The Ministry of Education provided a detailed response to a parliamentary question regarding the availability of special educators in schools across India. Education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, with most schools under state/UT administration control. The Department of School Education & Literacy implements the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha to support equitable and inclusive quality education from pre-primary to Class XII.
Under Samagra Shiksha, recruitment and service matters for teachers, including Special Educators, are handled by State Governments/UT Administrations. The framework allows for Special Educators to be deployed at block or cluster level in itinerant mode, covering groups of schools where Children with Special Needs (CwSN) are enrolled. Financial assistance is provided through Samagra Shiksha and PM SHRI schemes for maintaining appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratios and supporting inclusive education, including provision for two Resource Persons for CwSN at each Block Resource Centre.
The Department has established specific Pupil-Teacher Ratio norms for Special Educators through Notification No. S.O. 4586(E) dated 21.09.2022: one Special Educator for every 10 CwSN at primary level and one for every 15 CwSN at upper-primary level.
According to UDISE+ 2025–26 data, India has 2,211,226 CwSN enrolled across all management types, with 116,695 schools having dedicated Special Educators. State-wise data shows significant variation: Uttar Pradesh leads with 372,739 CwSN enrolments and 23,489 schools with special educators, followed by Maharashtra (253,792 CwSN, 5,058 schools) and Madhya Pradesh (158,599 CwSN, 9,360 schools). Smaller regions like Lakshadweep have 211 CwSN enrolments and 9 schools with special educators.
The Department supports capacity building through continuous professional development, in-service training, and awareness programs on inclusive education. NCERT has developed online teacher training modules under NISHTHA for Elementary, Secondary and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy stages, equipping general teachers to address diverse learning needs of CwSN. NCERT and CBSE have also developed handbooks on Inclusive Education for practical guidance.
Additionally, 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. The Rehabilitation Council of India, as a statutory body, has granted approval to 1,081 institutions/universities to offer courses in disability rehabilitation and special education, contributing to the availability of qualified human resources including Special Educators.