Description

States’ failure to promote inclusive education (IE) often deprives children with disabilities (CWD) of their right to education. Therefore, this article explains how far states’ obligations of ensuring equality and non-discrimination extend to guaranteeing IE. It also explores how states respond to this obligation. In doing so, this study analyses the nature of states’ obligations to ensure IE, investigates the models of disability: the medical model and the human rights/social model, identifies various challenges different countries face in implementing this education system and recommends how these challenges can be overcome. It shows how the inadequacy of funding, weak infrastructure, insufficient law and policy, and social attitudes towards persons with disabilities (PWD) hinder the implementation of IE across the world generally and in underdeveloped countries particularly. It explains the cases of the latter categories of states, with reference to Bangladesh. This article particularly concentrates on the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disability Act 2013 to explain how Bangladesh complies with its obligation of implementing IE. It also focuses on domestic standards on IE followed in developed countries, as the jurisprudence of these countries provides strong guidelines on IE compared to developing countries. Analysing domestic and international standards on IE, this paper reveals how Bangladesh and similarly situated countries can achieve ‘reasonable accommodation’ and ‘social reforms’ by responding to the barriers to IE. It suggests that a universalist approach adopted through a universal design for learning (UDL) will enable states to address the challenges of guaranteeing IE effectively. This will help achieve IE gradually

Keywords: Inclusive education, CWD, UNCRPD, Bangladesh.