In a major step towards ensuring schools in Delhi understand how inclusive
education, as mandated under the RPWD Act 2016 is actually put into practice,
the Directorate of Education, Government of Delhi held an
orientation for principals of private aided and unaided schools in the
national Capital.
This is the first time that any state has held such an exercise since the Act
came into effect. The aim was to ensure that schools understand the
fundamental changes they need to bring in to make sure that inclusive
education does not remain a policy level document.
The initiative for this novel exercise was taken by T D Dhariyal,
State Commissioner for People with Disabilities, Government of
Delhi. The move was based on his observations as well as issues
raised by parents relating to special education teachers, appropriate
teaching material and accessible environment, to name a few.
There were divergent issues raised by schools, parents and experts. School
principals felt putting these inclusive practices into place would not be
practical, that it would affect the overall results, while special
educators felt otherwise. So, it was important to do this. Our purpose is
to tell schools that it is obligatory on their part to admit children with
disabilities, give them facilities and that this is as much the schools’
responsibility as it is that of the government’s. – T D Dhariyal,
State Commissioner for People with Disabilities, Government of
Delhi
Of the 1,350 registered schools in Delhi that were called, 1,232 were
present. The specific objectives were:
“Many principals objected saying things like ‘how can we do this,’
‘how can we cater to a certain disability,’ etc.,” says Dhariwal. “I
told them that even the government does not have the discretion to raise any
questions. The rule says every child.”
The reactions from schools underline how despite various policies and laws
that promote mainstreaming of students with disabilities, effective inclusion
is not a regular feature. Clearly, the number of schools adopting best
practices is rather low. The main reason being they do not have the system in
place to address the various needs.
By holding such an orientation, the message has gone out that schools are
mandated to provide accessible education, with penalties to be paid for
failing to do so.
“No other state has done this,” points out Shailja
Sharma, a lawyer with vast experience in disability laws, who spoke
at the orientation. “States took their own time to frame the rules and that
gave them a pretext to say the law does not apply. We have been after them
since the RPWD Act came into effect that schools must be informed.”
At the workshop, Sharma dwelt on the legal provisions and implications on
private schools and their duties, regardless of whether they are aided or
unaided. “There are certain guidelines set down regarding monitoring the
growth of the child, one-on-one sessions, the technology that is to be given
to the child. We discussed reasonable accommodations, about discrimination
under the law, things like not giving the child access to the same patch of
sunlight as the other kids or not enabling them to be a part of what other
kids are doing.”
Also present were inclusive education experts who shared creative, unique
ways to promote inclusion in the classroom, like Professor Anupam
Ahuja, Department of Education of Groups with Special Needs at the
National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT).
Ahuja emphasized on the need to improve reading skills of children through
innovative materials like Barkhaa – A Reading Series for All,
which has print and digital versions for children with varying needs.
“There is a need to focus on all children and all really means all. They
need to study together and live together. In tune with the Right to Education
Act and RPWD Act we have worked at making reading material accessible. We
have tried to create an understanding of what is accessible reading material
for them.”
The exercise was a strong statement to the schools that the law is here to
stay and that the onus is on them to make sure it was implemented.
“It was an awesome orientation,” says Amresh Chandra Headmaster,
Special Wing, Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute, one of the schools
at the workshop. “The presence of other professionals in the disability
helped to clarify many details about the RPWD Act. Not all the issues that
schools face have been resolved, like the norms for writers for class 10
students are not clear, but we have to make the effort.“
These are baby steps, says Dhariyal. “Change will not happen overnight,”
he points out. We will hold workshops like these on a regular basis for
government schools and parents as well in the coming months. It is important
to keep the dialogues flowing for change to happen.”
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Source: https://newzhook.com/story/21052
