Prospects and challenges in implementing inclusive education reform in SAARC countries

The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) comprises 8 countries of South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Since 1982, the SAARC countries have been cooperating in the development of various dimensions of human resources, including sports, arts and culture. More recently, this cooperative approach has been extended to education. This was in recognition that primary education in South Asia suffers from major difficulties of limited access and poor quality (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation [SAARC], 2009a), demonstrated by the majority of countries in this region experiencing extreme impediments to successful primary education, particularly from low student enrolment and high levels of dropout and class repetitions. A similar situation prevailed in secondary and tertiary levels of education. During the 12th SAARC Summit in 1997, the member states reaffirmed their commitment to providing free education to all children between the ages of 6-14 years (SAARC, 2009a).In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding between SAARC and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was signed in 2008 to assist member countries in different areas to achieve 'Education for All'(EFA), as agreed upon at the World Declaration on Education for All (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 1990), the World Education Forum, Dakar, in 2000 (UNESCO, 2000a) and the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations [UN], 2000). The commitment of the SAARC countries was also reflected in the regional Declaration known as the SAARC Development Goals (SDGs) (SAARC, 2009b). To promote diversity and achieve the goals of EFA, inclusive education and quality education have been prioritised.