All do not seem to be well with Assam’s children with special needs. As reported in the Saturday edition of this newspaper, official data collated by the Government of Assam show that only about one percent of total enrolled students in the state are children with special needs (CwSN). What is also appalling, as reported, is that the enrolment of children with special needs has been sharply declining in Assam, particularly in the higher classes. According to UNICEF data, as available in open source, approximately 90,000 children with disabilities have been integrated into mainstream schools in Assam, while around 10,000 more have been receiving home-based education. As has been reflected in the newspaper report, one important reason behind the sharp decline in enrolment of children with special needs is the lack of trained teachers to take special care of them. It is a matter of grave concern that only 5.2% of teachers in Assam have been trained in inclusive practices. Moreover, there are huge gaps in infrastructure facilities that are friendly to children with special needs. Of 56,630 schools in Assam, only 78% have ramps. And, as far as toilets are concerned, only 15% of schools have CwSN-friendly toilets for boys, and 19% for girls. It is also a matter of shame that there exists a high rate of vacancy in teacher training institutions in the state. Altogether 34 out of 45 sanctioned posts (77.55%) have been lying vacant in the State Council of Educational Research & Training, and 274 out of 675 sanctioned posts (41.02%) are lying vacant in the District Institutes for Education and Training. This is a poor reflection of the state’s education department, which has failed to gear up to ensure continuous education for all CwSN through secondary levels and to act in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. This is sad, especially when the present education minister is keen on cleaning up the Augean stables in the state education department. As if that is not enough, 13,217 posts are also currently lying vacant in the elementary schools. Delay in regularising posts of a large number of elementary and secondary level teachers despite acquiring professional qualifications as is required under the rules has also hampered smooth functioning of many institutions. One action that the education minister immediately needs to do is to carry out random surprise inspections of schools and find out the various ailments crippling the most vital sector of the state.