Parental Perceptions about the Recommendations of NEP 2020 on Inclusion of Differently Abled Students at Secondary School

Abstract

The present research attempted to study the perception of the parents regarding the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 on inclusion of the differently abled students at the secondary school level. In particular, the study was meant to assess the magnitude of parental satisfaction with such recommendations, and to explore the parental suggestions on these recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of inclusive education for the differently abled students at the secondary schools. It employed the descriptive survey method with a qualitative approach. The study population was the parents of differently abled students, who were enrolled in the secondary schools of Nadia district that were aided/sponsored by the government of West Bengal, India. The number of participants who were selected was 33 parents through the purposive sampling technique. The collection of data was conducted using structured interview schedule in relation to sixteen key recommendations of NEP 2020 in relation to inclusion of differently abled students at the school level. The responses of the parents were categorized as: satisfied, confused, not satisfied and need modification. Besides that, an overall satisfaction with a rating scale of 10 points was also employed. Data analysis was also performed in the frequency and percent format of data with the thematic analysis of the suggestions given by parents. The results indicated that the majority of the parents expressed positive perceptions toward the recommendations, with a high level of satisfaction for provisions such as home-based care, flexible curriculum, access without barriers, and teacher training. However, comparatively lower satisfaction was observed regarding resource centres, assistive technologies, financial support, and recruitment of special educators. Parents demonstrated a moderate level of satisfaction, indicating partial confidence in the adequacy of the overall sixteen recommendations for inclusion of differently abled students at the secondary schools. Parents’ suggestions for modifications of these sixteen recommendations of NEP 2020 highlighted the need for equity-based opportunities, disability-specific financial support, set-up of school-level resource centres, access to assistive technologies, and accessible learning resources such as learning materials in Braille and sign language-based resources. They also underlined the need for trained teachers, alternative methods of assessment, and recruitment of differently abled teachers as role models.