Showing posts with label inclusive education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inclusive education. Show all posts

Thursday, October 20, 2016

What constitutes "appropriate education" for students with Autism in public schools- US Supreme Court to consider

Dear Colleagues,

The origins of this potentially lank mark case stretch back to 2010 when the parents of a child with autism in Douglas County of USA had to withdraw their child from "Summit View Elementary" -  a public school  after the child (now 17) began to exhibit severe behavioral issues, including banging his head, dropping to the floor, disrobing and running away from school. The parents having been convinced the school wasn’t doing enough to help their son with autism progress academically, pulled the child out of Summit View and enrolled him in Firefly Autism, a Denver school that specializes in working with autistic children.

The parents have argued in the petition they submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court late last year that the intent of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) was to provide a meaningful education to disabled students, not simply a “just-above-trivial” benefit. They noted that federal judges from several circuits across the country have issued conflicting rulings over the years on what is the "appropriate standard" to be used to assess the proper level of educational benefit a disabled student should get. The petition of the parents argues that this case presents an ideal vehicle for this Court to resolve the circuit split and provide lower courts with guidance in applying the IDEA.

It is pertinent to note that the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t spoken on the issue since the 1982 Board of Education Versus Rowley ruling, when it affirmed that IDEA guaranteed disabled students access to the public school classroom but didn’t address the quality of that education.

Even in India, we have been facing this issue of what is 'appropriate education' for children with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While the government schools in India are woefully ill-equipped in absence of trained educators, lack of teaching learning material in the schools given the large number of students. The situation is equally grim in the private schools as well who charge a considerable amount in the name of tuition fee and other counts, however, have made the education of disabled children an affair to be managed by Shadow Teachers (paid by parents). In the name of inclusion, children do remain in the school but there is hardly an effort to include them in the classroom or the learning outcomes. Children with disabilities are also not included in play or extra-curricular activities. This is surely not inclusion. This is a clear violation of the spirit of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 and in particular Section 30 of the Act.

Entire world will be watching this case with great curiosity as to what Supreme Court of USA decides. But one thing is sure, Supreme Court had made up its mind to speak its mind on the issue and likely to grant Certiorari to the parents. This case is truly about equal opportunity for the special needs children that the law requires. And this is likely to help realize inclusive education as enshrined in the IDEA.

Brief about IDEA 

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a four-part (A-D) piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA (Public Law No. 94-142). Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.

IDEA is composed of four parts, the main two being part A and part B.[1] Part A covers the general provisions of the law, Part B covers assistance for education of all children with disabilities, Part C covers infants and toddlers with disabilities which includes children from birth to age three, and Part D is the national support programs administered at the federal level. Each part of the law has remained largely the same since the original enactment in 1975.

In practice, IDEA is composed of six main elements that illuminate its main points. These six elements are: Individualized Education Program (IEP), Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Appropriate Evaluation, Parent and Teacher Participation, and Procedural Safeguards. To go along with those six main elements there are also a few other important components that tie into IDEA: Confidentiality of Information, Transition Services, and Discipline. Throughout the years of IDEA being reauthorized these components have become key concepts when learning about IDEA.

Here is the coverage in Denver on the issue

U.S. Supreme Court will hear Douglas County student with disabilities case
Origins of potentially landmark case stretch back to 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hear a potentially groundbreaking case brought by a Douglas County couple who claim that their autistic son was not provided an adequate education in the public school system as required by federal law.

The high court’s ruling on the case, which likely wouldn’t come down until next year, could have substantial implications for students with disabilities across the country in terms of the standard school districts will be required to meet when providing instruction and services. At issue is whether schools must provide an education equal to other students.

The family, whose last name is not used in court documents, told The Denver Post on Thursday that they were “shell-shocked and giddy” about the decision by the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to their case, which has dragged on for half a dozen years.

“It’s about equal opportunity for special-needs kids that the law requires,” said Joe F., father of Endrew F., whose name anchors the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District case file. “If we can change any families’ lives, that’s our goal.”

The district released a statement on the high court’s decision late Thursday.

“It would be inappropriate to discuss the specifics of the case while it is still being litigated, but the Court’s decision today is not a decision on the merits, and we look forward to addressing the issues before the Court,” district spokeswoman Paula Hans said.

The roots of the case go back to 2010, when the Highlands Ranch couple pulled Endrew, now 17, out of Summit View Elementary after he began to exhibit severe behavioral issues, including banging his head, dropping to the floor, disrobing and running away from school. Convinced the school wasn’t doing enough to help their son progress academically, the couple pulled him out of Summit View and enrolled him in Firefly Autism, a Denver school that specializes in working with autistic children.
“If he was able to show up to school and say ‘good morning,’ that was good enough for them,” Joe F. said of the Douglas County School District. “They weren’t moving his education forward.”

The family has asked that their last name not be used.

The parents, who said their son has made progress in his learning since attending Firefly, asked the district to reimburse them for the tuition they paid for Endrew’s private schooling. They claimed that the Douglas County School District did not do enough to provide their son with a “free appropriate public education” as required by the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

But an administrative law judge, a federal judge and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the district, claiming in separate rulings that the federal statute only requires that schools provide students with “some educational benefit,” a standard they determined Douglas County had met with Endrew.

The family argued in the petition they submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court late last year that the intent of the IDEA was to provide a meaningful education to disabled students, not simply a “just-above-trivial” benefit. They noted that federal judges from several circuits across the country have issued conflicting rulings over the years on what is the appropriate standard to be used to assess the proper level of educational benefit a disabled student should get.

“This case presents an ideal vehicle for this Court to resolve the circuit split and provide lower courts with guidance in applying the IDEA,” their petition argued.

The U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t spoken on the issue since the 1982 Board of Education v. Rowley ruling, when it affirmed that IDEA guaranteed disabled students access to the public school classroom but didn’t address the quality of that education.

The family received a boost last month when the Office of the Solicitor General filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to take up the case. It said that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had set the bar — a standard of “merely … more than de minimis” educational benefit — too low.

“No parent or educator in America would say that a child has received an ‘appropriate’ or a ‘specially suitable’ or ‘proper’ education ‘in the circumstances’ when all the child has received are benefits that are barely more than trivial,” the solicitor general’s office wrote.

But Kathleen Sullivan, chief counsel for the Colorado Association of School Boards, said it would be better for Congress to clarify its statutes than for the court to impose an order. A uniform standard handed down by the Supreme Court would prove “disruptive” to what is today an individually tailored analysis and decision between educators, parents and students, she said.

“The disruption is in shoving aside more than 30 years of case law that we have in helping us understand what the IDEA means for students,” Sullivan said. “I think we would see a wave of litigation to define and apply that new standard.”

The district, in a brief it filed earlier this month urging the Supreme Court not to take up the case, argued that in passing the IDEA, Congress guaranteed access to public education for students with disabilities but did not specify what the level of that education should be.

“Thus, for over 30 years, this Court has held that if a State provides a program ‘reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits,’ then it ‘has complied with the obligations imposed by Congress and the courts can require no more,’ ” the brief argued.

But Jack Robinson, an attorney for Endrew F.’s family, said one of the IDEA’s stated goals is readying a student with disabilities for the workforce or independent living, something that can’t be achieved with a minimal education offering.

“There has to be a more heightened and robust standard than a little more than nothing,” Robinson said. “This case has the potential of recognizing that children with disabilities have a right to a substantive education.”

Source : Denverpost 

Note: This post is also reproduced on blog "Disability Rights Through Courts

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Structural Changes in Govt. Schools with NGOs on Board to ensure disabled children actually learn

Dear colleagues,

Please refer to my earlier post titled 'Delhi Govt. focuses on students with disabilities in Govt. Schools- thanks to Working Groups with NGOs'. Here is an updated report on the project by Shreya Roy Chowdhury of TNN, wherein the 6 working groups have moved ahead on many areas and the Delhi Govt. is hoping that through these interventions, the children with disabilities enrolled in govt. schools will actually learn:


Shreya Roy Chowdhury | TNN | Updated: Sep 22, 2016, 12.04 AM IST

New Delhi: Through a number of interventions, Delhi government is hoping to ensure that disabled children in its schools actually learn. Taking disability-sector NGOs on board, the Directorate of Education has established six working groups to address different aspects of education for such kids—teacher training, aids and resources, even "structural changes" in the administration. "Disability mapping" is on the cards and on September 15, the government issued a list of 14 schools in different school districts where accessible "resource centres" will be built.

There are about 20,000 'children with special needs' or CWSN in Delhi government schools. The Right to Education Act's insistence on inclusivity and accessibility has increased enrollment but activists argue the system is not up to scratch. Now, even the government agrees. The minutes of a June 2016 meeting organised by the government with NGOs says, "The issue of mismatch of expertise of Special Education Teachers (SETs) and needs of CWSN was raised. Disability mapping of CWSN should be the first step." The meeting was attended by directorate officials and representatives of many organisations.

"The special educators are single-disability trained. We have offered to train in cross-disability and inclusive education so that they can help children and teachers," says G Syamala of Action for Ability Development and Inclusion.

The DoE's meeting minutes explain that each working group will include two NGOs (or institutes) and one department official. One will work exclusively on learning disabilities — help identify children who have them, "finalize...tools for assessment of learning disabilities", "provide lucid instructions for...teachers", "prepare training module for assessment of these children."

Another will develop teaching aids. There'll be a central resource library in every zone — 29 libraries distributed over 13 school districts. These will serve as repositories of resources for special educators, teachers, parents and the kids themselves. The All India Confederation of the Blind has offered to work with the Delhi Bureau of Text Books to producing Braille and large-print texts.

Members also agreed on developing "zonal resource centres" — essentially one school in a zone capable of extra support — for children "with severe disability." This, however, doesn't mean more 'special' schools — fundamentally contrary to the idea of inclusion. "Recipient[s] of these services (CWSN) will study in their schools" and the centres will offer "specialized services". Major changes to the administration are also being considered including creation of special posts to implement programmes and monitor.

The AICB president AK Mittal has sent the DoE a list of other suggestions including "orientation and mobility" training for the visually challenged, "expanded core curriculum activities" for disabled children and "school-mapping for the placement of special educators."


Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Delhi Govt. focuses on students with disabilites in Govt. Schools- thanks to Working Groups with NGOs.

Dear Colleagues,

Delhi Govt's decision to form working groups in association with NGOs has resulted in some renewed focus on the learning outcomes of students with disabilities studying in various govt and aided schools in Delhi. I call it a step in right direction by the Kejriwal Govt. which has been experimenting several programs to ensure that students with disabilities were truly included in schools. Its Department of Education (DoE) had formed 7 working groups in association with leading NGOs working on inclusive education to address the issue of quality education for all in Govt. Schools. 

This constructive & participatory process assures all of us that things are going in right direction despite initial hiccups and several challenges. The special educators have been asked to prepare IEP (Individualized Education Program) for each child with disability with short term and long term goals to be reviewed periodically. The teachers are also given flexibility to review & modify the module. The support of multi-disciplinary team like therapists, counselors,  educators etc is also being proposed to be made available.

The challenges that still remain is many schools do not have required number of special educators. Class Teachers also need to be trained and involved in the child's learning and the responsibility shouldn't be just shifted to the special educators completely. This would not result in true inclusion.  Parents also have a larger role in child's development & should be involved in supplementing IEP at home. But this is also a challenge as many of them are working and do not have time to support children's education.

However, I am sure the working groups with the support of expert NGOs would take this challenge further and take this program of inclusion to a gradual success. I would be very keenly following this experiment on inclusive & quality education with measurable learning outcomes of children with disabilities (children with special needs)  in Govt. schools. This experiment deserves accolades and is worth emulating in rest of Indian states given its participatory approach with a focus on inclusion!

Here is the Tribune Report on the same.

Special education programme for the disabled in govt schools

Every disabled child studying in Delhi Government run and aided schools will now get personal attention with the AAP government asking special educators to prepare an individualised education programme (IEP).

"Special educators placed in government run and aided schools have been asked to prepare an individualised education programme for every disabled child in their care. The IEP will include instructions on the teaching procedure as well," a senior official of the Directorate of Education (DoE) said.

There are around disabled 20,000 children enrolled in government schools at present.

"We have asked the special education teachers to prepare the IEP of each child with special needs (CWSN) within 15 days, the format of which should cover everything from basic requirements to extra-curricular activities.

"Teachers will have the liberty to modify any particular child's module as per requirements. The educators will not only record the type of special need but also associated conditions, languages spoken and referral to other services -in case the child needs services such as physiotherapy," the official said.

After identifying the problems, the educators will set both short-term and long-term goals for each child.

DoE officials had recently formed seven working groups in association with various NGOs working for children with special needs.

Monday, May 9, 2016

RTI reveals Delhi's Schools not compliant to CBSE guidelines on disabled friendliness

This report filed by Mr. Manash Gohain in Times of India Delhi Edition and published on May 08 2016 titled "City schools tough place for disabled" based on over 160 RTI replies received by Ms. Abha Khetrapal of "Cross the Hurdles" reveals how equipped and serious Delhi is when it comes to providing quality education in an inclusive set up for children with disabilities. Here goes the story.

Most Delhi schools are not inclusive, and their differently-abled students are deprived of assistive devices or materials even though the Central Board of Secondary Education has issued guidelines on these. Replies to queries under the Right to Information received from the capital's government, government-aided and private schools reveal that most of the institutions have not carried out audits to establish the levels of the prescribed amenities.

Unfortunately , CBSE, having issued three guidelines over the years, too said in a reply to an RTI query that it had no information on access audits, compliance and action taken in case of non-compliance. The education board first issued guidelines on making school disabled-friendly way back in May 2005. It reissued fresh guidelines in October 2008 and then reiterated these in 2009, making it incumbent on schools to comply with measures suggested in the guidelines.

These included provision of support through accessible educational material and the availability of trained teachers, modification of the existing physical infrastructure and teaching methodologies to meet the needs of all children, including those with special needs, ensuring availability of study material for the disabled and talking text books, reading machines and computers with speech software and the induction of an adequate number of signlanguage interpreters, transcription services and a loop induction system for the hearing-impaired students.

TOI has copies of the 160 RTI replies received by petitioner Abha Khetarpal, President of Cross the Hurdles, an NGO that works with people with physical challenges.Only two of the schools claimed to have carried out the mandated access audit. In a majority of the schools, the queries about study materials, teacher training, infrastructure, access audit report and number of students with disabilities evinced "not applicable" as the response. Just five schools said they had visually-impaired students, and there was no data on students with disabilities like locomotor disability.

According Khetarpal, “The annexure in the 2009 guidelines clearly stated the things that schools were to provide in order to make them inclusive, failing which they would lose their affiliation. CBSE now replies that they do not keep a record of such information.“ The board told Khetarpal that affiliated schools only provide Open Text Based Assessment material in Braille, but this carries only 10% weightage in the final exams and is also meant only for Classes IX and XI. What about 90% of the study material, she asks.How would students with visual impairment cope?

Some private schools refused to divulge the information on the ground that they did not come under the purview of the RTI Act. So, there is no confirmed number on students with disabilities in regular inclusive schools and what they study . Khetarpal says that when asked this, CBSE said it not only didn't have the data, but that it also doesn't monitor compliance of its guidelines.



Thursday, March 6, 2014

Goa Board to offer Custom Syllabus for Students with Disabilities


Gauree Malkarnekar,TNN | Mar 6, 2014, 02.11 AM IST

PANAJI: Children with special needs will now have their syllabus from Class IX to XII modified to their individual needs if they find it difficult to cope with the curriculum in force. The academic council of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has approved an improvised scheme for special children to be implemented for 2014-15.

Under the modified scheme, once a child is certified for a disability, the institution along with the child, will have to decide if he or she is capable of taking up one of the existing courses of study offered by the board or if a new course based on the primary structure of the syllabus will have to be framed by bodies of the board to meet the individual student's need.

"If a particular student is unable to sit in the classroom because of his or her disability or there are other such issues, a separate syllabus can be framed under the new scheme to meet the child's individual needs. The benefits of this revised scheme have now also been extended to higher secondary students," Goa Board chairperson Jose Remedios Rebello said.

The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) will include a description of the individualized curriculum for academics and skills, specific objectives, teaching learning strategies and assessment procedures.

The revised Goa Board scheme lays more stress on assimilating children with special needs with regular school students.

"High school teachers of regular schools are already being trained under the Central government's Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) to sensitize them to recognize the needs of special children in a regular class. Goa Board's modified scheme will require regular teacher training programmes to include at least one module on types and characteristics of disabilities and observation of these characteristics in students. Training programmes will be organized for existing teachers," Rebello said.

The revised scheme requires that special children too be assessed through continuous evaluation and the format for it will be drawn by the board of studies.

The board will also certify special children answering the Class X and XII public exams differently stating their level of disability, the subjects selected, the mode of assessment and the level of performance (preferably through grading).

Students with disabilities will be provided with some general concessions like decreasing their writing load by setting objective type questions, allowing verbal responses for children with writing difficulties, overlooking directional mistakes in maps in geography, awarding marks for the method employed in mathematics, pardoning the errors in calculation arising out of writing numbers in the wrong order, evaluating the content of answer rather than the syntax or structure and spelling errors and allowing point-form writing etc.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Best Pratice: Innovating Teaching makes learning a fun for school kids

Village teacher makes learning fun

Vijaysinh Parmar,TNN | Feb 4, 2014, 05.11 AM IST

RAJKOT: Kamlesh Zapadia, a primary school teacher in a remote village of the district, struggles with erratic power supply at his house. But he did not mind travelling 20km to Jasdan daily for a cybercafe to give shape to his innovative teaching aid that makes studying less burdensome. 

Zapadia (35) has converted the entire syllabus from class 1 to 10 in a quiz format - he likens it to Kaun Banega Crorepati (KCB) - so that children don't have to cram textbooks for exams and enjoy studies. 

Zapadia and his friends have developed a website - www.edusafar.com - and uploaded the entire syllabus in the quiz format, a feat that has also been recognized by India's premier business school - Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A). 

Zapadia will be among 100 teachers who will be felicitated by Gujarat Innovative Education Council and Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training, for their innovative ideas in education, in Gandhinagar on February 5. 

"Playing a quiz online is always fun. If the same can be done with syllabus, children will learn faster and enjoy it too," Zapadia told TOI. "Moreover, the entire syllabus in quiz format can be downloaded free of cost from our website. Most schools have computers now and they can utilize it to the maximum," he said. 

Last week, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) conducted a special workshop on this project. "We are keen to carry Zapadia's idea forward and implementing it in all 1,420 schools. We have already distributed the CDs to all the primary schools in the district," said M V Nagani, principal, DIET.

Source : Times of India 

Thursday, October 31, 2013

An inclusive school in Mumbai

All schools can be special

Nergish Sunavala, TNN Oct 20, 2013, 05.35AM IST

While interviewing Usha and Rupesh Bhurke at their Goregaon home, I assumed that their seven-year-old son wasn't paying attention. After all Dev, diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at age two, was spinning merrily around the room, playing with Lego, and urging his parents to switch on the TV. But the moment Rupesh mentioned the name Advait, Dev froze mid-spin and announced, "Advait was absent on Monday."

Both boys study at Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya, a mainstream school in Malad, Mumbai, and have known each other since junior kindergarten. Early on Advait, who has no special needs, was asked to monitor Dev's class work - a task he took so seriously that Dev was in danger of becoming helpless without him. Now, Advait waits for a go-ahead from the teacher before swooping in to help.

Besides bonding with Advait - a feat considering Dev's speech was delayed - there has also been a marked improvement in his vocabulary, sitting tolerance and a sharp decline in his hyperactivity. Dev's situation is remarkable but not unique. Parents, teachers and special educators have long realized that children, when sensitized from a young age, accept differently abled classmates - incorporating wheelchairs and even prosthetic limbs into their games. As for academics, tweaking the curriculum slightly - or in severe cases creating an individualized education plan - allows these children to flourish in a regular school.

Analyzing what works has taken on a new urgency in light of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which makes it mandatory for schools to admit children with disabilities under the 25% quota for "disadvantaged groups". A 2012 amendment expanded the definition of disability to include autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities. Though the RTE Act came into effect in 2010, activist Ashok Agarwal from Delhi describes the implementation as "tardy" and "uneven". He regularly fields calls from frantic parents whose differently-abled children are being denied admission or ousted from government or private schools. (In 2012, the parents of an autistic boy took a Mumbai school to court because they asked that he be shifted to a special school. The case is still on.)

It's easy to understand why many schools - already flailing under the pressure of overcrowded classrooms, rigid curricula and a shortage of staff - are reluctant to take on children with special needs but that only makes the ones that have successfully embraced inclusion all the more remarkable. In Dev's case, for the first six months, he kept wandering around class but his teacher - despite having 40 other students - took it in her stride. "She never shouted at him," says Usha. Similarly, Jaya Palaparti's son Siddhanth, who has Asperger Syndrome, reached class 10 because his teachers at Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya in Borivali focused on his strengths (reading and mental math) and accommodated his hyper-sensitivity. He was allowed to wear sandals because socks exacerbated his sensory issues, and he wrote in print even after the rest of the class switched to cursive (kids with autism struggle with fine motor skills). Siddhanth scored 79% in his SSC boards with concessions like using a calculator and dropping a third language and is now completing class 12 through open schooling. "Siddhanth's success encouraged the school to admit more kids with autism," says Jaya.

Anecdotal evidence shows that it's not just high-functioning kids who can thrive in a regular school. Harsh Shardul, a nonverbal child in a wheelchair, who has cerebral palsy, attends an inclusive pre-primary school in Aurangabad. His mother's initial fears that he might feel ignored were soon allayed. "Once the other children got used to him, they started inventing games, they could play with Harsh like racing against his wheelchair," said his mother.

Such stories are the norm rather than the exception at Beacon High in Khar. For the last 13 years, the school, which has special educators, counselors, a physiotherapist, speech therapist and a psychiatrist on its rolls, has been admitting children with disabilities. "I'm blessed that I have never had a child feeling rebuffed, humiliated or left out," says principal KS Jamali, who has found that the "buddy system" - similar to the relationship Dev and Advait share -works marvelously even in senior classes.

If mainstreaming is implemented halfheartedly, a child can feel excluded. A mother of two autistic girls was forced to withdraw her elder daughter from a Mumbai school ten years ago. "She would laugh and talk to herself in class so the teacher wasn't keen to keep her," says the mother. Her younger daughter is now floundering in the secondary section of an IGCSE school. Small concessions like photocopied notes, regular breaks and fewer assignments would help but the school isn't always receptive to suggestions.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Kolkata Teachers believe children with disabilities are careless, insincere, doubtful and rigid!

Teachers prejudiced against disabled kids, says Indian Statistical Institute study

Jayanta Gupta, TNN Oct 1, 2013, 04.35AM IST

KOLKATA: A study conducted among teachers in government- and government-aided schools in the city has revealed that most of them are prejudiced against pupils with disabilities.

According to the study, conducted by the Psychology Research Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), a large number of teachers believe that children with disabilities are "careless", "insincere", "doubtful" and "rigid". So much for the government's initiative to promote inclusive education. A study conducted by the Psychology Research Unit of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in government and government-aided schools in Kolkata has revealed that a large number of teachers consider differently-abled children to be careless, insincere, doubtful and rigid.

The same teachers believe that children without special needs are "systematic", "confident", "sincere" and "responsive".

The research paper was presented at the Indian Science Congress with a view to impress upon the state government that our schools may still not be ready for inclusive education, which the government is trying to promote.

The study revealed some startling facts. "The most negative attitude towards children with disabililies was expressed by young teachers; those with postgraduate degrees; and those from high socio-economic backgrounds. Many of those who held this attitude have people with disabilities at home," said Sumana Dutta, a research scholar at ISI .

The institute collaborated with Bikashayan, an NGO, in carrying out the study.

To gauge the attitude of 1,472 teachers in Kolkata, researchers used what is known as a semantic differential scale. "In a semantic differential scale, respondents are asked to choose where his or her position lies, on a scale between two bipolar adjectives. This scale is used to measure opinions, attitudes and values," explained Dr Debdulal Dutta Roy, assistant professor of the Psychology Research Unit. In this case, some of the pairs of bipolar adjectives used were "careless and systematic", "insincere and sincere", "doubtful and confident" and "rigid and responsive". The questionnaire with 20 such bipolar adjectives was filled in by teachers, parents and administrative staff.

A complex statistical method known as "Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Rotation" was used to arrive at the results.

"We surveyed 1,829 people in all. While 1,472 were teachers, there were 262 parents and the remaining administrative staff. We noticed that the teachers had the most negative attitude. Teachers from north Kolkata had the worst attitude followed by those in the south and west," Dutta added.

According to Dutta Roy, who monitored the process, it was a surprise that some teachers who have children with disabilities also display this attitude. "This reveals that the teachers are not considering the limitations of a child with disabilities," said the executive council member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. "The second part of the study revealed that most schools (government- and government-aided) don't have the infrastructure required for inclusive education. There is clearly a need for remedial teaching and psycho-educational teaching if inclusive education has to be successful. Maybe the teachers will need more training. For the moment, though, special schools can't be done away with."

In the second part of the survey, 293 schools were surveyed. It was found that 42% of these schools don't have their own drinking water facility. Resource rooms - remedial classrooms where students with special needs are given specialized assistanceare - absent in 95% of these schools. It was also found that 98% schools have no resource teachers.

"Though 98% schools consider a resource person beneficial, in more than 44% schools, such teachers pay just a single visit in a month. In 53% schools, the visit is just for an hour. More than 85% schools have untrained teachers. If there is a problem, how will these teachers react? The problem lies with the non-manipulative nature of our pedagogy. Things will have to be more manipulative if children are to receive proper education," Dutta Roy added.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Status of Education- 62 Special Educators for 18,000 children with disabilities in Delhi


Shikha Sharma : New Delhi, Thu Sep 05 2013, 

It has been four months since she went to school. Every time the 11-year-old turns up at her municipal school in Nehru Park, the principal sends her back, saying the school doesn't have special educators to teach her. The 11-year-old is a challenged child.
But she isn't the only one forced to stay at home because of a lack of specialist teachers. Her's is the story of more than 18,000 differently abled children studying in the city's many government and municipal schools, who, in the absence of special education teachers, are either not allowed to enter the schools or refused admission.

A report submitted by the Education department in the Delhi Assembly identified 18,000 such kids in 2009. The number of teachers qualified to teach these students, though, stands at only 62.

Around 250 teachers hired on contract under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) were teaching in the city's many schools until May. But their contracts were not renewed once they expired. "So barring the 62 teachers engaged by the government recently, there are no teachers in both MCD and government schools now," said S C Bimal, component coordinator (special education), SSA.

In September 2009, the High Court, noting the serious paucity of special educators, directed the government and local bodies to ensure each school had at least two special educators within six months.

Following the order, the Delhi government created 927 permanent teacher posts in Directorate of Education (DoE) schools and 1,610 in MCD schools through the Delhi Subordinate State Services Board (DSSSB). But little seems to have come of it.

"For the 927 posts, 450 teachers were called for counselling and we are expecting some to join soon. With 62 guest teachers already working, the situation will improve as the second round of recruiting guest teachers and fresh recruitment of contract teachers is underway," said Amit Singla, Director, DoE.

"We have created 695 posts for special educators. As soon as the DSSSB recruits for these posts, we will fill them up," said Mukesh Yadav, PRO, South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Only nine out of 8,789 teachers shortlisted by DSSSB, though, have qualified for the job.

The quality of education, also, stands to question. "Where the Rehabilitation Council of India prescribes one teacher for every eight differently abled children, most teachers appointed on contract are given 20 schools to handle. Principals in most MCD schools refuse to admit children with disabilities. In some cases, we see a child only once a month. We may call them children with special needs but the truth is, they are the most ignored," said Ramgopal, a special educator working on contract.


Thursday, August 1, 2013

Inaccessibility keeps students away from Colleges in Coimbatore

Dear Colleagues,

This seems to be the condition in most Indian Institutions including the Delhi University wherein even the minimum seats reserved the students with disabilities go vacant each year. In Delhi Univeristy alone roughly close to 500 students take admissions against the 1500 reserved seats for the students with disabilities and even this number gets reduced due to drop outs who do not find accommodation or have problem of transportation. 

In the instant case in Coimbatore, it is not because the students with disabilities  are not interested in pursuing higher education that seats remain vacant, but because the institutions do not provide an environment conducive to them.

Even those who choose to pursue higher education are those with lesser percentage of disability.  Therefore, reservation of seats in higher education for the disabled is of no consequence if the physical infrastructure (of institutions/ hostels) & the transportation systems to reach institutions are not inclusive and barrier free!  Here is the news from The Hindu:

Lack of facilities keeps differently abled away from Coimbatore's educational institutions : Coimbatore

AMUTHA KANNAN

Focus on use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to ensure differently abled lead an inclusive life, has stolen the attention from the real difficulties they face from the physical barriers. This is significant from the representations they have time and again made demanding a barrier-free environment.

While, most differently abled have easy use of audio-visual aids, equipment, computers and softwares to assist them, what remains elusive is the physical access to various places by virtue of these not being disabled-friendly. This is in terms of absence of ramps, lifts to accommodate wheel chairs, modified washrooms, etc. This becomes critical when these places are schools / colleges / universities. 

This year, only a few higher education institutions have been able to admit students under the three per cent quota for the differently abled. Out of these, only a handful of colleges have admitted students in double digits. And, this is not because those with disability are not interested in pursuing higher, but because the institutions do not provide an environment conducive to them.

Even those who choose to pursue higher education are those with lesser percentage of disability.

Persons with disability of 70 per cent and above, and others who are confined to wheel chairs do not prefer to go to colleges because the infrastructure is not suited to their condition.

Though there is an Act – The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 – to ensure equal opportunities, higher education still remains a distant dream.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has schemes to provide grants for creating facilities in colleges that are 2 (f) and 12 (B) approved, and universities, but since the institutions do not take interest in applying for these, the schemes go unused.

But the recent State Government Order Ms. No. 21 (Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules 2013 of February 1, 2013), the implementation of which comes with a time frame of 180 days, has brought some hope. The G.O. calls for making public and multi-storeyed buildings disabled-friendly in six months.

R. Rajendran, Principal of PSG College of Arts and Science, says, “The college has used the grant from UGC under the XI Fiver Year Plan, along with its own funds, to make existing buildings disabled friendly. Work is going on in phases to put up ramps, modify washrooms, etc. Some washrooms are already in use.”

More than 90 differently abled applied here for UG admission and the college admitted nearly 40 students based on eligibility and three per cent quota.

Visually challenged, and those who are hearing and speech impaired prefer to go to institutions that are exclusive for persons like them. However, there are only special schools and not colleges to accommodate them.

Nevertheless, Nithya Ramachandran, Deputy Joint Director, Sankara College of Arts and Science, says the college admits those with hearing and speech impairment.

“Special infrastructure, aids and faculty have been arranged to cater to these students. It requires special effort to provide them with an atmosphere that is conducive to study,” she says.

On colleges constructing infrastructure suited to the differently-abled, Ms. Ramachandran says that self-financing colleges do not get any provision from any source for taking up such activities.

Though the UGC provides grants, these are restricted only to colleges that have been approved under Sections 2 (f) and 12 (B) and not those recognised under Section 2 (l), which are not declared fit to receive central assistance.


Friday, November 16, 2012

Present education system is inaccessible to deaf

Our entire education system, even the special schools /infrastructure created for the hearing impaired (barring few exceptions) is unwelcoming and inaccessible to the deaf children. Need of interpreters at public places is one demand from the sector to make the environment accessible for the hearing and speech impaired. However, the effort of mainstreaming or of providing interpreters will not bring the desired result if the root cause is not targeted. 

The education system in the Government Schools for the Deaf is unscientific and results in only 2-3% pass percentage at matriculation level in a state like Delhi. I personally know this since I have seen several deaf young adults re-attempting the matriculation exam time and again to get those 33% but with rot learning and remembering the paragraph visually will not lead to formation of correct sentences. Majority of deaf children who have passed 10th from the Government deaf schools can not write a full paragraph of their own which is grammatically correct - in any language - be it Hindi or English. Is this what we are aspiring for?

The whole education system for the deaf needs an overhaul with sign language also getting its due place in the  overall education system. The teachers and supporting staff do not know sign language. So much so, the deaf person remain alienated in their own families since there is hardly any effort or facility to train the family members in sign language.  A deaf person always prefers to marry another deaf person indicates the level of their alienation from the mainstream society. 

Unless we did something to remove this alienation due to lack of communication with the deaf children / persons in various walks of life - be it education, employment or social inclusion, the deaf will continue to suffer and government will continue to help them become handicapped and excluded.

The report below from UP reveals the ground realities being faced by people.



TNN | Nov 14, 2012, 01.28 AM IST

LUCKNOW: As a child Vijendra, 28-year-old always wanted to be a gazetted officer. Though deaf and mute, he overcame disability with his sheer willpower and hard work, and cleared the examinations with good grades. However, the pathetic state of affairs in the two government schools meant for hearing-impaired children (in Agra and Gorakhpur till class 10thh forced Vijendra to take admission in a regular school in class ninth, which neither had trained teachers nor facilities needed to meet the special needs of the children like him. As a result, he failed twice to clear class 10th examination, lost his confidence and saw his dreams virtually crashing. Vijendra had no other option, but to leave studies and take up job for the sake of his family. Today, Vijendra works as a helper in an outlet of a retail giant. His job is to bring back the trolley left by people at parking and for this he gets Rs 3,500 per month.

"There are many like me, who want to do something big in life but cannot because there are no schools for us," said Vijendra while narrating the difficulties he underwent in a regular school. Similar is the case of Sanjay Singh, who is working at an outlet of a retail giant.

As per official estimates, there are around three million deaf children in India and around 25,000 such children take birth every year. According to disabled welfare department, the population of deaf and mute people in the state is about eight lakh including around 4,80,000 deaf children. In the absence of a special school, around 50% students with hearing impairment drop out after basic education in India every year. The situation in UP is said to be worse. According to a study conducted by Kaushalendra Kumar, a teacher at NC Chaturvedi School for Deaf, the drop out rate of deaf and mute students after class eighth in UP is 95%. "For deaf children, normal school is like a river in which they get drowned, as they do not know how to cross it," said Kumar.

Even if a deaf and mute student is able to clear the school level, there are no facilities for them in the higher education. Take the example of Faizal (22) who managed to clear class 10th and 12th from a normal school, but found that there is no college with facilities for hearing impaired in higher education. There is a university for disabled - UP Viklang Uddhar Dr Shakuntala Mishra Rehabilitation University, but it does not have facilities for hearing impaired. Faizal took admission in BA, but found that the teachers at the university teach orally and do not use the sign language for hearing impaired or an interpreter. "As I am deaf by birth, I cannot speak and hence there is no communication between me and the teacher," said a visibly angry Faizal whose repeated request to provide an interpreter fell on the deaf ears of the university authorities.

Not only education, there are no facilities for the hearing impaired as far as sports is concerned. Raj Kumar (23) left school after class eighth. But he is a good cricket player and was selected as an all-rounder North Zone in 2010. But after that, as there was no coaching or resources available for him, he did not qualify for any other cricket match. Now he is searching for job for livelihood. Earlier, the youth and sports department of the state used to give a grant of Rs two lakh per annum for sports activities of deaf children. However, the grant was discontinued in 2004 on grounds that it has funds only to support 'normal' sportspersons. When the deaf sportsperson went to the disabled welfare department with the request, they were sent back to sports department. They are running from pillar to post since then.

Significantly, there are number of hearing impaired sportsperson in UP who have done well at the national and international level. Asif Ayubi has won several medals at the state and national levels in 10,000 metre race and stood fourth in Melbourne Deaflympics in 2005. Vikram Singh, brought laurels to the country by winning a bronze medal in the 3rd Asia Pacific International Badminton championship. However, their career in sports was cut short after the sports department stopped the grant. "Many think that the sports and extra-curricular activities for the disabled are useless, but the fact is that it helps in breaking the communication barriers and improves self-confidence. Many deaf children have excelled in life after improvement in their communication abilities," said Rajeev Kumar Sharma, general secretary, Uttar Pradesh Sports Council for Deaf.

Sharma is himself a deaf person and is an example for others to follow. Hailing from a poor family, Sharma's parents did not spend on his education. But they educated his younger brother who was not disabled. To support his studies, Sharma sold water, watches and toys at Kaiserbagh bus stand for many years. In the morning, he used to go to school and also used to take typing classes, while in the noon and evening, he used to sell such items. He passed class eighth from NC Chaturvedi School For Deaf and class 10{+t}{+h} from a regular school in the year 1988. He got the job of typist in the Army in 1992. At presently, he is the office superintendent.

While talking to TOI, principal secretary, handicap welfare department, VN Garg said that there is need to add more schools for deaf children because two schools till class 10{+t}{+h} in the state are not enough for a large number of students. "But we face problem of shortage of funds and trained teachers. The average per capita expenses incurred on a disabled child's education is three times higher than a normal child. Apart from infrastructure, we need to provide all kind of incentives to disabled students," said Garg.

Commenting on the need of an interpreter for students with hearing disabilities, registrar, UP Viklang Uddhar Dr Shakuntala Mishra Rehabilitation University, SK Srivastava said, "We are aware about the problem and we will appoint the interpreters when we will find them, as there is scarcity of such teachers in the market." He added that the students are not facing difficulties in the studies, as they can understand what is written on blackboard or projector. All of them have passed class XII without the help of an interpreter.

Monday, April 23, 2012

MCD will create 1790 posts of Special Educator under Right to Education Act


PTIMar 19, 2011, 

NEW DELHI: In keeping with the provisions of the Right to Education Act, the MCD has decided to create 1,790 posts of special teachers for children with disabilities in schools run and aided by the civic agency.
A meeting of the MCD Standing Committee approved a proposal in this regard this week.
The creation of the posts is also in consonance with a Delhi high court order of 2008 that said at least two such teachers should be provided in each school along with necessary teaching aids and reading material.
Officials said the Education Department has, however, proposed to create one post of "special educator" in each primary school. It is in process to place a request to the High Court for consideration, they said.
"The proposal for creation of 1,790 posts of special educators -- one each for schools run and aided by the MCD -- was prepared in compliance with the direction of the court and the provisions of RTE," an official said.
The total financial implication of the project will be Rs 53.70 crore per annum and it is expected to be met put of Plan funds to be provided by Delhi government. "There is a provision of financing such expenditure under RTE. According to it, 65 per cent of the expenditure will be borne by the Union government and the remaining by the state," he said.
The Right to Education Act provides that a child suffering from disability shall have the right to pursue free and compulsory elementary education.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Can the Private Schools really become Disabled friendly without Government Support ?

Dear Friends,

I am surprised at the recent move of Directorate of Education, Delhi directing the private schools to make their school buildings accessible- though without any time frame. It is surely to pass the buck emanating from not only the recent Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act but also the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 by which they are bound.

In the present scenario, making all existing private schools in Delhi accessible is next to impossible by such directives alone. Has the department of education bothered to go and check the limitations under which the private schools function? These shops came up only because the Education Department failed its mandate. It did not provide quality education and hence the parents, including those of children with disabilities looked at private options. Private options, however, charitable they may be, will be restricted by the funds and infrastructure. Now whether it is private mainstream schools or private special schools, money is an important motive, more so for the former kind of schools if not for NGO run (not for profit) special schools.

These schools run in small plots of lands in narrow lanes with hardly any space for play grounds or field work or for other school activities. Most often, these schools are multi-floor with space & economic constraints to make a ramp or construct a lift. Since profit is the one of the chief considerations besides social service in these private schools, every penny invested in retrofitting must give them some benefit else it is a burden on them. You can't expect them to do things in charity for 3% of population for they are not governed by the social justice mandate. When the Government who are governed by the social justice mandate fails to provide accessible and disabled friendly school infrastructure with quality education, how can we expect the same from the small private initiatives to do that extra bit from their pockets?

This precisely means, unless Education department comes up with some financial & Technical support to make the infrastructure accessible, majority of private schools cannot implement their directive. This is a fact which even the department knows. That is why this lip service has been done by merely issuing a directive without doing proper feasibility study before planning. The best answer to this would be creation of a fund by which schools are supported both financially and technically to ensure that the schools are friendlier to children with diversity.

Therefore, the right approach should be that either Education department gives the required support to the schools that do not have sufficient means to implement the access mandate or withdraws such a directive which cannot be implemented in most of the private schools. Passing the buck will not ensure the rights of free & compulsory education for children with disabilities in private schools but will only add to the list of defaulters. 

Its better the Directorate of Education rectifies the biggest mistake of their planning if they really want to ensure every school accessible; else this will remain a utopia - both for them as well as to the children with disabilities intending to study in these private schools.

Regards
Subhash Chandra Vashishth
   


Delhi schools told to make premises more disabled-friendly, activists unimpressed
(Click here to read the news from source


Fri, Aug 13 06:00 AM
If all goes according to plan and Delhi schools pay heed to orders of the Directorate of Education (DoE), schools across the Capital may soon be disabled friendly.

The DoE has directed all recognised unaided schools to remove all architectural barriers that pose a hindrance to movement of the disabled from the school premises. It, however, has not set a timeframe or deadline, raising concerns that this is "just another cosmetic measure".

The directive to schools comes in the wake of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act which has provisions for the children with disabilities. The DoE has asked schools to remove any architectural barriers "to facilitate the movement of disabled (students or staff) persons".

"This was necessary under the provisions of the Persons with Disability Act, 1995," said an Education department official.

The department has also asked the schools to make provisions for ramps and modified toilets in their school premises. It has, in fact, written to all Deputy Directors of Education (DDEs) that "these two points may be included in the pro forma for seeking recognition from the department and also in the pro forma of inspection of schools".

Javed Abidi, Director National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), said, "I know they have issued a directive to schools. Of course it is too little, too late. But the question is 'are they serious?'"

For affiliation to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE), one of the prerequisites is that the school should be disabled friendly.

But Abidi points out, "They should have given a reasonable timeframe to schools so that they can build ramps or modify toilets. This is all cosmetic. They should tell schools that they would be derecognised if they don't fall in line. I urge them to crack the whip." He says the Supreme Court is monitoring these cases.

Other experts too, were sceptical. Ashok Agarwal, lawyer and activist with Social Jurist, said, "This is just a PR activity. They are not serious." D K Bedi, principal of Apeejay School, Pitampura, said, "This is a welcome step."