ABSTRACT
From the outset of the NRCI-I initiative we knew that the demonstrations of school and community reform, discussed in the previous part of the book, were integral to a strategy for large-scale policy reforms for inclusive education. If stakeholders could see inclusive education work in a wide range of settings-whether in a one-room makeshift school in the slums, a mainstream public school, or a private school in a higher income area of Mumbai-there was no reason to believe it could not be ‘scaled up’ so that the 95 percent of children previously excluded could fi nally gain access. We also knew that public support for system reforms would be a critical ingredient in a strategy to secure a enabling policy framework. We would need the public behind us in order to foster the political will in government, educational institutions, and among educators for more widespread change in policy and practice.
