New Delhi:
Educating five-year-old Karan, who has a physical disability, is proving to be an uphill battle for his parents. First, the government school in his neighbourhood in New Delhi denied him admission.
Karan eventually did get admission after the school was served a notice by his parents as the Right to Education Act states that no child can be denied admission on the ground of disability, but there continues to be a violation of the law on many counts.
"There is no basic infrastructure, no toilet facility, and no drinking water facility. Although the High Court has ordered that there has to be a water purifier installed, none of the schools have installed it," says Ritu Mehra, Founder, Pardarshita.
Children with disability do not have a useable toilet within his school. "The toilet is a mess. It stinks and is full of water. A child could slip and fall," said Kishen, Karan's father.
Six-year-old Dipanshu, like Karan, is among the disabled children who have to walk home to use a toilet. Parents are summoned to escort them home and back.
"If we don't hold on to him, he falls down. So he can't use the toilet there. I have told the teacher to call me and send him home," said Suman, Dipanshu's mother.
While the principal refused to speak to NDTV, experts say an overwhelming majority of private and government schools exclude children with special needs and have made no provision for them.
"There is no arrangement for students like my son. They roam around in the school. The teachers often don't include them in the class. And if they are in class, they are made to sit on the backbench. The teacher pays no attention to them," said Samina Hussain, mother of a disabled child.
Over 90 per cent of disabled children in India do not get any form of schooling. Though the Right to Education Act holds out the promise of creating a system for disabled children, it has so far failed to fulfill the expectations of parents.