Why inclusive classrooms are better for everyone

The most common misunderstanding about inclusive education is that it is only for students with disabilities. In practice, a classroom where a lesson is presented three ways — by hearing, by touch and by sight — is a classroom where every child learns more.

We watched this happen in a primary school in Dhaka. When the teacher began describing the picture in the textbook out loud, it was not only the blind student who benefited; the child at the back who could not see the board took part properly for the first time.

Small changes, large difference

Most of the changes cost nothing. Describing things aloud, moving where a child sits, allowing a little more time in an exam — these need a change of habit rather than a budget.