Page 267 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

students with SEN, positively impacting their typically developing peers by

promoting acceptance, empathy, and diversity appreciation.

Inclusive Education in Sri Lankan Context

In 1997, the government brought out the General Education Reforms by

including a magnificent change to the curriculum, pedagogies, and vision of
the education in Sri Lanka. With reference to special education, the

opportunities for education were expanded with wider access through the

programmes which were formed to facilitate inclusion of students with
Special Educational Needs (SEN) into mainstream education (UNICEF,

2013).

The first integrated education started in 1979 in Colombo district as a special

unit in a government school. After passing the Compulsory Education Act

in 1997, the reforms made impacts on students with SEN. Special needs in
education are diverse among those students. Most of the students with SEN

are children with intellectual disabilities, hearing/ visual impairments, or
physical disabilities. It is reported that 59.5% boys and 40.5% of girls with

disabilities accessing education in Sri Lanka. (UNICEF, 2013).

In 2003, the National Policy on Disability for Sri Lanka was introduced by
the Ministry of Social Welfare. Inclusive education was explicitly defined

in the policy and it highlighted the importance of including students with

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