Everyday, the 12-year-old Saif Alam Mansuri, a resident of Jari Mari area of Andheri (E), has to travel in a BEST bus to SG Barve municipal school, Kurla, a distance of more than five kilometers. In a city like Mumbai, five kilometers might not seem far enough, but for children like Saif it is quite a distance. Saif is an intellectually disabled child and there is no BMC school in his area that has the infrastructure or the resource to accommodate special children like him.
"It takes around an hour to reach Kurla. It is difficult for him to climb up and down from the bus, especially during peak hours," said Saif's father, Alam Mansuri.
Saif's mother accompanies him in this tedious journey. She spends between Rs700 to 800 on the fare.
Mansuri has tried enrolling Saif in other neighborhood schools, but to no avail. "My child needs special attention. It is difficult for him to study the regular curriculum along with other normal children his age," he said.
Unfortunately, Saif is not the only one. About 10 to 12 intellectually disabled children from Jari Mari and Saki Naka, are forced to travel to Kurla.
As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, a lower primary school child and an upper primary school child, should have access to schools within a radius of 1km and 3km around their residence, respectively.
However, the implementing authority, in this case, the BMC, seems to have not taken the act seriously. More than a year after the March 2013 deadline to implement RTE Act, most schools in the state don't have the proper infrastructure to ensure inclusive education of these kids –a mandate of the act, and these factors are yet to be reviewed.
Furkhan Ahmed Chaudhary's case, in fact, re-emphasises the mess in the system. Riyaz Ahmed, Furkhan's father told dna that he had initially admitted his child with a private school in Ghatkopar. "We realised that the school was just minting money and our child was not learning anything," said Chaudhary.
"My child finds it difficult to walk, so at times, we have to take an auto, which costs Rs100 a day," said Chaudhary, adding that there is a municipal school nearby, but once again, no scope for inclusive education there. "We would be able to save time and money, if these schools start facilities for children with disabilities," added Chaudhary.
Sources informed dna that the Kurla school authorities were not too keen to the idea of letting these children shift to other schools, as that would affect them.
However, when dna contacted Sujata Bekne, a teacher of the school, was taken aback with the idea. "Why will children from my school join another school? The higher authorities will decide on this," she said.
Deputy municipal commissioner for education, Sunil Dhamne remained unavailable for comments, despite repeated attempts.
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