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Inclusion : Concept and Practice

ii. The National Policy on Education, (NPE) 1986 and its Plan of Action
(POA), 1992
Notes The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 states that children with mild

disabilities should be included in mainstream classrooms, whereas children
with moderate to severe disabilities should be placed in segregated schools.
The NPE brought the fundamental issue of equality, center stage. To reduce
dropout rate, the POA suggests a pragmatic principle for children with
disability who can be educated in a general school should be educated in
a general school only and not in a special school. The NPE, 1986 envisages
measures for integrating the physically and mentally handicapped with the
general community as equal partners, to prepare them for normal growth
and to enable them to face life with confidence.
iii. The RCI Act 1992

The RCI Act provides standards for rehabilitation professionals. It also sets
standards for special education teachers trained to teach children with
different disabilities. The RCI Act is solely concerned with manpower
development for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

iv. The National Trust Act, 1999
The National Trust Act (National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with
Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability), 1999
is a landmark legislation which seeks to protect and promote the rights of
persons who come within the disability sector, and have been even more
marginalised than others. It prime decision is to make a body of persons
for those with disabilities aimed at providing total care and managing the
properties bequeathed by the Trust.
v. National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2006

It was released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in
February 2006. As per the policy, every child should have access to
appropriate pre-school, primary and secondary level of education by
2020.The programme provides children with disabilities, “financial support
for books, school uniforms, transportation, special equipment and aids,”
with the intention of using these aids to include children in mainstream
classrooms. It also emphasises that children upto the age of six years may
be identified at the earliest and necessary interventions be made urgently
so that they are capable of joining inclusive education at the right age.

vi. Right to Education, (RTE) Act 2009
The RTE Act safeguards the rights of the children belonging to the

210 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION