Special needs education in Jammu & Kashmir faces a deepening pipeline crisis.
The children in Jammu and Kashmir will be returning to classrooms very soon
with the start of the new academic session. Even as thousands will enter
schools for the very first time, the official data reveals a deepening crisis that
many fail to stay in the system. While enrolment surges at the foundation
level, the journey for many Children with Special Needs(CWSN) stalls
dramatically by secondary school, with female students consistently
under-represented at every stage, raising serious questions about the future
of special education in the region.
According to the Union Education Ministry’s UDISE+ 2024-25 report, the
Union Territory saw a significant rise in enrollment for CWSN students,
reaching over 20,000 students this year. Yet a clear gender gap persists, with
boys making up nearly 60 per cent of the total and girls just over 40 per cent,
roughly 3:2 across all educational stages.
The disparity in numbers persists as students move further into higher stages
of schooling. The enrollment for special needs students is the strongest at
foundational and preparatory stages. However there is a sharp decline in
middle school and the numbers of students drop further in secondary classes.
The fall off between these stages is particularly acute, with a roughly 43%
decline, steeper than India’s national drop of around 32%.
Despite the improvement in comparison to previous years, the distribution of
children with special needs remains concentrated in the lower grades. Nearly
six out of every ten children with special needs in Jammu and Kashmir are
enrolled only in the early foundational and preparatory stages. A much smaller
portion advances further into middle school.The number of students that
progress to higher education stages are roughly half the number seen in
preparatory classes, pointing to substantial attrition.
The gender gap remains stubbornly persistent year to year as girls
consistently make up about 40–42% of CWSN enrolment across stage.
Additional layers of vulnerability compound the challenges. In a region shaped
by prolonged conflict and socio-cultural norms, safety concerns, includingreliable transport and secure environments, deter families from sending
daughters to school.
Early-stage success in enrollment likely stems from initiatives under Samagra
Shiksha, including regular screening camps, the PRASHAST app for disability
identification, convergence with health departments for certification, and
community outreach by local NGOs. These efforts align with the efforts for
early intervention and NIPUN Bharat mission for foundational literacy and
numeracy and have thus boosted initial stage enrolment.
Yet retention crumbles as students progress into their academic journey. This
pattern implies that long-term efforts have not kept up with improvements in
educational access. Challenges like transportation and accessibility for CWSN
students in mountainous areas, lack of qualified special educators and
inclusive infrastructure in higher education are probably contributing factors to
the sharp drop out rates.
Jammu and Kashmir’s overall CWSN enrolment represents about 0.96% of
India’s total (approximately 2.1 million nationally out of 247 million students),
roughly proportional to its school-age population share.Jammu and Kashmir’s
share of India’s total CWSN enrolment remains broadly proportional to its
population, but the stage-wise pattern underscores the need to shift focus
from enrolment to completion.
For policymakers, the message is clear: bringing children with special needs
into classrooms is only the first step. Ensuring that they remain there and
progress equitably through higher grades will determine whether inclusive
education in the region translates into meaningful long-term outcomes.
Prioritize secondary-stage enhancements, including resource rooms in every
secondary school, expanded teacher training under programs like NISHTHA,
and provision of ramps, adaptive tools, and safe transport. Gender-specific
measures, such as expanded scholarships, stipends for CWSN girls (already
supported under Samagra Shiksha), community sensitization and girl-focused
inclusive classrooms, could help narrow disparities.
Building on early momentum requires stronger transition support, regular
monitoring, and convergence across departments to address terrain,
infrastructure, and socio-cultural barriers.
The question is whether the state can build the full bridge to secondary
success before another cohort of special-needs students disappears from the
system.
