The Scope of Disability: The Influences behind Indian Special Needs
Education Policy Approaches

Yehiell Shah

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.059

Title: The Scope of Disability: The Influences behind Indian Special Needs Education Policy Approaches
Authors: Yehiell Shah
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 10 Issue: 10 Publication Date: October 2025 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.059
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Yehiell Shah Student, Independent, Mumbai, India
MLA 8 Shah, Yehiell. "The Scope of Disability: The Influences behind Indian Special Needs Education Policy Approaches." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 10, no. 10, Oct. 2025, pp. 5452-5473, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.059. Accessed Oct. 2025. APA 6 Shah, Y. (2025, October). The Scope of Disability: The Influences behind Indian Special Needs Education Policy Approaches. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(10), 5452-5473. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.059 Chicago Shah, Yehiell. "The Scope of Disability: The Influences behind Indian Special Needs Education Policy Approaches." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 10, no. 10 (October 2025), 5452-5473. Accessed October, 2025. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i10.059.
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ABSTRACT: This paper examines the evolution of India’s Special Needs Education (SNE) policy from 1966 to 2025 through the lens of the medical and social models of disability. It analyses how changing definitions of disability have shaped the aims and implementation of educational reforms, beginning with the welfare-based recommendations of the Kothari Commission and culminating in the rights-based orientation of the National Education Policy (2020) and National Curriculum Framework (2023). Using a hybrid framework of Theory of Change and descriptive-evaluative analysis, the study traces the transition from segregated and integrated education to the current push for inclusive education. It argues that while Indian policy discourse increasingly reflects the social model of disability, implementation remains constrained by structural limitations, outdated accreditation systems, and inadequate teacher preparation. The paper further evaluates how this evolution has affected school-level responsibilities in teacher training, resource allocation, and vocational education. Ultimately, it concludes that the movement towards inclusive education represents both an ideological and practical shift—one that demands renewed institutional accountability and systemic adaptation beyond mere policy reform.

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