articles on inclusive education in india

Here are four interventions that can make education in India more accessible and inclusive

India is the second largest market for online education after the US. Image:  Unsplash.

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• Learning outcomes among school children in India show significant scope for improvement.
• The Education 4.0 India report identifies key learning gaps within education and proposes several solutions.
• A multi-stakeholder approach can bridge these gaps with a transformative framework.

The potential of digital interventions in the field of education in India is immense: the market for online education has grown four times since 2019 to $3 billion . A KPMG assessment showed that India is the second largest market for online education after the US. With conducive policies and initiatives of the Government of India, such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and over 5000 EdTech start-ups across the learning lifecycle , the current education environment is potent for digital transformation.

Alongside this, learning outcomes among schoolchildren show significant scope for improvement. The National Achievement Survey (NAS) of 2021 reported an average learning level of 59% in grade 3, 49% in grade 5, 42% in grade 8 and 36% in grade 10. This indicates a decline in learning levels with an increase in grade level and has far-reaching implications for young Indians’ readiness for the 21st-century workplace and India’s preparedness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

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Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the digital divide caused by disparate access to, and affordability of, technology infrastructure (such as internet connectivity and electricity) and devices (such as computers and mobile devices). This divide varies across geographies, demographics and communities. Additionally, students with disabilities face unique challenges due to the lack of peer support, lower concentration levels and the need for better parental support.

Enhancing learning and reducing inequities

While recognizing the huge potential of technology for enhancing learning, as well as the need to reduce inequities in educational access for all girls and boys, the Education 4.0 India initiative utilizes digital and other technologies to address learning gaps and make education accessible to all.

A joint effort between the World Economic Forum, UNICEF and YuWaah (Generation Unlimited in India) proposes solutions that align with, and augment and amplify, India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Digital Education Architecture of 2021 .

India’s NEP 2020 aims to improve the delivery of quality education for all learners, including through digital means. From revamping the educational structure to creating a robust digital learning system, the NEP 2020 is aligned with the goals of 21st-century education. It emphasizes the development of the creative potential of each child.

Keys areas that require intervention

The report identifies four focus areas for interventions: foundational numeracy and literacy (FLN), teachers’ capacity building, school-to-work transition and connecting the unconnected. The interventions are categorised under five building blocks, namely: curriculum, content, capacity, community and digital.

1. Foundational literacy and numeracy

For instance, in FLN, a major gap identified is the lack of “byte-sized” content in early learning that can ignite a child’s interest, as well as engage parents who may not be educated.

Storytelling, read-aloud and interactive content, flip books, and the use of digital tools can address these challenges. FLN solutions are centred around the following criteria: the capability of the solution to engage the home environment and the relevant actors (parents, caregivers and community); the adaptability of the solution; whether the solution is multi-modal in nature (hybrid or phygital) so as to reach parents and communities in the remotest and most resource-challenged locations.

2. Teachers’ capacity building

Enhancing teachers’ capacity to deliver education in newer formats is essential, as is their buy-in and involvement in creating and providing tech-enabled curricula. To this end, the report suggests ways to strengthen teachers’ capacity building – for instance, by improving the quality of teachers’ training, linking training with career progression, and involving teachers in designing a holistic teachers’ capacity building programme.

According to our Future of Jobs 2018 report, more than one-half of India’s workforce will need to be re-skilled by 2022 to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

With the world’s largest youth population and more than half of the population of working age, skills development is critical for India to sustain inclusive growth and development.

In late 2018, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with India's oil and skills development minister as well as the head of business consulting company Infosys, launched a Task Force for Closing the Skills Gap in India .

The task force brings together leaders from business, government, civil society and the education and training sectors to help future-proof India’s education and training systems. Find out more about our Closing the Skills Gap 2020 initiative.

3. School-to-work transition

The third priority area, school-to-work transition, focuses on making students job-ready in a rapidly evolving employment landscape. Nearly 85% of Indian schools have yet to implement vocational courses as part of their curriculum. This report suggests interventions using digital and hybrid models to upskill students to find a good fit with available and emerging jobs.

4. Connecting the unconnected

The global pandemic has not only made digital learning central to teaching worldwide, but it has also widened the digital divide, leaving those without devices and internet connections further behind. According to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2020-2021 survey, only around 41.3% of schools have access to computers, and 24.5% had access to the internet in 2020-2021.

For the fourth focus area, connecting the unconnected, this report categorizes schools based on their access to digital infrastructure. It suggests interventions to enable schools at each level to get better connected.

Transforming the education sector

The Education 4.0 India initiative builds on efforts by the central and state governments and leverages their interventions. The interventions recommended by the initiative can create tremendous impact – from making education more accessible and inclusive to reducing dropout rates and improving learning outcomes by using more adaptive learning systems and community engagement.

The report presents a roadmap to enhance India’s school education ecosystem and gives out a call to action to all stakeholders in the edtech space to come together to transform the sector.

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State of the Education Report for India 2023

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) New Delhi Regional Office launched the fifth edition of its annual flagship report,  Seeds of Change - UNESCO 2023 State of the Education Report for India on Education to address Climate Change .

This year’s report delves into the role of education in tackling the increasingly complex and intensifying challenges posed by climate change. India, like many parts of the world, continues to bear witness to the dire consequences of climate change through climate disasters and biodiversity losses. Education’s full potential to shape a generation that understands the gravity of this urgent issue and equip them with the tools to combat it must be realized now.  

The National Education Policy 2020 underscores the importance of making environmental education an integral part of school curricula at all stages. In order to address climate change in India, the Ministry of Education strongly believes in the role that education can play in resolving impacts of climate change. This report by UNESCO is very timely as it comes at a time when India is making significant strides in working on the issue of climate change.

Education is a transformational tool in our fight against climate change – when we know better, we can do better. Educational systems must adapt to equip younger generations with the knowledge, skills and competencies to prepare them for the impacts of climate change. This year’s UNESCO State of the Education Report for India is dedicated to the pivotal role of education in addressing climate change. We can see from the research that India has already taken some significant steps in this direction, and in doing so, is helping to  promote  sustainable and long-term solutions to this global challenge.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) commitment to addressing climate change through school education aligns seamlessly with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NCERT is delighted to know that the UNESCO New Delhi Regional Office has developed this report on the pivotal theme of education to address climate change and I trust this report will be an informative guide for programmes directed towards climate change education.

In 2023, India ranked eighth out of 59 countries and the European Union (collectively accounting for 92% of global greenhouse gas emissions) on climate performance according to the Climate Change Performance Index, rising two spots from the previous year. The country’s new National Curriculum Framework revised in 2023 mentions climate change 52 times. Today, India is a country well-suited for an exploration of climate education innovations, and UNESCO’s report highlights its best practices and future opportunities to do just that. 

UNESCO - has long promoted the mobilization of intersectoral partnerships, political commitments, and youth empowerment as key drivers for fully leveraging education in building a greener and more sustainable future. Its global programme, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), contributes to this end by laying the foundation for global collaboration and policy innovation. Additionally, the Greening Education Partnership (GEP), launched by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2022, provides a practical framework for education stakeholders to take further action and UNESCO serves as the secretariat to the Greening Education Partnership (GEP). 

To date, 80 Member States have joined the Partnership, for which UNESCO serves as the secretariat with strong commitment to green education systems, structured around four pillars of transformative education: 

Greening schools

Greening curriculum

Greening teacher training and education systems’ capacities

Greening communities

The four pillars of the GEP are used as a guide with which the report analyzes India’s state of education to address climate change. The report is a synergy between UNESCO’s globally informed framework and the local expertise cultivated by the research team from the Centre for Environmental Education, India who authored this report. 

The report concludes with ten concrete recommendations for education sector stakeholders, which we hope will facilitate immediate actions to enhance education’s role in addressing climate change. We also hope that the recommendations will inspire stakeholders in the environmental sector to further engage with education in their policy initiatives. 

The ten recommendations are: 

Emphasize the urgent need for collective action to address climate change through education 

Include a climate change education component in all development policies 

Integrate climate change education at all stages of education 

Support educational institutions to be green and climate-ready

Embed climate change perspectives into green skills and vocational education programmes 

Empower teachers with comprehensive climate change education training and resources 

Engage with the youth to build a green future

Incorporate local and traditional knowledge that supports low-carbon lifestyles in climate change education

Promote partnerships to foster innovations in climate change education 

Strengthen and create education-centred portals to provide reliable information on climate change 

The launch event also showcased an engaging exhibition highlighting various initiatives taken to develop education to address climate change in India. 

UNESCO New Delhi Regional Office extends its gratitude to UNICEF India, British Council India, and the Mobius Foundation for their support and cooperation. 

To illustrate the report in an accessible manner, the following audio-visual package is also available free of copyright on  UNESCO New Delhi’s YouTube channel : 

Summary video underlining the recommendations of the report

Short capsules highlighting the key recommendations of the report 

Seeds of Change - 2023 State of the Education report for India on Education to Address Climate Change

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• Region: Asia and the Pacific
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• SDG: SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
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This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals .

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India: Educators receive capacity boost to foster inclusive classrooms, join hands to champion SDG16 with UNODC's RiseUp4Peace

New Delhi, India/31 May 2024: Investing in educators and equipping them with knowledge, tools and skills is crucial for nurturing peaceful and inclusive societies. Empowered teachers create inclusive and open classrooms, which, in turn, enables students to develop critical thinking skills, engage constructively, and advocate for peace, equality, fairness and justice. Capacity building of educators is therefore at the core UNODC’s RiseUp4Peace initiative spearheaded in collaboration with educator partners across India and beyond.

“Such trainings are essential because they bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. They provide us with innovative methods to engage students on complex themes like rule of law and ethical behavior, ensuring they can take their learning forward and touch real lives,” said Swati Bakshi Purkayastha, Founder of the Funlish Language School (West Bengal) and one of the 132 educators from India and beyond who participated in the monthly capacity-boosting dialogue this month.

Led by UNODC youth champions Aarushi Gambhir and Alviya Haider, the discussions emphasized cross-learning and the exchange of innovative ideas for boosting inclusivity, equity and diversity in classrooms and effectively teaching SDG 16-focused themes. They shared impactful strategies for creating learning environments where every student feels valued and respected.

“We often talk about inclusion and diversity but seldom we include people with disabilities like myself into the discussion. With RiseUp4Peace, I am glad to contribute constructively as an equal partner by sensitising educators and students with my lived experiences,” said Alviya.

Inclusion was also at the core of an  engaging web dialogue with the private sector organized by TheCSRUniverse, a media entity, where experts reflected on how companies can support diversity and equity in the classrooms. “As a student with disability, I have experienced first hand the impact discrimination has on a child's mental health. With UNODC, I am committed to use education as a medium to nurture a generation of students who realise every disabled person's dream of a truly inclusive classroom,” said Aarushi.

Focusing on youth vulnerabilities, Samarth Pathak, UNODC’s Communications Officer for South Asia, led a technical session on promoting a whole-school approach towards prevention of drug use and addressing students’ mental well-being, organized by ‘Manodarpan’s Paricharcha’ series--an initiative of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Ministry of Education, Government of India. The dialogue on practical ways to leverage education to enable young people in making healthy and safe life choices, understand risky situations, and develop socio-emotional resilience. "Providing a safe space for open conversation, active listening, and engagement in classrooms is key,” said Samarth.

A group of 120 primary and secondary educators from Delhi’s Salwan Group of Schools were also trained on integrating SDG16 education into their curricula. Participants highlighted drugs, violence and cybercrime as key issues concerning young people, and signaled a unified commitment to integrate education on such themes with a joint declaration to RiseUp4Peace.

Across India, young people are stepping up to advocate for peace and the rule of law, embodying SDG16 principles. By honing essential skills such as creativity, teamwork, leadership, and public speaking, these youth champions are leading by example in their communities. Students from Colombia and India raised peer-to-peer awareness about SDG16 by producing and sharing bookmarks with insightful messages. Music too emerged as a powerful tool, as demonstrated by Nandini, a student from India’s Army Public School Beas who shared a poignant song about peace, equality, and unity. Such collective efforts driven by the global coalition of educators in May 2024 were showcased in a vibrant 250-page e-newsletter.

The collective commitment to SDG16 is paving the way for a future where every student can thrive, feel valued, and become a champion for peace and justice.

Join the RiseUp4Peace initiative:   t.ly/lh9T7

This activity contributes to SDG 4, SDG 16 and SDG 17:  https://sdg-tracker.org/

Copyright © 2024   UNODC, All Rights Reserved, Legal Notice

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Visual Stories

The BJP alone did not muster the votes to form a third single-party government under its leader.

It's also a much smaller majority than was predicted for the NDA by most exit polls, which had largely forecast a huge 350-seat win for the alliance.

More than 643 million people — among nearly a billion eligible voters — headed to the polls over the course of India's massive, seven-phase election . It was conducted over six seeks and was marked by a bitter campaign that played out along religious and sectarian lines. The voting was also held during a scorching heat wave that has been blamed for the deaths of about 80 people across the country, including at least 10 polling officials.

Overall, the NDA alliance appears set to lose more than 60 seats in comparison to its performance in the last general elections five years ago, and the rival INDIA alliance (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), led by the opposition Congress party, looks set to gain more than 100 new seats. That will give INDIA more than 230 seats in total – at a time when it had been all but written off by many political pundits and pollsters.

Still, speaking Tuesday evening at BJP headquarters, Modi remained upbeat about what was, regardless of margins, a victory, calling the results a "victory of the world's biggest democracy" and "a win for the 1.4 billion people of India."

"Every Indian is proud of the country's election process and credibility," declared the incumbent.

But the mood on Tuesday at the Congress party headquarters in Delhi was also celebratory, despite them not winning the election, as leaders declared the performance a sign of the "revitalization" of a party that has ruled India for more than 50 of its 77 years as an independent nation.

"It was a fight to save the constitution," senior Congress figure Rahul Gandhi told reporters Tuesday. "Congress and its alliance partners were not only fighting against the BJP, but also against the government institutions, intelligence agencies, half the judiciary which were captured by PM Modi."

"The people of India have saved the Constitution and democracy," he said in a tweet. "The deprived and poor population of the country stood with India to protect their rights."

The BJP-led alliance suffered major losses in the bellwether states of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to parliament, and Maharashtra, which has 48 seats, when compared to its performance in the last two general elections in 2019 and 2014, when they won record-breaking majorities. 

The Congress-led alliance made major gains in both states, including in the Uttar Pradesh metropolis of Ayodhya, where Modi personally — and controversially — opened a vast new Hindu temple , the Ram Mandir, just months ahead of the election.

"I think the BJP played the Ram Mandir card too early," Dr. Subir Sinha, Director of the South Asia Institute at the University of London, told CBS News, referring to the temple in Ayodhya. Construction of the massive temple, on the site of a razed mosque, has been central to the BJP's Hindu nationalist politics for a long time, in a country deeply divided along religious lines. 

"The BJP had thought it was a vote-getting machine," said Sinha.

The BJP alliance's reduced parliamentary majority may mean that some of Modi's unspecified, "big and tough decisions," which he'd vowed to make in the first 100 days of his third term, "will have to be off the table," Sinha predicted.

"The BJP relied on Modi's popularity to push through a lot of local candidates who were not popular themselves," Dr. Irfan Nooruddin, professor of Indian politics at Georgetown University, told CBS News.

He said the BJP's shrunken majority would make it harder for Modi's government to push through some of its anticipated reform measures and force him to work more flexibly with a new coalition government, "something that Prime Minister Modi was not used to."

Vote counting was expected to conclude Tuesday night and the swearing-in ceremony of the new government was expected on June 10.

• Narendra Modi

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