Over the last few months, Citizen Matters has been reporting about how children with disabilities find it difficult to access education and enroll in regular schools. Based on our findings from these reports, we held a webinar to explore ways and means of enabling effective schooling for students with disabilities.
The webinar aimed to address several key questions that parents grapple with when they have a learner with physical or psycho-social disabilities: for example, what recourse do they have if schools refuse to admit the child? How can they support their child’s education at home? What kind of resources are available for them?
The discussion featured three expert speakers: Prasanna Shirol of ORDI, Pratik Aggarwal from Astha, and Dr. Vaishali Pai from Tamahar Trust and was supported by sign language interpreters from Signable.
Shruti Gokarn, our Mumbai reporter for Citizen Matters, moderated the discussion, steering it around the legal provisions that exist to ensure equal opportunities for children with disabilities and how reality often differs.
The legal framework available
Pratik Agarwal, emphasised that education for children with disabilities is a fundamental human and legal right, not an act of charity. He highlighted that in addition to the RTE Act and the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 is the most powerful law in the disability ecosystem, which guarantees reasonable accommodation for children with benchmark disabilities. This accommodation includes braille, audio aids, and physical accessibility.
He addressed the availability of resources pointing to the national disability helpline and the availability of sign language content from ISLRTC and NCERT audiobooks, both available online. He also noted that materials in regional languages like Marathi and Tamil can be accessed through the helpline. There is also a provision for teacher training under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Current status on ground as recounted by the experts
- One of the main challenges is to navigate the existing framework with progressive disabilities, where the condition worsens gradually and hence the needs change over time.
- Regular schools have been found to deny admission even when the student has the adaptability needed.
- There is significant lack of awareness regarding legal rights and disability acts among both parents and school staff.
- Navigating the legal system is difficult and often confrontational for individual families, making collective advocacy a necessity that is hard to organise.
- Schools lack basic infrastructure such as working lifts, accessible toilets, and appropriate transportation.
- Children with medical conditions often have high absenteeism due to treatment requirements but schools have rigid attendance policies.
- There is a shortage of special educators, and general teachers are often trained in only one specific disability, leaving them ill-equipped for diverse classrooms with high student-to-teacher ratios.
Beyond these systemic gaps, there are several other individual challenges like financial burden for the parent to cover the lack of accessibility in school, isolation of the child and more.
How parents can navigate difficult situations
Prasanna highlighted that in case of missed lessons, students can utilize the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to cover academic gaps. Pratik suggests that in case of denial of admission, parents should request the reason for denial in writing from the principal. If there are any complaints to be made, they can escalate to the Block or District Education Officer, and finally, file a formal complaint with the State Disability Commissioner. He highlighted that the Commissioner is legally bound to take the case to a logical conclusion. Once a student gets to school, parents should engage with the School Management Committee to influence budgeting and planning. Pratik also advocated for collective action where possible, noting that complaints are more effective when filed by groups of parents rather than individuals.
Pratik also advocated for collective action where possible, noting that complaints are more effective when filed by groups of parents rather than individuals.
Other recommendations
Dr Vaishali Pai highlighted a disconnect between parents’ aspirations and the child’s actual cognitive capacity which often puts additional stress on the child beyond their regular emotional struggles.
She also stressed the importance of early intervention, and experiential learning at home using common household or kitchen items to teach concepts like size, logic, and coordination.
Regarding home-based education, Dr. Pai suggested that special schools might be a better option for children with severe disabilities, as they allow children to experience life outside the home and provide caregivers with essential time-off from 24/7 care-giving duties.
Finally, a participant raised a concern about the confusion between “inclusive schooling” and “special education”. Dr. Pai responded that if a child’s cognitive ability does not match the classroom level, forcing inclusion can be a disservice, and awareness in the community should not come at the price of the child’s well-being.