Even though there are much talk on universalisation of elementary education, there is no focus prioritised yet on inclusive education in our country. ‘Education for All’ still remains a dream, opined activists, educationists, teachers and representatives from NGOs during a conference on inclusive education held on the eve of Global Action Week here.
The National Coalition for Education in collaboration with the Sustainability Foundation organised the event where more than 25 experts from NGOs, research institutions, school teachers attended and lamented on the lopsided development of inclusive education and RTE in the State.
Various issues such as the need of training for teacher on special needs and Government-NGO coordination were discussed. The speakers told about the priorities for the State Government to actualize My Education-My Right theme. They also stressed on adequate budgetary allocation.
"We will collate the feedbacks of the experts and submit a charter of demand to the State Government for our concerns to be heard," said Naba Kishor Pujari, cofounder of Sustainability Foundation.
While Dr Subhashree Das, trustee of the foundation, moderated the conference, Prof Dr Prashant Acharya thanked participants for their valuable feedback on the current situation of the State on inclusive education. Santosh Patra from Oxfam India, Sudatta Khuntia from ActionAid, Gouranga Mohapatra, Sandhya Jena, Principal, BJEM School, representatives from World Vision India, Odisha RTE Forum were present, among others.
