Over 300 special schools run by non-government organisations for intellectually disabled children are staring at potential closure following a steep cut in allocation for them by the Education department.
The State government had originally allocated ₹105 crore for the 2021-22 period for special schools but has now reportedly slashed it to ₹22.50 crore. As per the original allocation, ₹60 crore was meant for special schools, ₹35 crore for Buds schools run by local self-government bodies, and ₹10 crore for institutes offering vocational skills to the intellectually disabled aged over 18 years.
The reduced allocation will affect the payment of honorarium to 5,000-odd teaching staff in these schools that collectively account for around 25,000 children suffering from ailments like autism, cerebral palsy, multiple disabilities, and mental retardation.
“We were intimated about the reduced allocation just a couple of days ago leaving us with little room to even protest and force a reversal considering that the financial year is about the draw to a close,” said Roy Mathew Vadakkel, chairman of Association for the Intellectually Disabled (AID).
Nevertheless, six organisations associated with special schools have joined hands to launch a protracted protest against the move starting with a march to the office of the Director of General Education in Thiruvananthapuram on March 30.
“The reduced allocation is just enough to pay the teaching staff for only five months. They had put in yeoman’s service both online and offline during the pandemic. There is no point in eulogising them as angels for their service without giving them a decent pay, as they don’t get freebies from anywhere,” said Susheela Kuriachan, vice-chairman, AID.
While the teacher-student ratio is supposed to be 1:8, in reality the number of teachers eligible for honorarium is fixed based on grading, and payment for teachers engaged beyond that has to be met by the managements concerned. Some managements could afford to make only part payments through the year and settled the dues only when the government allocation was eventually released.
“The actual allocation is often kept under wraps till the eleventh hour leaving us in jeopardy,” said Sinil Das, secretary, Management Association for the Intellectually Disabled.
K.M. George, State president, Parents’ Association for Intellectually Disabled Kerala (PAID Kerala), said the extreme step of roping in children for the protest will have to be considered. “This is a fight for the survival of a community. What will our children do if these schools are closed down. While the honorarium in other sectors is progressively increased, teachers at special schools, despite going beyond mere teaching and taking holistic care of our children, are being given a raw deal time and again,” he alleged.
