Equity and Access in Education: A comparative study of Inclusive Education policies aligned with UNESCO standards

Abstract

Education is an important right of every person and acts as a driver of sustainable development goal (United Nations, 1948; UNESCO, 2020). Even though there are a lot of international and domestic initiatives, still many educational barriers imbue children from the poor communities thus denying them from quality education (UNESCO, 2020). In order to address these problems, Inclusive Education has introduced index of inclusive practice which can eliminate all barriers preventing children from gaining successful education. It is very important to mention that role of UNESCO's involvement into Inclusive Education promotion is very significant. The Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994); The Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education (UNESCO, 2009); and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (United Nations, 2015) should be also discussed. This paper assesses the concept of equity and access in education in the comparative light of Inclusive Education policies. The paper pays special attention to relevance of educational policies on international level.