“If he has education, there will not be any problem”: Factors affecting access to education for children with disabilities in Tamil Nadu, India

“We told our daughter to teach for him at night. After coming home from college, in the even- ing hours, she will teach him for one hour even if she has work to complete. . .. She will teach him English, Mathematics and other subjects. . .. when she has more writing work, she cannot teach him regularly.” (Mother of a boy, mobility limitation–“cannot do”) Discussion This qualitative research found that children with disabilities in Tamil Nadu faced multiple barriers to attending school and were often not able to equally partake in learning and social experiences while in school. The study elucidated school “journeys” among children with dis- abilities, including factors affecting decisions on if and where to enrol, how children got to school, their experience while at school, and learning outside the classroom. This study showed that barriers to enrolling and attending school were present at each of the junctures, including inaccessible facilities, lack of resources for inclusive education, discrimination, and financial difficulties. Children, their caregivers, and teachers were often trying their best to overcome these barriers, with several examples of teachers providing ad hoc accommodations, or care- givers spending significant time and money to support their child’s education. Still, for many children, the persistent institutional and societal barriers led to either non-attendance or lim- ited learning and social inclusion. Although the school enrolment of children with disabilities is increasing in India, there is a

wide variation across states and by gender and type of impairment [19]. For schooling deci- sions, this, and studies in other areas of India, have highlighted the tension between caregivers recognising the importance of education for their children, but questioning its value when schools did not adequately support their child’s learning, social development, and in some cases safety needs [24, 29]. Concerns over inadequate care and separation of young children from their families are a particular issue for residential special schools, which have been highlighted in other studies [8, 9]. Special schools are often perceived as having more resources to support the learning needs of children with disabilities [30], however, the few children in this study who did attend a special school had poor experiences of care given to the children, leading to dropouts. As such, relying predominantly on special schools is unlikely to advance access to education for children with disabilities. Special schools also do not fulfil the promise of inclusive education that “children that learn together, learn to live together” and is in viola- tion of the UNCRPD [5, 31]. Still, other studies have highlighted the difficulties of adequately resourcing switches from segregated to mainstream schooling, including the availability of spe- cialist teachers and resources [30]. Yet evidence from predominantly high-income settings indicate that learning outcomes tend to be better for children with disabilities in inclusive set-

tings, and inclusive education provides positive social and educational impacts for children without disabilities [32, 33]. Financial barriers were also a dominant challenge to enrolment and regular attendance in both formal and informal schooling. Although education in government schools is free to all in India, poverty is often still a barrier for children with and without disabilities [8]. However, it has been well documented that children with disabilities and their households in India and other settings are more likely to be living in poverty [5, 34]. They also frequently face addi- tional direct or opportunity costs, including attending school [35]. For example, a study in the Philippines found raising a child with a disability required 40–80% more expenditures and households with children with disabilities spent double on education as households without children with disabilities [36]. A common financial barrier to schooling was transport cost in PLOS ONE Access to education for children with disabilities PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290016 August 16, 2023 13 / 19