Education is a subject under the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the majority of schools are under the administrative control of the respective state governments and Union Territory (UT) administrations. The Department of School Education & Literacy is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha to support States and UTs in providing equitable and inclusive quality education from pre-primary to Class XII.

Under the Samagra Shiksha framework, recruitment and other service matters relating to teachers, including Special Educators, fall within the domain of the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. The framework also provides for Special Educators to be deployed at the block or cluster level, as per requirement, and to work in an itinerant mode, covering a group of schools where Children with Special Needs (CwSN) are enrolled, so that their educational needs are adequately addressed.

Under Samagra Shiksha and PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India), financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for strengthening school education, including maintaining appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTRs) and supporting inclusive education. This includes provision for two Resource Persons for CwSN at each Block Resource Centre (BRC).

The Department has notified the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) for Special Educators in general schools for CwSN vide Notification No. S.O. 4586(E) dated 21.09.2022, published on 29.09.2022, as follows:

As per UDISE+ 2025–26, 1.17 lakh schools have a dedicated Special Educator. A statement indicating the State/UT-wise details of enrolment of CwSN and the number of schools having a dedicated Special Educator, as per UDISE+ 2025–26, is placed at Annexure.

The Department also supports capacity building of teachers and special educators through continuous professional development, in-service training, and awareness and sensitization programmes on inclusive education. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed online teacher training modules under National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) for the Elementary, Secondary and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) stages, equipping general teachers to address the diverse learning needs of CwSN. NCERT and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have also developed handbooks on Inclusive Education to provide practical guidance to teachers for addressing the diverse needs of children in inclusive classrooms.

Further, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has integrated two dedicated credits on Inclusive Education for CwSN in the Four-Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) for pre-service teacher education. This is aimed at equipping prospective teachers with the knowledge and skills required to ensure inclusion and meaningful participation of CwSN in regular schools and to adapt teaching-learning processes to address diverse learning needs, including those associated with learning disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), a statutory body of the Government of India responsible for regulating and monitoring the training of rehabilitation professionals and personnel, is mandated to develop human resources in 16 categories of rehabilitation professionals/personnel. RCI has granted approval to 1,081 institutions/universities to offer courses in disability rehabilitation and special education, thereby contributing to the availability of qualified human resources, including Special Educators.

*****

 

Annexure

 

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF THE UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2770 ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 ASKED BY SHRI RAJINDER GUPTA, HON’BLE MP REGARDING ‘AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL EDUCATORS IN SCHOOLS’.

State/UT-wise details of enrolment of CwSN and the number of schools having a dedicated Special Educator

 

State/UT	Total CwSN Enrolment for all management	NumbeR of Schools having Dedicated Special Educator
India	2211226	116695
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	872	21
Andhra Pradesh	92055	7094
Arunachal Pradesh	3174	202
Assam	57367	2038
Bihar	179917	10931
Chandigarh	3594	89
Chhattisgarh	81776	2527
DNH&DD	1435	8
Delhi	40829	4160
Goa	4719	133
Gujarat	60010	2161
Haryana	22241	1455
Himachal Pradesh	6369	813
Jammu & Kashmir	20916	1772
Jharkhand	50440	2092
Karnataka	83204	10874
Kerala	116354	3385
Ladakh	638	24
Lakshadweep	211	9
Madhya Pradesh	158599	9360
Maharashtra	253792	5058
Manipur	4358	440
Meghalaya	4140	144
Mizoram	3999	58
Nagaland	1852	110
Odisha	94031	7040
Puducherry	1159	93
Punjab	51664	2206
Rajasthan	73241	8166
Sikkim	1009	63
Tamil Nadu	129452	3833
Telangana	74743	2826
Tripura	3276	329
Uttar Pradesh	372739	23489
Uttarakhand	5797	1586
West Bengal	151254	2106

As per UDISE+2025-26

This information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Shri Jayant Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

*****

RRTN

(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2298337) आगंतुक पटल : 164