Lok Sabha Question No. 1252 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-08
Subject: Education for Children with Special Needs (CwSN)
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Y S Avinash Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1252

ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025

Education for Children with Special Needs (CwSN)

## 1252. Shri Y S Avinash Reddy:

## Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of specific initiatives implemented by the Government to support education of Children with Special Needs (CwSN) in the country;
- (b) the number of Government schools that have implemented special education programmes along with the total number of CwSN enrolled in these schools across the country State/UT wise;
- (c) the details of training and resources provided to the teachers and staff in the said schools to support CwSN; and
- (d) whether any additional measures are taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to take to enhance the inclusion and quality of education for CwSN in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (d):  The  Government  is  fully  committed  to  ensuring  that  Children  with  Special  Needs (CwSN), as mentioned in Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, have access to quality and inclusive education. Education being in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, both the Central and State/UT Governments play an important role in this endeavor. Under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is in alignment with the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, there is a dedicated Inclusive Education (IE) component for CwSN. Financial assistance is provided for the following interventions namely,

-  Identification and assessment camps,
-  Provision of aids, appliances, and assistive devices,
-  Transportation, scribe and escort allowance,
-  Braille and large-print books,
-  Stipends for girls with special needs,
-  Sports & Exposure visits for CwSN
-  Teaching-learning materials/ Resource Package etc.
-  Training and capacity building of special educators and general teachers.
-  Resource support towards the salary of special educators.

A statement  showing  State/UT-wise  government  and  government-aided  schools  and enrolment of CwSN in these schools as per UDISE+ 2024-25, is at Annexure .

The Government is firmly committed to strengthening inclusive education and continues to prioritise the welfare of CwSN through a wide range of targeted interventions, policy measures, and capacity-building initiatives.

Through Samagra Shiksha, continuous professional development programs are conducted for teachers and educators as a part of in-service training and awareness and sensitization programs for head teachers, parents on inclusive education. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)  has  developed  online teacher  training  modules  under  NISHTHA  for Elementary, Secondary and Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) levels equipping general teachers to address diverse learning needs of CwSN.

Further, a five-day capacity building programme, developed by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), for Training of Trainers to deliver inclusive education was organized by NCERTNISHTHA in 2023-24, to sensitize and train teachers and other functionaries of inclusive schools to address the learning needs of CwSN. An amount of Rs. 23.42 crore has been approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) under Samagra Shiksha for FY 2025-26 to various States/UTs for the capacity-building programme targeting 93,345 general teachers. Additionally, in-service crossdisability training to special educators and block resource persons for CwSN is also provided.

CBSE has also promoted inclusive teaching through capacity-building programs, manuals, and a dedicated Handbook of Inclusive Education, offering guidance on curriculum adaptation, teaching strategies and alternative assessments for CwSN.

Further, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), an autonomous body under DoSEL, has integrated two dedicated credits on inclusive education for CwSN within the FourYear Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) for pre-service teacher education. This is aimed at ensuring inclusion, equal participation of CwSN in regular schools, and equipping future teachers to adapt teaching-learning processes to address varied learning needs, including those related to learning disabilities.

With  a  view  to  monitor  CwSN  and  facilitate  early  screening  and  intervention,  the Government through NCERT has developed 'PRASHAST' (Pre-Assessment Holistic Screening Tool); a mobile app to digitally screen students for possible disabilities at school level.

A  dedicated  channel  for  the  hearing  impaired  has  been  launched  under  PM  e-Vidya initiative on 6 th  December, 2024. The PM e-Vidya 24*7 DTH Channel No.31 telecasts learning content  in  Indian  Sign  Language  (ISL)  for  the  benefit  of  the  hearing  impaired.  Currently,  the channel  telecasts  NCERT  school  curriculum  (Classes  1-5,  6  &7),  concept  videos,  recreational content, live sessions with Experts, Teachers, Special Educators, Counsellors, Physiotherapists and Clinical Psychologists on inclusive pedagogy, health and well-being of CwSN, yoga and sports event such as the Khelo India Para games, basic courses on ISL for first responders and general population, series on Deaf achievers etc.

Government has notified the Accessibility Code for Educational Institutions on January 10th, 2024 and the same has been notified in the Rules of RPwD Act 2016 on 20th June, 2024. The Code examines the physical barriers and information & communication barriers of access to school facilities for CwSN.

NCERT conducts a live interaction series, titled, 'Teaching Learning Interventions for Inclusive  Classrooms'. NCERT textbooks  have  been  converted  into  ISL  related  to  curricular content for classes I to VII, glossary words in psychology, history, geography, urdu, economics have been produced and are being continually disseminated through DIKSHA portal and PM eVidya DTH TV Channels, on regular basis to ensure coherent access of these e-Contents. A 10,500 words ISL dictionary uploaded on DIKSHA in collaboration with ISLRTC.

In  addition,  CBSE  being  sensitive  to  the  needs  of  disabled  students  provides  several exemptions/concessions to CWSN as defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

NIOS  is  the  first  board  in  the  country  to  offer  Indian  Sign  Language  (ISL)  as  a  first language  subject  for  deaf  learners,  enabling  easier  knowledge  acquisition  and  comprehension through the use of sign language. To further expand educational opportunities for persons with disabilities, a Tripartite MoU was executed between NIOS, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), and NCERT in June 2025 to provide educational opportunities to  divyangjans  through  NIOS  programmes  (Open  Basic  Education,  Academic  &  Vocational) especially to those unable to access formal schooling. Under the MoU, 308 NGOs/Special Schools will be accredited as NIOS study centres to conduct admissions and examinations for Divyangjan learners as per NIOS norms. Additionally, NIOS signed an MoU with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) in July 2023 to share expertise and resources for the standardization of ISL and the development of high-quality ISL educational modules, especially in STEM subjects, to improve learning outcomes for deaf children.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (A)  TO  (D)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1252 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI Y S AVINASH  REDDY,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'EDUCATION  FOR  CHILDREN  WITH SPECIAL NEEDS (CwSN)'

State/UT-wise government and government-aided schools and enrolment of CwSN in these schools as per UDISE+ 2024-25

| S. No.   | States/UTs                         |   No. of Schools |   CwSN Enrolment |
|----------|------------------------------------|------------------|------------------|
|          | India                              |          1092671 |          1905946 |
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |              337 |              719 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                     |            45724 |            74427 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                  |             2630 |             2702 |
| 4        | Assam                              |            46328 |            52565 |
| 5        | Bihar                              |            77032 |           172486 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                         |              125 |             3390 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                       |            49240 |            68307 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |              369 |             1162 |
| 9        | Delhi                              |             2919 |            31143 |
| 10       | Goa                                |             1338 |             4365 |
| 11       | Gujarat                            |            40160 |            55058 |
| 12       | Haryana                            |            14342 |            18251 |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh                   |            14725 |             5622 |
| 14       | Jammu &Kashmir                     |            18786 |            17242 |
| 15       | Jharkhand                          |            36943 |            45021 |
| 16       | Karnataka                          |            55749 |            71229 |
| 17       | Kerala                             |            11972 |           108343 |
| 18       | Ladakh                             |              850 |              517 |
| 19       | Lakshadweep                        |               36 |              190 |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh                     |            92800 |           133704 |
| 21       | Maharashtra                        |            89290 |           205410 |
| 22       | Manipur                            |             3537 |             3944 |
| 23       | Meghalaya                          |            11961 |             2505 |
| 24       | Mizoram                            |             2849 |             3236 |
| 25       | Nagaland                           |             1936 |              902 |
| 26       | Odisha                             |            54493 |            85101 |
| 27       | Puducherry                         |              452 |             1022 |
| 28       | Punjab                             |            19680 |            49569 |
| 29       | Rajasthan                          |            70155 |            58385 |
| 30       | Sikkim                             |              873 |              936 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu                         |            45880 |           128507 |
| 32       | Telangana                          |            30636 |            56337 |
| 33       | Tripura                            |             4229 |             3122 |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh                      |           145434 |           291645 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand                        |            16633 |             3635 |
| 36       | West Bengal                        |            82228 |           145247 |