Are children with special needs enrolled in schools in India? (Data Point: UDISE 2025-26)
UDISE 2025–26 data suggest a large gap between school records and estimated disability prevalence among children, raising questions on access, reporting, and inclusion in Indian schools.
- UDISE is used to track school enrolment, but disability reporting can miss children if schools use outdated categories or incomplete identification.
- The Act is relevant because disability classification in school systems should align with the current legal framework for recognised disabilities.
- Girls form a smaller share of enrolled children with special needs than boys, indicating a gendered disadvantage in disability and education.
What happened
UDISE 2025–26 reporting has revived a basic policy question: are children with special needs actually being enrolled in schools at the scale expected from disability prevalence in the population? The data reported in the feature suggest a large gap between estimated need and recorded school enrolment, with possible undercounting in school reporting systems.
Background and earlier position
UPSC can frame inclusive education as a social-justice and governance issue: whether school systems are identifying, enrolling, retaining, and accurately recording children with special needs, and whether the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 is reflected in school-level data systems.
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