Here is a real situation: a Maths or Computer Science teacher standing in front of a 100 hearing-challenged students whose can communicate only through sign language. The teacher does not know sign language and has no interpreter or any accessible teaching-learning material. This has been happening for years in many schools and universities. Along with the frustration of the student, take a moment to think of the teacher who wants to teach but is unequipped, unsupported, and left to face the impossible.
Inclusion is not constructed by policies. It is constructed each morning within classrooms, by teachers who create space for each child, foster potential, and maintain the tenuous promise of equal education. But in the national disability inclusion conversation, teachers are invisible.
While most of the spotlight shines upon students with disabilities and their right to education, we overlook the teachers who frequently, without training, equipment, or assistance, are expected to be inclusive. I once knew a primary school teacher who had her first student with cerebral palsy. Her tone was filled with eagerness and trepidation: "I want to serve every child, but I have no idea where to start." That reluctance is not lack of willingness, but of preparation.
Challenges
Throughout India, teachers walk into classrooms with students of varying abilities, with minimal or no introduction to inclusive practices. They struggle with lesson plans, attempt makeshift modifications, or go home after school to provide additional assistance. Their adaptability is amazing, but it does not equate to preparedness. Devotion cannot substitute training.
When teachers are left on their own, inclusion becomes a heavy load to bear. The system asks them to do the impossible -- to serve the needs of every child without preparing them for it. The consequence is frustration, stress, and even quiet despair.
Yet, I have witnessed how rapidly this can be reversed when teachers are empowered. With proper mentorship, hands-on training, and resources, teachers do not merely cope but thrive. Classrooms become spaces where every child, no matter what their ability, feels at home.
There are examples we can learn from and replicate. Perkins collaborates with local governments and partners to create model programmes that demonstrate best practices, empowering teachers and families with training and resources, and advocating for systemic changes to make education truly accessible and equitable for all children. Similarly, Dlearners, a Chennai-based special education school, has developed an app that primarily serves parents to facilitate early identification and remediation for dyslexic learners. This indirectly empowers educators by providing them with a foundational understanding of a student's learning challenges and suggested interventions.
If India truly wants inclusive education, we must begin by including teachers in that vision. They deserve more than applause; they deserve preparation, recognition, and partnership, for, when teachers are supported, every child wins.
The writer is Founder and Managing Trustee, EnAble India.