these kids, but after reading up on the subject, here's what I have arrived at - Schools fear that taking in children with special needs will put additional strain on their already overstretched staff and resources. They also fear that when these students get to the point of appearing for a public examination, they might not succeed impacting the overall performance (and therefore image) of the school.

Ironically, much of the research on inclusion (see here) has found out that having an equal opportunities policy has a positive impact on the school and the community. Special needs students benefit from being considered as equal members of a community and other students benefit by learning to be empathetic. Fr Agnel School, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, is among the few schools here that understand this, as indicated in this story in the Hindustan Times.

I've would like to make a concerted effort to find good regular schools in India that even children with special needs can aspire to go to. And I hope to list them here as and when I get any information.

Here are a couple to start with:
Billabong High International Schools, which has an explicit inclusion policy.
Fr Agnel School, Vashi, Navi Mumbai

If you know of any inclusive schools, please do let me know and I'll add them to the list. My goal is to have a comprehensive list of such schools from across the country. After all, our kids deserve quality education too.

Thanks for reading,
JD