Schools ignore inclusion diktat

The Central Board of Secondary Education has issued a circular making it mandatory for affiliated schools to appoint special educators so that children with special needs could be given admission. The circular stressed on the importance of the inclusion of children with special needs. Two weeks after the circular, the schools haven’t complied.

Following this, the Special Educators’ Forum has written to the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti stressing on the importance of special educators who are needed to teach children with special needs as they are emotionally vulnerable and behaviourally different. The forum has also written to state governments asking them to keep a check on the schools in their respective states.

“According to the report released by MHRD, there are over 75,000 students in Telangana state and 65,000 in Andhra Pradesh who are enrolled in special training centres and who should be mainstreamed into regular schools. With only 800 of the 1,200 posts for special educators filled under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is a government programme for elementary education, how can we ensure that our children will be taught well at schools,” said Kalpagiri Sreenu, national convener of the Special Educators’ Forum.

According to medical experts, the elementary years of schooling are very crucial for the building up of a child’s cognitive abilities.

“Through our forum, I have interacted with many special children. Their needs are different. Special educators are trained to work with children having physical disabilities, sensory impairments and developmental disabilities such as autism and cerebral palsy. They cannot be expected to cope in a n environment if they haven’t received special training during their primary years,” said SEFI member Hubbu R.

OVER 75,000 students in TS and 65,000 in AP with special needs are to be mainstreamed into regular schools

WITH ONLY 800 of the 1,200 posts for special educators filled, quality education for the kids are not ensured