Gurgaon Mall faces ire for harassing Child with autism

U.S. resident alleges harassment of autistic son at Gurgaon mall

Ashok Kumar

GURGAON, September 5, 2013

“Though India has a sizeable population of people with special needs, the society still seems to be less receptive to such people and their needs. Unfortunately, sometimes even the educated people in India seem to lack the empathy for people with special needs and treat them as a burden,” this is what a U.S. resident and the mother of a teenaged boy with autism, who was discriminated against at a mall here, had to say following the unseemly incident.

The mother-son duo had to face discrimination at the hands of an “English-speaking” photo studio owner in DLF Phase-II here when they went there to get photographs clicked for a PAN card.

Attracted towards a balloon on the counter of a photo studio in Central Arcade, when the 15-year-old boy tried to reach out and grab it, the studio owner first asked the woman to take away the teenager and later flatly refused to click their pictures.

Appalled by the insensitive behaviour, the boy’s mother Harshita Mahajan, recalled how the shop owner just refused to tolerate her son inside the shop despite she trying to reason with him that the boy had to be with her and even offering to pay for any damages.

“I created a scene at the shop over it because people should know about it. Such behaviour should not be tolerated. The people with special needs also have a right to be as much part of society as anyone else. They should be allowed to use public spaces like malls, shops and parks. They should not be discriminated against. They need a bit of love and tolerance. After all, they did not ask to be born with disability. A healthy person today may also become dependent on others tomorrow,” said Ms. Mahajan, who also posted the incident on her Facebook page evoking immediate response from her friends.

Ms. Mahajan, a resident of Ohio in the United States, emphasised the need to sensitise the Indian society towards the people with special needs.

“In the United States, people have become more sensitised over the past two to three decades. I do not remember anybody taking a second look at my son in the US, whereas in India he is not even allowed inside a shop. In India, people who have children with special needs are scared to come out in the public. Their children are stared at, poked fun at. It needs to be changed. Those with special needs are wonderful human beings, they are pure. They are not involved in the kinds of horrific crimes that become the headlines of newspapers every other day,” Ms. Mahajan made a point.

Vikram, the shopkeeper, said: “The boy appeared to be normal, was not obeying his mother. He had broken a gift item and we only requested his mother not to take him inside the studio as he could damage the expensive cameras. My cousin is a special child and one of my employees is also deaf and dumb. It is not correct to say that we are insensitive.”

Accessibility to be standalone goal post 2015 for DPI

Pushing for accessibility

Aarti Dhar, September 6, 2013

Disabled People’s International wants disability to be a standalone goal in the post-2015 Development Agenda.

As the global development fraternity and political leaders gear up to discuss the post-2015 Development Goals during the UN General Assembly Meetings in New York this month, the disability sector has expressed serious concern over the non–inclusion of disability as a focused goal in the report of the High Level Panel (HLP) on the post-2015 development agenda.

“In the year 2000, when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were formulated, it was assumed that they would automatically apply to persons with disabilities. There was also some effort by the United Nations and a few international organisations to create awareness in this regard among various stakeholders. However, two years before its deadline for completion, none of the goals have been met for persons with disabilities. This is a mistake that the world cannot afford to make again. Therefore, the discussions and deliberations on Post -2015 Development Goals will have a significant bearing on the lives of one billion people with disabilities,” says Javed Abidi, chairperson, Disabled People’s International (DPI) who will participate in the High Level Meeting on Disability & Development in New York.

The HLP report states, “We should ensure that no person– regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status– is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities.” Further, the report has stated quite emphatically that, “Targets should only be considered ‘achieved’ if they are met for all relevant income and social groups.” However, DPI is of the opinion that this would not be enough to achieve the goals for persons with disabilities in the post-2015 development agenda.

Calling for inclusion of a stand-alone goal on disability in the post-2015 development agenda, similar on the lines of gender which has been addressed in the HLP report, the DPI has proposed specific targets/indicators for persons with disabilities under each goal.

Affirmative action

The DPI wants that the poverty line be adjusted to include disability costs and ensure that all general poverty alleviation and social protection policies and schemes have accessibility, accommodation and affirmative action for persons with disabilities.

Similarly, all policies and programmes, infrastructure and systems related to empowerment and rights of women should have a special component for women with disabilities so that such women with special needs are not discriminated against, the DPI has said.

More than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, of who nearly 200 million experience considerable difficulties in functioning. In the years ahead, disability will be an even greater concern because its prevalence is on the rise. This is due to ageing populations and the higher risk of disability in older people as well as the global increase in chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health disorders.

About 80 per cent of people with disabilities live in developing countries, 82 per cent live below the poverty line and 20 per cent of this group are the poorest of the poor.

Mortality for children with disabilities may be as high as 80 per cent in countries where the under-five mortality as a whole has decreased below 20 per cent, according to the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, adding that in some cases it seems as if disabled children are being "weeded out".

According to data available with Child Line, Lucknow, of the 27 new born abandoned children between 2007-08, 21 were female and ‘handicapped’ either mentally or physically. Amongst boys, 10 of the 19 found abandoned, were ‘handicapped’.

Education wanting

UNESCO studies have suggested that only one-two per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries receive any education. In developing countries, 80-90 per cent of people with disabilities of working age are unemployed.

It is estimated that only two per cent of people with disabilities in developing countries have access to rehabilitation and appropriate basic services. Women and girls with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse. A survey in 2004, in Orissa, India, found that virtually all of the women and girls with disabilities were beaten at home, 25 per cent of women with intellectual disabilities had been raped and six per cent of women with disabilities had been forcibly sterilized.

Keywords: Champions with Disability, Disabled People, global development, post-2015 Development Agenda

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pushing-for-accessibility/article5099950.ece

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

Only 62 special educators for capital’s 18,000 special children

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.

Source: Indian Express

Mutiple hurdles for disabled wanting to enter medicine

Disabled neglected in recruitment of doctors: Rights activists

Chennai, September 02, 2013

Applications for direct recruitment in Tamil Nadu this year have no reference to three per cent quota — a mandate stipulated by the health of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

The health of the Persons with Disability Act, 1995, in its implementation, is in need of resuscitation. Most in distress is the non-implementation of reservation quota guaranteed by the Act in the medical services sector.

Source: The Hindu

Section 33 of the Act mandates a three per cent reservation for the disabled in all government jobs. While two categories of disabled persons that usually can take advantage of this reservation are automatically excluded from joining medical services - visual and hearing impaired persons - those with disabilities in the lower limbs are allowed to qualify as medical professionals.

Technically, they should be allotted the three percent seats while the State hires doctors for its medical services.

All this is fine, in theory. While a Government Order in 2005 identified 117 posts that were reserved for the disabled; in 2013, an additional 170 posts were identified under the Tamil Nadu Medical Service, Tamil Nadu Subordinate Medical Service, Tamil Nadu Public Health Service and Tamil Nadu Public Health Subordinate Service. These include the posts of Assistant Surgeon in the specialties of physiology, radiology, radiotherapy, Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani, speech therapist, dietician, and health officer. However, implementation is quite another issue.

Earlier this year, the Differently Abled Welfare Department Secretary wrote to the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Recruitment Board (MSRB), making these points. He was writing to point out that despite these orders, MSRB’s communication of March 2013 calling for applications for direct recruitment had no reference to the disability reservation quota.

“The MSRB specifies even the percentage of disability, and the posts reserved on its website, but does it become invisible to the Board when it comes to actual recruitment?” asks S. Namburajan, State secretary, Tamil Nadu for the Rights of all Types of Differently Able and Caregivers (TARATDAC).

TARATDAC has written to the Chief Minister to intervene in the issue and ensure that the three percent rule of reservation is implemented in the medical services recruitment in Tamil Nadu.

It has also asked for a status report on the actual percentage of disabled persons hired in medical services recruitment in the State.

But reservation is just one aspect that is being raised by differently abled medical practitioners. There is also a further aspect of discrimination that doctors are alleging. A disabled doctor who applies for the reserved posts must appear in front of a medical board which will certify that the handicap will not affect his or her performance on the job, in order to be appointed.

A senior government medical doctor who is disabled says, on condition of anonymity, “Already, only those with lower limb disabilities (up to a certain percentage) are allowed to even take up the MBBS course. To gain admission, they have to appear in front of a medical board which will certify the candidate based on disability norms specified by the Medical Council of India. Only if this certificate is given can a student even take up medicine.”

He argues that once they undergo this test, they should only be judged on their professional skills and not be subjected to further “humiliation” by appearing in front of another medical board to certify physical fitness with reference to disability, over and above what other candidates are subject to.

“The government must do away with the second appearance before the medical board for disabled persons; it is quite unnecessary. It was tough when I was forced to go through the process,” says a lady doctor serving in the districts currently.

Health officials said that the department would definitely examine the request, and try to work towards a discrimination-free recruitment process.

Source: The Hindu

Equal opportunities & Non-Discrimination not restricted to PWD Act

Please refer to my earlier article "Disabilities can't be restricted to those in the PwD Act 1995" wherein I insisted that disabilities or medical conditions can not become grounds for discrimination in accessing services and the concept of reasonable accommodation has to become the hallmark to test whether the fundamental right of Equality was denied to individuals.

In a recent incident, covered in The Hindu below, a school asked the parents to take a Transfer Certificate and take the boy living with diabetes out of school.

School shows the door to diabetic boy

HYDERABAD:, August 11, 2013

Parents asked to seek a transfer certificate and take 9-year-old Tanishq out within a week

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Tanishq Jaiswal has learnt it the harsh way. For no fault of his, the boy is being denied education. His only fault is that he has contracted diabetes at an early age.

St. Paul’s High School, Hyderguda, where he is studying fourth class, has served marching orders on the nine-year-old kid. The school authorities have asked his parents to seek a Transfer Certificate (TC) and take the boy out of the school within a week. Tanishq has been taking insulin injections during the lunch break for the last one year. But now the school management feels enough is enough and has asked the parents to withdraw their child at the earliest. The boy’s parents are already upset at their son falling prey to diabetes. But the stubborn attitude of the school has shattered their peace of mind and shocked them beyond words. “Diabetes is not a disease, much less infectious. Moreover, our son has been taking the insulin injection on his own without causing disturbance to anyone. How can the school remove him?” asks Neeraj Jaiswal and his wife, Vaishali Jaiswal.

The world of the working couple came crashing down when their son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in April 2012. An insulin-dependent diabetes, it occurs when the pancreas fail to produce enough insulin to control the body’s sugar level. It is not hereditary, but could be triggered by environmental factors, doctors feel. The number of children affected with Type I diabetes is said to be on the rise.

Insulin Shots

Right now Tanishq is under the treatment of endocrinologist Dr. Bipin K Sethi. He has learnt to take four insulin shots everyday, one in school, on his own. “My son has never poked the syringe at any other child or created nuisance as the authorities fear,” says Ms. Vaishali in a choked voice. A teacher herself at the Azra Public School, she is worried about the psychological effect of all this on her child.

Last year itself, school principal Bro. Sudhakar Reddy reportedly objected to Tanishq taking insulin injections in the classroom. But a Good Samaritan teacher intervened and the boy stayed put. But two days ago the principal called the parents and told them to take away their child. “Worse, he asked us to pay the fee for the entire year as well,” Mr. Neeraj said. The principal was not available for comment.

Interestingly, despite his diabetic condition, Tanishq is regular to the school with 98 per cent attendance. His academic record is also equally good. Penalising a kid for what? For getting an ailment he has no control on?

Source: The Hindu

Gujarat to offer Online appointment with Doctors for Disability Certificates

Online facility to help the disabled get certificates

Monday, Aug 19, 2013, 10:08 IST | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

Smitha R

Ability Gujarat, a web-based application, will help people with disabilities get online appointment with doctors.

Soon people with disabilities (PwDs) need not do the rounds of government hospitals time and again to know the availability of a doctor who can examine them and issue a disability certificate.

For, the health department is mulling to provide a facility, where the PwDs can get an online appointment with the concerned doctors. 

Speaking about the initiative, commissioner of health, PK Taneja, said that Ability Gujarat, a web-based application, is already in place to effectively deliver services to PwDs. “The service is already a hit. And now, we are planning to provide the online appointment facility to the PwDs. To get a disability certificate, a candidate after filing the registration form, needs to be examined by a doctor. 

Many times, candidates are not aware about the time and place. 

However, through the new facility, candidates will get to know online the time when a doctor will be available and they can appear for the examination. This will save their time,” said Taneja.

As per the 2001 census, the prevalence of disability in Gujarat is 2.1% and as per the estimate, the state is likely to have at least 12 lakh PwDs. Another official in the health department, who did not wish to be named, said that despite the online facility, those who want to register through manual forms can continue to do so. 

“Often in case of obvious disability, a doctor can examine a patient and issue a disability certificate. But in case of multiple disabilities and where the disability is not so obvious, a panel of doctors examines the patients.

Now, the panel may consist of doctors with different specialisation, and a patient may not know when the doctors will be available. Therefore, using this system, patients can get to know about their timings, when each panel of doctors will be available at the hospital. This will save their time and energy,” said the official.

Source: DNA

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.

The Hindu

Disability advocates prefer social media to highlight disability discrimination

Disabled make a point in social media to highlight inaccessibility in Australia

ONE afternoon last month Stella Young went to the Glenferrie Hotel in Hawthorn to have a beer with some friends. But she found the disabled bathroom stacked with cases of wine and it was impossible to get her wheelchair inside.

Earlier Ms Young had been told by staff that the toilet was out of order. Hotel manager Mark Henderson now admits that was a lie. The cases of wine from another hotel were put in the disabled bathroom by Mr Henderson's business partner, and had been there for 10 days.

''Look, it was a huge amount of stock and there was nowhere else to go,'' Mr Henderson said. ''I came in to find it here. I just took too long in getting it out.''

The episode is not uncommon. Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes, who is blind, has had similar experiences. ''It's unlawful to discriminate against people on the grounds of their disability,'' Mr Innes said. ''If you have an accessible toilet and effectively block its use, then that is just the same as not providing one.''

Patricia Wilson runs excursions for the disability support service, Inclusion Melbourne. She said she stopped going to one council-run facility after it become too burdensome to clean away drug-injectors' blood in the disabled toilet.

Ms Young said she was frustrated with the Disability Discrimination Act, which requires a formal complaint, and now prefers social media. 

Stella Young at the hotel where the disabled toilet (inset) became a
storeroom. Photo Courtesy Angela Wylie  (theage.com.au)

Rather than use the hotel's female toilets with the door open, which she said ''isn't very dignified'', she left, but not before tweeting an image of the crammed room, which has now been viewed almost 3000 times.

Ms Young, a comedian who edits the website Ramp Up, wrote two emails to hotel management, but it was only after she wrote on their Facebook page that she got a response.

''People with disabilities too often feel as though we don't belong in public spaces,'' she wrote. ''We'd really love your help in changing that.'' Four hours later the hotel wrote back, apologising for their ''blatant ignorance [and] rash, senseless and absent-minded decision-making''. The space has since been cleared.

Kelly Vincent is a member of the South Australian Legislative Council and uses a wheelchair for her cerebral palsy. She has seen disabled toilets used for storage at an Adelaide restaurant, and elsewhere to store furniture.

''Having an accessible toilet that is unusable is maybe worse than not having one at all because it sends the message to people with disabilities that it is just a symbolic cross to bear for these business owners,'' Ms Vincent said.

Source:  The Age(dot) com

Aadhar card become a barrier for Charitable Institutions availing subsidized LPG Cylinders

Hi,

Aadhar numbers brought in so much of ease in putting faces to the numbers and thus making it easy for the direct transfer of subsidies to the needy. However, linking of Aadhar cards for receiving gas cylinders is proving a big hurdle for the charitable institutions since the insitutions are not individuals eligible for aadhaar numbers/ cards!

Perhaps while planning integration of Aadhaar with the Gas Connections, this aspect was not taken in to account. The Gas companies should come up with alternatives for charitable organsiations, so that they may quote their registration number or PAN no. rather than Aadhaar number since they are also entitled to receive gas cylinders at reduced rates given the nature of their work.

Here is the coverage from TOI - Charitable institutions lose out due to Aadhar cards

TNN | Jun 26, 2013, 05.13 AM IST

Panaji/Margao/Ponda: Charitable organizations, religious institutions and other bodies carrying out social and community work face hardships in accessing LPG cylinders at subsidized rates after the re-oriented scheme was launched from June 1, 2013.

As per provisions of the scheme, Aadhar cards of individual consumers have to be linked to their bank accounts, but this poses a problem in the case of organizations.

"We have to buy LPG cylinders from the open market due to this problem," Fr Savio Barreto, rector of Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa, said. The Professed House adjoining the Basilica has a few priests and staff. But the LPG refills prove costly, as the card is registered in the institution's name.

Youth formation movement headed by Fr Patricio Fernandes organizes "light of the world" retreats for SSC students. "A two-day residential retreat is held for an average of 70 students on all days, except Sunday," Fr Barreto said.

Salik Usman who works at the administrative wing of a Margao-based orphanage for girls said that there is not much clarity regarding the linking of the Aadhar card to the LPG scheme and said that authorities should have created better public awareness about it.

Matruchaya, an orphanage in Dhawali in Ponda also faces a similar problem and they have requested the Goa marketing and supply federation to allot LPG cylinders at subsidized rates.

The government provides a subsidy of 396 directly in the bank account of consumers on the sale price of 815.50 per 14.2 kg refill.

Sources in another convent also said that they face a similar problems and have to buy the refills in the open market. An oil company official said the problem can be solved if any representative of the organization possessing an Aadhar card opens a bank account in his name and links it to the card.

Education Options for Deaf in Delhi dwindle with Social Welfare Deptt encroaching on their only secondary school

Dear Colleagues,

Please refer to my earlier post titled "Present education system is inaccessible to deaf". The Government has been tom-toming itself on the RTE (The right to compulsory and free education), however, the deaf and the speech impaired have continued to be the most marginalised in the community. The statement from Mr. Narayanan, the Secretary of NAD says it all, "Ninety per cent of the deaf are either illiterate or have very low level of literacy as almost all the tching is oral. There are 18 million deaf in India and only 250 professional interpreters."

Admittedly, there are only three primary schools for the deaf and only one secondary school run by the Delhi Government. This indicates how many deaf children graduate to colleges from the schooling system in Delhi- given the fact that The Govt. Lady Noyce Senior Secondary School is a school that attracts deaf students from entire north India. The students have also been complaining that despite being in fairly senior classes, they can barely read and write.

I have met several students of this school personally and can bet for the poor quality of education being imparted in this institution. The teachers mostly use oral methods rather than sign language. The children rely more on sight words rather than being taught the formation of sentences. The question papers are given in advance with answers to the students to mug up the subject. On the day of the exam, the mugged up answers are vomitted on the sheets with no effective learning.

Tthe fact that Social Welfare department is housed in the School building with the common entrance /compound of the school and entry of general public is allowed, this is a serious threat to the security of the school where deaf young girls and boys and studying. They are vulnerable and their voices may go unheard complicated by their typical disability. There are a large number of visitors on a daily basis right from the senior citizen and the disabled to the RTI applicants, vendors and maintenance engineers of the outsourced firms... the list would be long.

It is the high time, the government moved out its office from the School campus and created more options for ensuring quality education of the deaf in Delhi. In the name of Inclusive education, the blind and the deaf have been among the most hit. They are neither included truly in the mainstream schools nor are able to find sufficient options due to scarcity of special schools. Given such a large number of hearing and speech impaired children wanting special education inputs, can three primary school and one senior secondary school suffice for the state? This is the question that the Social Welfare Minister is to answer.

Here is the coverage from TOI that spills the beans for the Welfare Deptt!

Government 'trespasser' in its school for deaf

Shreya Roy Chowdhury, TNN | Apr 16, 2013, 

NEW DELHI: Lady Noyce Senior Secondary School for the Deaf has more offices than classrooms today. Delhi government's department of social welfare, which runs the school, occupies large sections of the only secondary school for the deaf in the city, located behind the Ferozeshah Kotla cricket stadium. The primary section has counters for public dealing, the playground has porta cabin offices, the spaces in between buildings serve as parking areas and there are offices in both the girls' and boys' hostels.

A disability rights NGO claims applicants are now being refused admission because of lack of space. The Delhi-based National Association of the Deaf (NAD) says they came to know of what they describe as "encroachment" by the department on the school when some children turned away by the school came to them.

The department has operated from the school premises since 2005. "We don't want to be here," says Achla Singh, director in the department. She says they haven't taken over the entire ground but only a small part of it and that there are still large spaces on the premises for the children to play in. "We will vacate the top floor for the children," she says, "but we have functioned from here for so many years and have had a very peaceful coexistence with the school".

But for A S Narayanan, secretary, NAD, peace has prevailed because the affected group is hearing-impaired. "They couldn't have done this with a school for children with any other form of disability," he says. "Everyone can advocate for themselves except the deaf." According to the NGO's report of a meeting held on March 5, the department is staying put. It has nowhere to go and will move to Kingsway Camp eventually but the plan is still at a "conceptual" stage.

A senior official says they moved in only because there was space. "Then in April 2011, the school was upgraded from secondary to senior secondary," he recalls. With two new classes, there was "some overcrowding". The response was to shift the primary section to Nehru Vihar. The department itself has expanded since its split from the department of women and child development and now there are about 150 people on the staff.

"As far as education is concerned, the deaf are worse off than the visually-impaired or those using wheelchairs," says Narayanan. "Ninety per cent of the deaf are either illiterate or have very low level of literacy as almost all the teaching is oral. There are 18 million deaf in India and only 250 professional interpreters."

The Lady Noyce school, which has at present 517 students on its rolls, is important for a number of reasons - it is affiliated to CBSE, is affordable, and, being residential, it draws students from all over the north. It was established in 1931 by an alumnus of Gallaudet University (for the deaf) and is the first school for the deaf in north India. Delhi government runs three primary schools for the deaf but only one secondary school.

But Narayanan and colleague Zorin Singha argue that the offices are affecting the quality of education being imparted at the school, its roll strength and security. Achla Singh disagrees, arguing that the department's visitors - the aged and the differently-abled - are no threat to the students.

As for quality, some students complain that despite being in fairly senior classes, they can barely read or write. They say that most of their teachers don't know sign language and teach orally. School principal L D Trekhi denies all this. "Nobody has been refused admission," she says, adding, "all teachers are trained and know sign language" and that the offices are not a problem.

The NGO has written many letters to the departmet and even to the chief minister since April last year but to no avail. It's now planning a dharna and gherao of the social welfare minister, Kiran Walia, if the department doesn't move out by May 10.

Source: Times of India