Abstract
Bangladesh adopted its National Education Policy 2010, known as NEP 2010, aligning with the international declarations of inclusive education (IE) (Ministry of Education [MoE], National Education Policy. Retrieved (October 23, 2022) from http://www.moedu.gov.bd/, 2010). The NEP 2010 aims to ensure education for all children as a fundamental issue. Through education, the future generation must acquire quality, modern, and updated knowledge of science and technology and evolve as skilled human resources so that they can contribute to eradicating poverty, illiteracy, corruption, communalism, and backwardness, and build a developed and prosperous Bangladesh. Therefore, the government of Bangladesh reformed its education policy in NEP 2010 by introducing inclusive education as one of the main components to ensure equity and social justice in building the nation. Existing literature suggests that education policies in Bangladesh since its independence have been predominantly centralized and have followed a top-down approach to putting the policies into practice. The policies are implemented through a national curriculum (NC). However, neither the NEP 2010 nor the curriculum specifies plans for different minority groups according to their educational needs and realities. In this chapter, we critically examined education policy on paper and reality in practice focusing on IE. The study is mainly supported by literature, policy documents, and guidelines. This chapter provides an overview of the initiatives of inclusive education policy responding to global perspectives, as well as a signatory country to major international declarations of inclusive education. One of the main aims of this chapter is to provide a framework for the policy actors to strengthen the connection between inclusive policy and practice. Therefore, in the end, this chapter provides recommendations to minimize the gaps between policy and practice under the suggested framework for practising multiculturalism. In this way, inclusive education will be a crucial factor in ensuring social justice as a way forward.