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

this study and in other studies, particularly for children with mobility limitations or who required supervision to get to school [4, 37, 38]. Further, caregivers often experience high opportunity costs to support their child’s education, taking significant amounts of time to bring their child to and from school, or even to assist them throughout the day due to the lack of accessible facilities and in-school support [29, 39]. Balancing these costs with the need to earn an income could lead to frequent absences or even drop-outs from schools, particularly in poorer families. Social protection and other programmes may need to consider strategies to cover the direct and indirect costs children with disabilities face in attending schools. While at school, the lack of accessibility and resources for inclusive education affected learning and social inclusion. Inadequate resources for inclusive education for children with disabilities have been noted in other studies in other areas of India and globally [4, 8]. Studies with teachers in India have identified significant challenges to delivering inclusive education, including the lack of training, large class sizes, increased non-teaching responsibilities and inadequate provision of human and material supports [8]. The lack of inclusive education resources carries implications for children’s learning, as there were several examples of chil- dren not having skills that would be expected for their grade level or being upgraded to higher grades without passing. Therefore, involvement of specialist educators in mainstream schools

would a critical aspect not only to help children with disabilities but to help upskill other teach- ers [19]. In seven instances, children with sensory or intellectual impairments had received qualifica- tions without taking the exams for themselves. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act allows for scribes to support children with disabilities in writing exams under Chapter VII, Section 38(3), but the expectation is that the child is still supposed to answer the questions for themselves [17]. In this study, children with certain disabilities instead of answering the ques- tions themselves, have used the scribes to answer indicating the lack of appropriate educational provision to support the learning of children. Further research is needed to assess how wide- spread this practice is, as it would have implications on the interpretation of statistics on edu- cational attainment between children with and without disabilities. This study also highlights the need for inclusive education to go beyond the learning process and consider the social inclusion of children with disabilities in schools. While teachers and peers could be important sources of support and motivators for going to school, in this and other studies, there are also frequent instances of discrimination and abuse [9, 10]. Other Indian studies showed that children are often left out from the friendship groups and playing activities, therefore recommending ‘peer sensitization and empathy building’ as an important

aspect of inclusive education [19]. Surveys on teacher attitudes in India have indicated a posi- tive shift in teachers’ attitudes toward children with disabilities and their right to an education in recent years, although teachers also reported feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to teach and support children with disabilities [2, 8, 40, 41]. These institutional challenges may partially explain why some caregivers reported that they had been asked to stop sending their children to school–particularly children with high support needs or behavioural difficulties–which is nonetheless a violation of children’s rights under Indian law [16, 17]. Even without overt dis- crimination, the lack of accessible facilities and other accommodations could lead to social iso- lation or force children to rely on their peers for often uncomfortable tasks such as using toilets or being carried to and from classrooms. Inaccessible toileting facilities and the lack of support in using these facilities have been highlighted in other studies as a barrier to education for chil- dren with disabilities [42, 43]. It is also a particular concern for girls with disabilities as they enter menarche if they cannot manage their menstruation according to social norms [44, 45]. There are several important strengths and limitations to this study that should be taken into account when interpreting the study findings. One limitation was that teachers could not be PLOS ONE Access to education for children with disabilities PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290016 August 16, 2023 14 / 19