Inclusiveness promised by law yet to be reality

Chennai: Their child being denied admission yet again was heartbreaking for Radhika and Aman Awasthi, parents of three year-old Akash. Akash was not as fast a learner as other children of his age and his speech was not well developed. It was the fourth time a school had denied him admission and recommended that Akash be admitted to a special school instead of a general school.

Dharini’s two twins were diagnosed with autism at the age of three and like any other parent she wanted her children to study in the best schools in the city. It was a huge disappointment when schools refused to admit autistic children.
In another instance, Vignesh, father of 4-year-old Raghul, who was suffering from dyslexia had to admit his son to a small school quite far from his residence as schools in the neighbourhood denied him admission owing to his disability.

Though the government has various provisions for ensuring that children with disabilities are integrated into mainstream schools, parents have to struggle, running from pillar to post to be able to provide the primary need of education to these children.

“The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act provides for enhancing the educational infrastructure to provide comprehensive education to one and all irrespective of their disabilities. It should be a choice for disabled children to get educated in special schools or mainstream schools. Schools need to facilitate teaching for such students by providing them special training”, said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, member,

Disability Rights Alliance: While activists emphasise that educational institutions should adopt a universal infrastructure and provide inclusive education, school authorities say that some parents object to their children being taught alongside those with disabilities. “Parents do not like their children to talk or interact with children having physical and mental disabilities. We have to act as per the convenience of the majority of the students”, said a school principal.

However, psychologists say that students with disabilities can benefit from mainstream schools in many ways. “For children with mild disabilities like dyslexia, locomotor disabilities and autism, their social behaviour and basic life skills improve when they study in the same environment as other children. However, children with severe mental retardation that needs special attention can be sent to special schools so that they do not lag behind in learning”, said Dr Vivian Kapil, psychiatrist, SIMS hospital. While the law allows children with disabilities in mainstream schools, it is high time government and school authorities acted to ensure equal opportunity.