Appoint special educators in all schools, provide scholarship to each special child: HC

In a landmark judgment on children with special needs, the Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday directed the state government to provide a scholarship of Rs1000 per month to each such child and appoint special educators in all the schools within six months.

The HC also directed all educational institutions in the state to provide amanuensis — a person whose job is to write on behalf of another person — to visually challenged students within three months.

A division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Lok Pal Singh gave these directions after taking cognizance of a letter written by Kamal Gupta to it in 2014 highlighting the difficulties faced by children with special needs in pursuing education in the schools across the state.

The HC also directed all the schools —government, aided and private —to make their premises and transportation system barrier-free and suitable for free movement of children with special needs. It also directed the state government to set up special teachers’ training institutions as per Section 29 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 within a period of one year.

“The State government is directed to look after all the children with special needs whose parents are not able to look after them. Such children require special care, compassion and passion for bringing them up in order to bring them into the mainstream…also provide monetary incentives to the parents of the children with special needs,” the order said.

The HC maintained that it “shall be the responsibility of the state authorities to ensure that the children with special needs are imparted education in ordinary schools or special schools by releasing sufficient funds”.

The HC noted that the steps taken so far by the authorities “are not in letter and spirit of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the rules framed by Uttarakhand, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995”. It said the the children with special needs have now been brought in “Section 3(3) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Act, 2009”.

HC said the state government in its affidavit stated that it had included the disabled children in the age group 6 to 18 years for education and consultation under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan along with the normal children, adding that 12,906 and 13,662 children with special needs were identified in the state in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively.

BOX: Main observations of the HC

The state government should ensure that every child with a disability has access to free education in an appropriate environment till he/she attains the age of 18 years and efforts should be made to integrate such students with disabilities in the normal schools.

Efforts should be made to equip the special schools for children with disabilities with vocational training facilities.

The state government should promote setting up of special schools in government and private sector for those in need of special education

The state government is required to set up the teacher training institution.

The comprehensive education scheme is required for the supply of food to the children with special needs.

BOX: Other main directions to the state government

Construct a sufficient number of hostels for children with special needs within one year in a cluster of four districts.

Provide books, uniforms and other material to children with special needs for attending the school before the commencement of academic session.

Special curriculum be prepared by taking into consideration the difficulties faced by such children