Inclusive classrooms will help children understand challenges facing country

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday urged schools to reflect how inclusive our leading schools are and what more can be done towards ensuring that every child in the country gets the best education.

Pradhan made the comments in his virtual address during the 82nd Indian Public Schools' Conference (IPSC) Principals' Conclave organised by the Doon School. "National Education Policy (2020) focusses on equitable and inclusive education with special emphasis given on socially and economically disadvantaged groups.

An inclusive classroom benefits everyone from myriad experiences and viewpoints, and understand the various challenges facing this country. "I urge all schools attending the conclave to reflect how inclusive our leading schools are and what more can be done towards ensuring that every child in the country gets the best education," Pradhan said.

The minister stated that a knowledgeable individual is the building block of a good society, a just society, and a progressive society. "The will to learn, apply and pass that knowledge forward has pushed humanity as far as it has, from discovering fire, to farming, to soaring past the skies and floating amongst the stars. It is the duty of every single one of us to do what is best for our children to give them the fundamental right to education, to guide them to their full potential, and thereby make our country and this world a better, more inclusive place," he said. The IPSC, since its inception in 1939, has guided public schools in India in forming traditions that also build character and personality of students engendering a well-rounded education. The annual meet, which started with few residential schools, now has a strength of 81 schools including Sainik Schools and Military Schools.