Special students are yet to benefit from the Right to Education Act , which came into effect last year, despite the emphasis it lays on inclusive education.
Special students are yet to benefit from the Right to Education Act (RTE), which came into effect last year, despite the emphasis it lays on inclusive education.
Activists feel that general schools are not equipped enough to even identify dyslexic children in classes of 60 or 70 students. As such, handling special children in the same classes is not feasible.
HT Dholakia, an activist, said, “Inclusive education is an impractical plan. Its implementation would mean first sensitising teachers, students, and parents of students. Generating interest among teachers who are not trained in special education is a mammoth task.”
Moreover, even the special schools are plagued with several problems. The state government’s rule to sanction only 75 seats per special school has meant that waiting lists for admissions are running into years. They do not have enough teachers for the overfull classrooms. Moreover, they have to struggle to get government approval every three years.
Most of these schools have to follow government policies, as they come under the social welfare department and get government aid. “Most schools manage to admit more students than their capacity. However, we do not get approvals for more teachers and so are restricted to handling crowded classrooms with few teachers,” said the principal of a South Mumbai special school.
With an increase in awareness, parents want their children to get admitted to special schools at the age of three. “Special educators feel that children with disabilities should be trained at the age of three onwards. It is easy to mould them when they are young. However, we have to strictly follow government norms of allowing students only in the 6-18 age group,” said a teacher.
An under secretary from the social welfare department said: “Such children are not toilet trained. It is not feasible for all schools to admit three-year-old students.”
Another issue is of the syllabus. According to Mansi Dali, principal of Anza School, Byculla, every special child needs a tailor-made curriculum.
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