Published: 08:02 AM, 08 June 2026
Inclusive and Equitable Education: Are Children With Disabilities Truly Included?
Sharifa Haque
Visiting schools is a routine part of a Deputy Commissioner's responsibilities. A recent tour of several primary schools in the district has revealed a reality that falls far short of the ideals that inclusive education aspires to embody. Under the Third and Fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-3 and PEDP-4), many schools have received new buildings and well-appointed classrooms. Yet not one of these structures has been designed with any provision for children with special needs. The implicit assumption appears to be that the doors of these institutions were never meant for them. This reality demands serious reflection — for education can only be truly universal when its very walls and corridors are prepared to welcome every child. A nation's progress is not measured solely by its GDP, its investment indices, or its physical infrastructure. A nation advances when its most vulnerable child is afforded equal opportunity and equal rights — when a child with a disability can push open the school door without hesitation or shame. Measured by this standard, we still have a very long road ahead.
Over the past decade, Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in primary education: enrolment rates have risen, gender parity has been achieved, and illiteracy has declined. Yet, notwithstanding these advances, the National Survey of Persons with Disabilities (NSPD) 2021 reveals that only 65 percent of children with disabilities between the ages of five and seventeen attend primary school — meaning that more than one in three such children remains entirely outside the education system. A separate UNICEF survey indicates that more than half of all children with disabilities in Bangladesh do not attend school at all. Our Constitution recognizes education as a fundamental right; Bangladesh is also a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And yet the school door remains firmly shut for a great many children with disabilities — blocked by infrastructural deficiencies and the weight of deep-rooted social prejudice. Broken ramps, untrained teachers, and the stigma of being labeled "incapable" continue to make it extraordinarily difficult for children with
disabilities to gain and retain a place in the classroom.
One parent, seeking to enroll a child in a local primary school, recounted how the head teacher had actively discouraged the admission of the child, who has cerebral palsy. With palpable anguish, the parent asked: if a child learns from earliest childhood that society does not want them, how can that child ever develop in a healthy and wholesome manner?
Inclusive education is far more easily proclaimed than practiced. Three distinct categories of barriers conspire to keep children with disabilities out of the classroom: structural, institutional, and attitudinal.
Structural Barriers
In many instances, the school itself is simply not equipped. The vast majority of primary school buildings lack wheelchair ramps. Braille textbooks, hearing aids, and teachers proficient in sign language are nearly impossible to find for children who are blind or deaf. Add to this the problem of severely overcrowded classrooms — where sixty to seventy pupils are taught by a single teacher — and the prospect of giving individual attention to a child with a disability becomes virtually impossible. A new school building, if it is not child-friendly in its design and accessibility, renders the very concept of "inclusion" meaningless.
Institutional Barriers
Policy exists, but implementation lags far behind. The National Education Policy 2010 explicitly endorses inclusive education, and organizations such as BRAC and the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) are running pilot programs. However, budgetary allocations for this sector within the education budget remain woefully inadequate, and oversight mechanisms are weak. The result is that while a policy framework stands on paper, the absence of adequate funding, training, and public awareness has created a chasm between stated intent and practical reality.
Attitudinal Barriers: The Persistence of Prejudice
Perhaps the most formidable obstacle lies within our own society. Children with disabilities are still widely regarded as "incapable" or as objects of charity. This attitude does not merely exclude such children from the classroom — it systematically destroys their self-confidence. Until society comes to understand that disability is not incapacity but simply difference, meaningful change will remain elusive.
These three barriers are deeply interconnected. Nevertheless, the overall picture is not one of unrelieved despair. There are encouraging initiatives, and there are genuine successes. A government primary school in Savar introduced a resource room equipped with Braille books, a speech therapist, and a sign language instructor. Within a single year, student attendance doubled. The teachers at that school hold a conviction worth repeating: when the school is ready, children succeed.
Beyond the individual school, the non-governmental sector is charting a path forward. BRAC's Inclusive Education Programme delivers adaptive learning materials to classrooms serving thousands of marginalized and disadvantaged children, while simultaneously providing teachers with specialized training.
The Centre for Disability in Development (CDD), through a community-based model, is re-engaging school-age children who have dropped out, bringing them back into education at the grassroots level. These initiatives, however modest in scale,
demonstrate that inclusion is not an unattainable ideal — it is entirely achievable, given political will and thoughtful planning. To bring children with disabilities into the mainstream of education, several urgent measures must now be taken. First, teachers must be equipped. Every primary school teacher should be required to undergo mandatory training in inclusive education, enabling them to respond effectively to the diverse needs of their pupils. Second, school infrastructure must be made child-friendly. All new school buildings should incorporate ramps, accessible toilets, and resource rooms at the design stage. Existing buildings must be retrofitted without delay.
Third, the education budget must reflect these priorities. A dedicated allocation for students with disabilities should be included in the national education budget. Assistive devices — wheelchairs, Braille books, hearing aids — should be supplied through the Department of Social Services.
Fourth, interventions must be grounded in evidence. Through community outreach, a comprehensive register of school-age children with disabilities should be compiled at the union level, so that no child falls through the cracks. The number and quality of SWID (Society for the Welfare of the Intellectually Disabled) schools must also be expanded. Above all, the task of changing minds is paramount. Community-level awareness campaigns must challenge and dismantle misconceptions. Society must be helped to understand that a child with a disability is not a burden — but a reservoir of potential. Inclusive education is not an act of charity; it is the fulfillment of a fundamental right. For as long as even a single child is excluded from the classroom on account of a physical or intellectual difference, the promise of "Education for All" remains unmet. Given the right opportunities and the right safeguards, children with disabilities can become assets to this nation. Structures must change, institutional commitment must be demonstrated, and above all, our collective attitudes must be transformed. Only then will "Education for All" cease to be a slogan and become a living reality.
Sharifa Haque is Deputy Commissioner of Tangail.
