Screen kids for learning disabilities: HC

In a significant order which could help in early detection of specific learning disabilities among children, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked all schools and education boards to screen their students for early detection of the disability.

A division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice AK Menon said, “We direct all the schools, boards and educational institutions to ensure that they carry out the task of detecting specific learning disabilities in children at the very earliest stage, preferably when they are in the primary school or after they complete the age of nine years.”

“One other method is to examine the students who had fair performance earlier and who have not done well,” the court said.

“This would certainly create lesser burden on the school, and it would be an easier method to identify such children from this category,” the court added.

The court asked the schools and educational institutions to keep the records confidential asserting that if a child is detected with learning disability, the information should not be made public.

Moreover, the order says that educational institutions may delegate this task to teachers and other selected persons to carry out the job of detecting these specific learning disabilities.

“Apart from that, essentially all the children should undergo the tests as prescribed under the said Act for the purpose of detecting specific learning disabilities,” the court said.

MUMBAI CASES

In an earlier affidavit, the state government informed the court that a total of 37,358 students suffering from specific learning disabilities were found in schools. Of these students, 2,013 students were in Mumbai city and 2,468 students in the suburbs.