Manavi has been turned down by a dozen schools in four years
12-year-old Manavi Sethi has not been to any school for the past four years. She has intellectual and developmental disability and is non-verbal. Manavi's mother Ruchika tells NDTV that she and her husband have applied to at least a dozen schools over the past four years, but have been turned down by all of them. (
No School Wants Rahul, My Brilliant Autistic Son)
The excuses given by the schools range from lack of adequate infrastructure for children with special needs to a waiting period of anywhere between four and seven years.
Ruchika has now turned to home schooling, but Manavi is receptive enough to understand that she is being treated differently.
"Within her is a life waiting to live. We as a country don't believe in inclusion. We cannot be holding a begging bowl. It's hurtful, demeaning and makes us lose confidence," says Ruchika.
17-year-old Rahul D'Mello has a similar story to share.
"No school wants our autistic son just because he has some learning disabilities. We have been to 8 to 9 schools in the last one month. He has been turned down so many times," says his mother Deepali.
Under the Right to Education Act, neither a private nor a government school can turn down a student on the grounds of a disability.
In 2005, the education ministry had promised that all schools across the country will be made disabled-friendly by 2020. What is stopping the government from de-recognising schools that openly flout the law, ask activists".
Why is the government not increasing infrastructure in public schools? There is no dearth of resources in private schools, they can do more if they want," says Javed Abidi, disability rights activists.
In May this year, the government held talks with all stakeholders to find a long-term solution to the issue.
"No school should discriminate against those with disabilities. There is also a need for more specialised schools because mainstream schools don't have the wherewithal to deal with very severe cases of autism," says Ameeta Wattal, chairperson of National Progressive Schools, an association of senior secondary schools.
But the story is the same for countless other children with special needs; the government doesn't even have an official estimate of the number of such children who are missing out on school.