New Delhi, Sept. 11: A couple who sell vegetables for a living have moved Delhi High Court over the absence of special educators for their mentally challenged sons at their government schools. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160912/jsp/nation/story_107703.jsp Mamta and Shyam Nandan have sought a directive to the state government to immediately appoint special educators at all the schools run by the Delhi government and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
"My kids have suffered because they have no one to teach them in a way they can understand," Mamta, who moved the petition on Friday, told The Telegraph . "We went to the state education department's office with our grievance and they kept telling us that special educators would be appointed soon, but nothing has been done." Some but not all among Delhi's 2,800 government and municipal schools have special educators on their rolls. Mamta said her sons had "learnt nothing" despite going to school for years. "They can talk and handle small amounts of money, but nothing beyond that. What will they do in future?" she said. Nine-year-old Shubham, a Class IV pupil at the municipality-run Katwaria Sarai primary school, suffers from 50 per cent mental retardation. Satyam, 16, is 75 per cent challenged and recently dropped out of Class VI at the Government Boys' Senior Secondary School "because there was nobody in the school to teach him", the petition says. Mamta says she would send Satyam back to school if it hires a special educator. The petition is likely to be heard this week, said lawyer and social activist Ashok Agarwal who is representing the Nandans. Agarwal said that Delhi High Court had as far back as 2009 directed the state government and the civic body to appoint at least two special educators at each of their schools. "It seems that nothing has been done so far," said Agarwal, who is also handling 300-odd cases of special children being refused admission by Delhi schools on the ground of their disability. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, stipulates that children with disabilities have the right to be taught by a qualified teacher. A centrally sponsored scheme, Integrated Education for the Disabled Children, offers to take care of their expenses on books, stationery and uniforms, and their transport allowances and hostel accommodation. The scheme also supports the appointment of special teachers, establishment of special classrooms called "resource rooms" and the removal of architectural barriers in schools. The Centre claims the scheme benefits two lakh children in 90,000 schools across the country. Mamta said she was willing to go the extra mile to ensure education for her children. "People shame them and make fun of them; being a hapless mother I cannot do anything. They have problems dealing with anger and end up crying for the entire day, which breaks my heart," she said. "I want them to learn what little they can and make something of their lives. I'm sure that a little bit of guidance and love can do wonders." State education department officials declined comment on the ground that the case was sub judice. Around 20,000 disabled children are enrolled in the 1,000 state government schools and 1,800 civic schools in Delhi, official figures say. The state recently asked special educators in government-run and aided schools to prepare an individualised education programme for every disabled child in their care. -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
