Educationists have called for strict action against mainstream schools that resist admitting children with special needs.
At a discussion on inclusive education last week, many speakers said that not only are schools reluctant to take in special children, the cut-throat competition in these schools also works against an inclusive educational set-up.
Special children hold a poor education record in India, with only 28 per cent of the 30 million children with special needs reaching Class X and just three per cent study up to Class XII, an Observer Research Foundation (ORF) official said.
Mousumi Bhaumik, officer in-charge, National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), Navi Mumbai, said schools often acted only when there was a court directive to admit a special child.
Varsha Hooja, CEO, ADAPT (formerly Spastic Society of India), suggested the state government follow a carrot-and-stick policy with schools, and cancel certification to schools that fail to take in special children. She said special kids adjusted perfectly when in rural schools but faced barriers in urban classrooms.
Speakers also noted that mainstream schools are often reluctant to even get trained on how to deal with special children, so much so that at times, schools even sent their PT teachers to fill in at such sessions for the sake of attendance.
Shoba Srivastava, parent to an autistic child and a special educator, said competition in schools was so fierce that many parents were petrified of even meeting teachers to explain their child’s problems.
Smriti Mirani of ORF said many schools lacked basic infrastructure like ramps and lifts. She added that mainstream and special schools should collaborate to remove barriers in making classrooms more inclusive.
Damayanti Bhattacharya, headmistress of Cathedral and John Connon School Middle School, regretted that awareness about special children was so low, even in schools, that for many it was restricted to perceptions formed by films like Taare Zameen Par .
“The yardstick of success could be different for special children. For parents of some special children, a child being promoted from junior to senior KG itself would be a big achievement,” said Nita Mehta of New Horizons Child Development Centre.
Shyamala Dalvi, a special educator and psychologist, said the rigid state board curriculum did not match the needs of a special child.
“In a regular school, the ultimate goal seems to be to pass Class X. So, you just pull and push to get the child to pass Class X, which does not work in the case of a special child. You need a vision for them,” she said.
Ila Shah of NGO Muktangan, felt there will “always be students who cannot pass SSC” and suggested that special kids be made to appear for open school exams.
Many like Rubina Lal of Suvidya Centre of Special education expressed the need to train teachers to sensitise and help them assess special children better.
The writer is a freelance journalist
Only 28% of 30 million special children reach
Class X and just 3%
study up to Class XII
Published - August 02, 2016 12:00 am IST
