Parents want educators at schools for children with disabilities Kids with special needs face neglect

“When I was in the third standard, my classmates told me that if they sit next to me, they will also get infected by polio,” says Balatha Mallavarapu, the 167th rank holder of the All India Services Exam. Balatha’s legs have been paralysed from the time she was administered a wrong polio dose as a child. With hurtful discrimination at school, her parents decided to coach her at home until her graduation.

According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, special children with mental or physical disabilities come under ‘disadvantaged sections’ and should be given preference over other students.

Around 25% of seats are allotted to all the disadvantaged sections in schools and colleges.

Unfortunately social stigmas have not made the integration of these children with other children very easy.

“The government has amended the education act but our education sector continues to neglect special children. Special educators are not hired in schools which is a huge problem for our children”, says Kalpagiri S, National Convener of Special Educators Forum, India.

Parents often bear the brunt of the discriminatory attitude shown towards their children.

“My child is 19-years-old now and he is mentally impaired. I shifted him from a special education school to a private school so that he could develop behavioural skills by mingling with his peers. But every teacher kept telling me to take my child back to a special school as he was a disturbance in the class. If they are never given a chance, how will these special children show what they are good at?” says Mrs. Sudha Madhavi, a parent clearly frustrated by the system.

All disabilities whether it is physical or mental make it difficult for the special child.

B. Sharada, the mother of a hearing impaired child, explained to this newspaper: “My child has a hearing problem. All he requires is a little extra care but schools deny it by saying that they cannot pay attention to him alone. My child has been shunted from three schools because of the similar treatment he received at each of them. There are no teachers in government schools who are fit to teach our children and private schools do not accept our children, fearing a loss of image and prestige.” Housewife S. Bhavani, 36, who was injured in a wall collapse at Vanasthalipuram on Thursday died on Saturday. Bhavani suffered serious injuries in the incident. The wall was weighed down with gravel and construction debris dumped by builders.

Doctors at Omni Hospital, where Bhavani was under treatment, said that she died due to polytrauma blunt injury in the abdomen, spleenic laceration, splenectomy colonic serosal injury and left kidney avulsion.

Meanwhile, police who had registered a case for causing injuries due to negligence altered the case to causing death by negligence.

The compound wall of the rented house where S. Bhavani was staying was built more than a decade ago. Meanwhile, adjacent to their building an construction of an apartment had begun and the builder Green Meadows had taken up the work. The gravel from the apartment complex and construction debris was dumped near the wall on the other side of their building. Due to the heavy downpour on Thursday morning, the gravel and the debris became heavy and the wall crashed.

While Bhavani and other women were filling water, a portion of the wall collapsed and Bhavani who was walking by the wall got stuck under it. She was hospitalised and three surgeries were performed on her.

Her left kidney which was totally damaged was removed and she was put on life support.

“She suffered a blunt injury on the chest and pelvis. She suffered a pelvic fracture too. She succumbed while under treatment on Saturday,” Dr Venkatesh from Omni Hospital said.