In a diverse nation like India, development in terms of equity and inclusion is a necessity. With 1.4 billion people of different ethnicities, languages, and cultures, it becomes necessary to ensure that students feel seen and heard in the classroom.

Recently, there have been problems in which students from marginalised communities and weaker sections and those with disabilities faced difficulties in their education. With the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasising inclusivity, multilingualism, and cultural sensitivity, an inclusive classroom will accommodate differences, leverage them as strengths, and foster a more empathetic learning environment. The NEP’s focus on equity can help reduce drop-out rates, increase academic engagement, and prepare students to thrive in a multicultural society.

Strategies

• A diverse representation in textbooks and learning material will help reflect India’s cultural and linguistic heritage and ensure that all students see themselves in the curriculum. This means including regional authors, tribal histories, and stories that challenge stereotypes.
• Universal Design Learning (UDL)is a teaching method that uses a diverse set of learning styles. Adopting this will help ensure the use of digital tools for students with disability, tailor multilingual regional needs, and integrate community-led workshops in teaching the local knowledge system.
• Aculturally responsive pedagogy can be adopted by teachers. For instance, addressing regional environmental issues in Geography or exploring the contribution of marginalised groups in History.
• A classroom environment espousing pillars of anti-bias and critical thinking will encourage discussion that challenges stereotypes and biases related to caste, creed, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, and other demographic fault lines.
• Using inclusive assessments will also help capture the abilities of diverse learners. This can be done by incorporating them into projects, presentations, portfolios, and innovative evaluation strategies.
• Empowering educators through training sessions to develop and enhance cultural competencies, diversity sensitisation, and the targeting of unconscious bias will improve classroom dynamics.
• Further, adopting practices such as collaborative and peer learning, indigenous inclusion, and utilisation of advanced technologies for accessibility can empower students and boost inclusion and equity.

All this requires the participation of the government to offer guiding principles for equality in education, improve access to and quality or education and increase investments in teacher training. Combining all this with local initiatives like the Vidyanjali volunteer programme can help connect communities with schools. This will put India on the path to embracing diversity, inclusion and equity and creating a classroom environment where every student is empowered to learn and grow.

The writer is Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour, Jaipuria Institute of Management.

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