Project Inclusion, a key initiative of The Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) has implemented teacher training and development in collaboration with the SBI Foundation. The teacher training project – aligned with the NEP’s focus on inclusive education, provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016 and India’s 2030 SDG4 goals – set out to train teachers and special educators in schools through capacity building, access to technology, expertise and support systems. ‘Project Inclusion’ has successfully trained 3,60,000 teachers pan India and now will be working with 1,254 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across all 36 Indian states and Union Territories, in order to create an environment for children with diverse learning needs to study and learn in regular classrooms.
The implementation was celebrated through an event attended by Nidhi Pandey, IIS, Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan; Kesang Yangzom Sherpa, IRS, Member Secretary, NCTE, Ministry of Education, Government of India; Sudesh Mukhopadhyay Ex-RCI Chairman; Radhika Purohit, Integrated Learning Mission, SBI Foundation; Sanjay Tripathi, Director International Development and Monitoring and Evaluation, Australian Council for Educational Research and Simmi Mahajan, Chief Programme Officer, Project Inclusion, Sri Aurobindo Society.
Major barriers in creating an inclusive education ecosystem in schools include lack of awareness and identification of neurodiverse students, training and professional development of teachers to engage such students and the lack of technological infrastructure. Over two days (26 and 27 September 2024), senior policymakers, education leaders and education experts from NCERT, CBSE, NCTE, RCI, KVS, IGNOU, NIEPA, Department of Education (CIE), Delhi University, National Trust for the Handicapped, TISS, ACER, LADY IRWIN DU College, Gateway School Mumbai, Piramal Foundation, Shruti Foundation, AWES and Army Institute of Education (Greater Noida), committed to advancing inclusive education in India deliberated on ways to make Indian schools better equipped to support the learning needs of neurodiverse students. Participants shared insights, strategies and possible solutions across developing curriculum framework, evaluating teacher competencies, teacher training and capacity building, global best practices, role of Artificial Intelligence and Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the need for dedicated regulatory bodies for regular and special educators.
The event acknowledged key stakeholders and participants who contributed to the success of the project and felicitated principals, teachers and officials who have undergone the necessary technical and behavioural change training and are remediating students in the classroom with diverse learning needs.
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