Page 403 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

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

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education as a basic human right for all . Article 24 of the United Nations (UN) Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which requires States Parties to improve
their educational systems and take other steps to ensure that people with disabilities have

access to high-quality inclusive education, contributed to the global movement towards

inclusion (United Nations, 2006). Similarly, Goal four of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) is to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong

learning opportunities for all” (United Nations, 2012). Under this recommendation, several
national and regional level projects were implemented to upgrade Inclusive Education which

covers the equal rights of the Students with Disabilities (SWDs) in the college and university

levels.

According to the definition based on national laws and regulations, "a person with a disability
means any person who, as a result of any deficiency in his physical or mental capabilities,

whether congenital or not, is unable by himself to ensure for himself, wholly or partly, the
necessities of life". However, according to the international definition, "Disability results

from the interaction between people with impairments and behavioural and environmental

barriers that prevent their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with
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others” . Here, the students with special education needs will become a focal topic to be
discussed. SWDs refer to students with learning, physical, and developmental disabilities;
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behavioural, emotional, and communication disorders; and learning deficiencies . A student
can be considered as having a disability if he or she is suffering from a learning problem or

a disability and cannot work equally as peers. Since the adoption of the Universal Free
Education Policy in 1945 and the Compulsory Education Policy in 1998, Sri Lanka has

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fought for equal access to education for all students . In 1994, the government signed an
agreement to develop inclusive education because of the Salamanca Conference

2 United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
3 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006

4 Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, No. 28, 1996
5 UNICEF, Disability-Inclusive Education Practices in Sri Lanka, 2021

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