Education ministry calls for systemic approach to inclusive education

Union education officials emphasize institutional support for children with special needs, launching a national training program to enhance inclusive education.

Updated on: Jan 24, 2026, 07:05:33 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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New Delhi: Emphasising systemic responsibility over reliance on civil society and parents for supporting children with special needs (CwSN), Union education ministry officials on Friday called for strengthening institutional mechanisms and announced a five-day, eight-module national training programme for general teachers, urging states to nominate master trainers to scale up inclusive education nationwide.

Union education ministry officials on Friday called for strengthening institutional mechanisms

Addressing the Inclusive Education Summit in New Delhi, Ira Singhal, deputy secretary of department of school education and literacy (DoSEL), said the summit aimed to bring together government, civil society and parents to ensure that every child is reached, supported and included.

“If we do our job well, others will not need to step in,”she said, underlining the government’s commitment to building a strong and inclusive education system.

The three-day long summit organised by the education ministry, concluded on Friday.

Singhal said the first day focused on assistive technologies, with presentations by AIIMS, ICMR, NCERT, IIT Delhi and several startups, showcasing innovations in devices and learning tools to support children with special needs. “Participants were encouraged to adopt and scale these solutions,” she said.

During the inauguration, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stressed that inclusive education reflects a collective national resolve to ensure dignity, equal opportunity and a self-reliant future for every child. He called for screening and identifying 25 crore children, supporting their dignified participation in society, and using technology to enhance their abilities.

On the second day, the ministry presented updates on the Pre-Assessment Holistic Screening Tool (PRASHAST) app which is aimed at easing data entry and improving implementation at the field level.

“The platform-based training for teachers on inclusive education would begin by end-March, followed by structured module-based training,” Singhal said while

announcing a five-day, eight-module national training programme for general teachers, urging states to nominate master trainers to strengthen inclusive education across the country.

The third-day of summit was focused on government policies and initiatives for inclusive education. Various states shared

best practices for inclusive education, including Andhra Pradesh’s autism centres, with 125 centres planned, and initiatives by Haryana and West Bengal. The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) outlined steps to expand special educator training and professional courses.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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