Physically Challenged Versus Logically Challenged

Dear Colleagues,

There is an inherent bias in the executive when it comes to giving equal opportunities to those living with disabilities in employment despite the tall claims on paper by the Government and harshest judgements from the Courts criticizing the executive and the government. Now whether it is born out of age old mis-beliefs, myths and resultant negative attitudes towards the disabled or an utter lack of awareness about the possibilities and potential of those living with disabilities - the result is insurmountable barriers for disabled people on every step of their lives.

A committee of High Court Judges decides that those with vision impairments and those with hearing and speech impairment can not function as Judges (Blind/deaf can't be judges, say govt and HC; PIL questions it) , the Babus decide what a person with disabilities is capable of, without even knowing a, b, c of disability! And these decisions are taken in solo without involving those with disabilities or their organisations. 

We recently saw certain candidates with disabilities who passed the UPSC's Civil Services Examination way back in 2007 -08 continue to await allocation of posts! The principles of natural justice particularly in a democratic set up as ours, demand that an opportunity of being heard be given to those affected by the proposed action. This is amazing way of functioning displayed by the Indian bureaucracy where the bureaucrats and not the law decides whom they want to allow in their gang!

Section 32 and the List of Identified Jobs

The List of Identified Jobs for persons with disabilities which had been prepared by the Babus with some experts from field also on the panel has done more harm than good for persons with disabilities of this country.  The list has been used to deserving people out by State governments from several key posts. The successive committees of babus have not allowed the stakeholders to even know what was added or removed in the successive list of jobs published through gazettes. Each time a list of published, the earlier was removed from the website, without even explaining what new post(s) have been added or deleted from the list and the basis for the same! And this business of identified jobs has been in business since 1989 even before the disabilities Act came in to force.

The list doesn't seem to have applicability in all the states and union territories since so many states (read babus) have published their own selective lists of posts (read... unimportant posts) jobs, keeping the posts to the minimum that could be held by  persons with disabilities. Certain states and Ministries have been on an exemption seeking spree under the proviso of Section 33 of the Disabilities Act. For instance the post of Judge has been identified in the Central List whereas states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh seems to have taken regressive steps by obtaining exemptions of judicial posts from the purview of section 33 (reservation in favour of persons with disabilities particularly against the candidates with visual and hearing and speech disabilities.)  

3% reservation in promotion under Section 33 

Similarly, by twisting the interpretation of section 33, the Babus have for long denied the 3% reservation in promotional posts to employees with disabilities particularly in group A and B posts. 

Now the Mumbai High Court has dealt with the issue in a PIL filed by an NGO - National Confederation for Development of Disabled. The petition pointed out that the ratio of percentage of direct IAS to IAS by promotion or election was 67% : 33% in Maharashtra state at present. Thus effectively, out of 100 new posts, 67 were being filled by people who have been directly recruited in the IAS category and 33 posts were filled by state civil service officers.  Thus the reservation in 33% promotional posts was being denied to the disabled officers from State Civil Services (for the impugned executive orders provide for no reservation in promotion in Group A and B posts!).

In a remarkable judgement the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha has directed that the rule be applied to the promotion of officers, who were recruited through the disabled quota i.e.  now reservation would be applicable on all the 100 posts. 

Manner of computation of reservation under Section 33

The manner of arriving at or computing 3% reservation in various posts has not been spelled out in the Act. and thus in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 73 of the Act, the government (read babus) used their discretion to spell it out through executive orders (read DoPT Memos) thereby restricting the reservation benefits to the minimum particularly in Gp A and B posts.  

For Eg. Office Memorandum (OM) dated 29.12.2005, issued by the Department of Personnel & Training, inter alia provides a system for ensuring proper implementation of the provisions of the Act for the persons with disabilities, wherein the 3% reservation for the disabled persons was being computed by taking into account the total number of vacancies arising in Group C and D posts for being filled by direct recruitment in a recruitment year both in the identified and non-identified posts under the establishment. Similarly, all vacancies in promotion quota shall be taken into account while computing reservation in promotion in Group C and Group D posts. 

However, interestingly, when it came to Gp A and B posts, it was specifically restricted to be computed on the basis of vacancies occurring in direct recruitment quota in all the identified Group A posts in the establishment.

Justification to such a restriction given was that since the reservation for Group C and D posts is being calculated on the basis of the vacancies in identified as well as unidentified posts prior to the Act came into existence and in view of the provisions of Section 72 of the Act (Act to be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law), continued in the same way, however, reservation for Group A and B posts is  to be calculated on the basis of the vacancies for identified posts as per the provisions of the Act.

The court thus decided that the modus of computation of reservation on the basis of total number of vacancies (both inclusive of identified and unidentified) in the cadre strength will uniformly apply to Group A, B, C and D and not just Gp C and D). Supreme Court Judgement dated 08 October 2013 in Union of India  Versus National Federation of Blind (Civil Appeal 9096 of 2013) (click here for Judgement).

Accordingly, the DoPT had to issue a revision to its Memo dated 29.12.2005 (click here for a copy)

The way ahead

The tendency of the Government (read Babus) is to find ways to block the entry of the disabled into the mainstream of employment. This undeclared blockade has no direct link with abilities of persons with disabilities and indicates a greater malady that exists in our system. This can only be tackled by a sincere attempt to raise awareness of all government employees from the top order to the lowest about the capabilities of the disabled and also supporting employees with disabilities with reasonable accommodation and equal opportunities to work and prove their worth. At the same time, the executive has to be interpret the benevolent provisions of the Act so as to give effect to the will of the legislature and the mandate of international convention called UN CRPD. 

One out of box idea is to scrap the Identification List  and  the present system of effecting reservation on identified posts. Let all posts be open for persons with disabilities with only condition that each person showcases how he/she will perform the functions of that post. Those competing on merit be not adjusted against reserved vacancies (policy exists but seldom implemented thereby defeating the intent of legislature of minimum 3% reservation). The government on their part must provide reasonable accommodation and an enabling environment to the employees with disabilities. I am sure this will work out and we must give it a try.

Here are some stories on such undeclared blockade and court intervention that recently made headlines in Indian Express & Times of India.

Civils: Centre, state told to implement quota rules for disabled 

Aamir Khan, Indian Express, Mumbai, Thu Dec 05 2013, 11:58 hrs

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the state and Union governments to implement the rules of reservation for differently-abled candidates in civil services. The court also said the rules would apply during promotions.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by the National Confederation for Development of Disabled, stating that the People With Disabilities (PWD) Act was being violated. It sought the implementation of the rule, which provides 3 per cent reservation to disabled people in civil services recruitment. Directing the state and the Union government to implement the rule, the division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha directed that the rule be applied to the promotion of officers, who were recruited through the disabled quota.

The petition said the ratio of percentage of direct IAS to IAS by promotion or election was 67%:33% in the state at present. "Therefore, out of 100 new posts, 67 are filled by people who have been directly recruited in the IAS category and 33 posts are filled by state civil service officers. As per the PWD Act, three per cent of the posts in the IAS are reserved for such class of people. Thus, reservation should be applicable to all the 100 posts," the petition stated. It also contended that the quota for PWD had not been filled for 15 years. According to the Constitution, the authorities are under obligation to apply the provisions of the PWD Act. Granting relief to the petitioners, the HC disposed of the petition.

Source: Indian Express

Disabled people clear UPSC, but wait for service allocation

Rema Nagarajan, TNN | Dec 2, 2013, 04.55 AM IST

MUMBAI: Several persons with disabilities (PWDs) who crack one of the toughest exams in the country and get selected for the civil services are routinely rejected with the government claiming there is no suitable service for them. 

Source: Times of India, 02nd Dec 2013

They are good enough to overcome their disability and get selected for the civil services after clearing two levels of exams and the interview, but the Department of Personnel and Training, the allocating authority, rejects them and cancels their candidature.

In the last two years alone, out of 67 such candidates who got selected, 11 are still waiting to be allocated services. Many selected PWDs are allocated lower services  than their ranking merits, on the plea that the nature of their disability prevents them doing the job in most services.

So how do babus sitting in offices decide what candidates with varying levels and kinds of disabilities are capable of? The answer lies in a totally arbitrary list called "list of services identified suitable for physically disabled category along with physical requirements and functional classification" published in the gazette. It lays down what service a successful candidate with disability can get. For instance, under the category of locomotor disability, if the disability affects both hands or arms, you can get into the most sought-after Indian Administrative Service (IAS) but you would not be eligible for any of the other 23 services.

Again, the Delhi Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS) is open to those with one leg affected or whose hearing is impaired. However, there is no place for people with these or any other disability in either the Pondicherry Police Service or the Indian Police Service (IPS). How different can the job be in different police services? In an age of economic crime and cybercrime, will the police service be limited to physical fitness or brawn and not brains?

All accounts services, the Indian P&T Accounts & Finance Service, Gr.A, Indian Civil Accounts Service, Gr. A and Indian Railway Accounts Service are open someone with one arm (OA) or one leg (OL) affected or with one arm and one leg affected (OAL) and to those with both legs affected (BL). However the Indian Audit & Accounts Service Gr. A alone is not open to persons with both legs affected. Why is only this accounts service not open to people with both legs affected? Nobody seems to know.

"My disability says both legs affected. But I use crutches and can do all jobs. However, most services are closed to me because some officials who have never met me decided that if both legs are affected, I must be immobile or unable to do most jobs. It is totally unfair. This identification of service has to be done away with. Let them select us, meet us, see what we can do and allocate us services accordingly and by our ranks," says a candidate who cleared the exam earlier but will be appearing again for the civil service exam on Monday, hopeful of getting in again through the 3% quota in all services for PWDs mandated by the Disability Act 1995.

The identification of service ought to be abolished as it is discriminatory under the Disability Act and under international conventions signed by India on ensuring equal rights to the disabled, pointed out yet another PWD. 

Officials in the DoPT did not comment despite several attempts to get their version."Frankly, I am appalled that nine years after this issue was first brought to light, it remains unresolved, that too, against the express orders and directions of the Prime Minister. If the country, the government and the prime minister's office in particular wish to demonstrate their true commitment towards protecting the rights of India's disabled citizens, they ought to resolve this issue once and for all," said Javed Abidi of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). He added that in protest against such apathy, NCPEDP will not take part in the "charade" of celebrating World Disability Day on December 3 when "speeches would be delivered, advertisements issued, and some more false promises made".

News Source: Times of India

An inclusive parent cooperative providing jobwork to young adults with mental challenges

Working to make a difference

The Anchorage, a parent cooperative that provides jobwork for trained mentally challenged adults, is celebrating its 25th year

In a workshop housed in an office building along busy Mahalaxmi, a group of trained adults are packing and assembling itemsfor jobwork. They are all mentally challenged, in different waysand to varying degrees. 

These are people who have been schooled and vocationally trained at a special school, and are now channelling their skills productively.

This year is a very special 25th-year celebration at The Anchorage. When we heard the name, we wondered whether it was the same organisation that ran the scandal-plagued orphanage in South Mumbai. But the name is merely an unfortunate coincidence. This Anchorage is a sheltered workshop where mentally challenged adults can work and be productive, from 9.30am to 4pm every Monday to Friday.

Concern

The Anchorage was started in 1989 by a group of five parents and a special educator. Children of all the founder-members were in Sadhana School, a special school in South Mumbai. They would graduate at the age of 18, and the question uppermost for the parents was, “What next?” This concern, as well as a fear of their children’s regression, led the parents to look for viable options. So, with the help of a special educator, the idea of setting up a workshop was born. The main purpose was to provide vocational training and arrange for appropriate jobwork. Now, 25 years later, The Anchorage is a flourishing “parents’ cooperative”, providing holistic serves to 30 mentally challenged members, and is housed in its own office premises at Mahalaxmi. One of its staunch supporters is the actor Nandita Das, who attended the 25th anniversary celebrations and is involved regularly in the organisation’s activities.

Motivation

It has been a long and at times arduous journey, but the motivation was strong, and the parents’ zeal unflagging. Founder trustee Swarupa Modi recalls, “Ours was the first batch. My son had Down’s Syndrome, and there were other parents. Our major concern was that after graduation you can’t just keep them at home. They had schooling and vocational training which was carefully thought out by the school.”

The members first began taking in jobwork and using each others’ homes as a work base. But as Ms Modi says, “the atmosphere at home was not like a workplace”. The solution came from a former Sadhana School staffer, whose house had a garage in which the driver slept at night. By day, this became the Anchorage’s workshop, their first official workplace.

“By now we were a registered trust and society,” recalls Ms Modi. “The seed was sown and watered, and began to grow. We had two jobs — finishing of sequences where the plastic burr was clipped off, and toothbrush packing. Now they had a workplace to go to. They had to be on time, take their lunchbox, work and come back in the evening. Five parents and all of us had to devote a day to supervise the work and lay the folding tables and chairs.”

But hurdles of all sorts cropped up -- for example, when the first woman joined the workshop, there was no proper toilet for her use. The Anchorage then moved to a room with an attached toilet, in another building. Subsequently, in 2001, the Government of Japan made a donation that was large enough, along with contributions from individual parents and other donors, for The Anchorage to move into its own premises in a reputed corporate building at E Moses Road, Mahalaxmi. A few years later a second, smaller unit was opened in Colaba, donated by a trustee’s family.

Self-confidence

Ms Modi explains that the type of work done at The Anchorageaims to enhance the workers’ skills as well as produce goods. “A policy decision was taken to do only jobwork and not go into manufacturing,” she says. “The material we brought to the workshop was scrutinized and it was identified where over 30 per cent of the work would be done by our adults. This type of work not only enhanced their self-confidence but was therapeutic in their eye-hand coordination, and stimulating large and fine motor coordination.” She adds, “Quality control standards are stringent and we havea list of very satisfied clients, ensuring a regular monthly salaryfor all.”

The Workshop

The workshop functions Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4pm, and the day’s schedule, besides jobwork, includes fruit and lunch breaks, physical exercise sessions and also individual training and stimulation activities. The environment at the workshop is vibrant and cheerful, and there is a strong adult-staff relationship. The workshop is clean and hygienically maintained, with colourful posters, wall hangings and paintings done by members on the walls. The workshop today has 30 adults, a staff of 10 and a volunteer strength of 15.

Work

Receiving and successfully completing job work contracts is the core task of the workshop. It comprises getting the raw material from the supplier and returning the finished product at a pre-determined price. Making and selling of products at exhibitions and sales is the ancillary activity. The 30 members, who come in every day, neat, clean and well groomed, perceive themselves as office-going individuals. They are trained to complete industrial job work efficiently and effectively.

Contracts undertaken by the Anchorage:

• Assembling switches and sockets
•  Packing of crayons
• Packing medical kits
• Packing hotel housekeeping products like dental kits, shaving kits, shower caps and combs
• Packing a monthly women’s magazine
• Making paper bags
• Making paper national flags

How can you help?

Those wishing to help The Anchorage may do so with money, time, or by arranging job contracts. Donations are exempt under section 80G of the IT Act. Like-minded parent groups may also seek help from The Anchorage to start similar services for young adults.

Contact

Phone: +91 22 2493 6346, +91 77388 60420, +91 22 22824322

Website: www.attheanchorage.com

Email: theanchorage@gmail.com

Mid Day

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.

Times of India

Red Tape in issuance of Disability Certificates not circumstances let them down in Pune

and here is the news from Pune City of Maharasthra State in India, where the applicants with disabilities who come for assessment and for issuance fo disability certificates are given appointments in 2015 thanks to the careless approach of the State Hospitals. Here is the news from Mid Day today!

Want disability certificate? Come in 2015: Sassoon Hospital

31 October 2013, Pune

Hitting new lows of bureaucracy, Pune's government-run Sassoon General Hospital has been giving appointments to physically challenged people in need of a disability certificate for 2015.

Sassoon Hospital's cold-hearted response to physically disabled people so exasperated them that they turned out in hundreds to protest. Under fire, hospital said it would begin issuing certificates daily.

As though circumstances haven’t already slowed them down, red tape — perhaps burdened with sheer sloth on part of the authorities — has been forcing the disabled to put on hold their quest for a disability certificate for two years.

Hitting new lows of bureaucracy, government-run Sassoon General Hospital has been giving appointments to physically challenged people in need of a disability certificate for 2015. Without the crucial document, they can’t avail of the benefits reserved for them under various government schemes – such as commuting, medical discounts, employment opportunities and so on.

To protest the administration’s cold apathy afflicting applicants for the past few months, hundreds of them turned up at the dean’s office on Wednesday morning. At last, after a two-hour brouhaha, the dean made a statement assuring them that the facility would begin issuing certificates that very day.

Dilip Modak, who has been making rounds of the hospital for three months in the hope of getting a disability certificate, finally got a date, but for a day in November 2015. For formalities that shouldn’t take more than a day, he was asked to wait a couple of entire years.

Mid Day

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.

Source: Times of India