Despite India being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), and with legislations like the Right to Education in place, city schools are far from inclusive, a recent study has found.
The study on the status of ‘Inclusion of children with disabilities in registered schools’ conducted by Equals, Centre for Promotion of Social Justice in 34 city schools, found that only 47 per cent of the schools surveyed had enrolled children with disabilities.
Of these, only 19 per cent schools gave the number of students with disabilities enrolled. According to the study, as many as 76 per cent schools stated that they do not have an inclusive policy and only two of the 34 schools have such a policy.
The study was conducted in CBSE, State board, government and government-aided schools which are not categorised as special schools for children with disabilities. Those where Sarva Siksha Abhiyan has its presence were not part of the study.
And, even among the schools that have enrolled children with impairments, 31 per cent schools stated that they did not have any facilities such as ramps or universally designed toilets. No school had sensitisation programmes on the rights of children with disabilities.
The study calls for effective monitoring of the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
Smitha Sadasivam from the disability legislation unit of Vidya Sagar said that there needs to be a big change in the attitudes of school managements. “Mostly, children are only integrated without being provided with the necessary support systems. What we need are inclusive schools,” she said.
Experts also said that there were gaps in the number of children with disabilities and those enrolled in schools. B. Meenakshi from Equals said that they were going to share the report with the School Education Department and the State Commissioner for the Differently-Abled.
