Shifting the underprivileged kids a violation of RTE: NGO.
About 20 underprivileged children who were admitted to a civic school in Navi Mumbai a fortnight ago have been segregated from other students and subsequently shifted to a centre for persons with different ability, according to a complaint by an NGO.
August Kranti, a non-profit volunteer teachers group that works among underprivileged children, has objected to this treatment of the children, saying that it is a violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, that legislates against segregation.
The children were admitted to school number 27 of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) in Vashi gaon, on August 16, 2013, on the initiative of August Kranti. But it seems that they were treated differently from the start.
“They used to keep the children in a prayer hall, away from the rest of the children in the classrooms,” said Kaval Katiza, founder member of August Kranti.
“When we insisted that the children should be allowed to be with other students, they shifted the children kids to the NMMC’s Education Training and Service Centre (ETC) for Persons with Different Ability without intimating us or the parents of the kids,” Katiza said.
The Centre is located near Vashi railway station, about a kilometre away from the school. Here, a teacher has been allotted to instruct these children.
Representatives of the NGO have been barred from meeting the children at the Centre. The children were involved in ragpicking or begging before they got into school.
Varsha Bhagat, an official at ETC, said that the decision to shift the children was taken by the civic education board. “This may be a temporary arrangement and they could be shifted to a normal school subsequently,” Bhagat said.
Ashok Giri, principal of the municipal school denied that there was any violation of the RTE Act. “The children have a very weak education background. We have shifted them to ETC so they can be taught separately and make them capable enough to attend regular classes,” the principal said. He also said that ETC was nearer to their homes.
Katiza appreciated that the children were allotted a teacher at ETC. She said, however, that initially the children were given instructions for just two hours and sent home. “It’s only after we raised this issue and insisted that they should be given classes for the full day that they were taught for about four hours. They must get a complete schooling, like other students enjoy,” Katiza said.
She said the children should not be deprived of other facilities like library, sports and computers training. “Just giving the children a mid-day meal will not ensure a complete education. I request them to create a suitable learning atmosphere that will help these children to become a part of the mainstream at the earliest,” she said, and offered to help in their progress.
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