The Goan investigation reveals a three way standoff between Secretary Education, Directorate of Education and the School
Suspense hangs over the admission to the 10-year-old girlwho has been denied admission for the past six months, even as National Commissionfor Protection of Child Right Co-ordinator, Ajay Kumar had issued an order toGoa’s Secretary of Education to restore admission to the girl.
When the girl’s 72-year-old grandmother, Agustina Fernandesquestioned the denial to her granddaughter the facility to pursue her educationat Shri Shradhanand Vidyalaya, she got no answers.
Her granddaughter’s quest for special education in a schoolfor normal children was deferred because of a report submitted by the SethuChild Development and Family Guidance on October 28, 2012.
The report states that the child has scholasticbackwardness. It states that the child has mild intellectual disability and needsspecial educators.
This means that the girl would benefit from special educatorand she should be enrolled in a resources room within a mainstream school sothat she is able to interact with normal peers and benefit from inclusion.
The 10-year-old was repeatedly denied re-admission to the schoolthat virtually ruined her academic year. The girl is protected under variousprovisions of law like
– The Goa Right of Children to Free and Compulsory EducationRule 2012, The Person with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection ofRight and Full Participation) Act 1995 and Goa Children Act 2003.
When repeated request to readmit the girl in school was turneddown the parents approached Bailancho Saad, who in turn knocked the doors ofGoa State Commission for Protection of Child Right and subsequently approachedSecretary of Education, Keshav Chandra on October 16, 2012.
Chandra the very next day ordered Director of Education toissue an order to the school to admit the girl. However, the school appealed againstthe order of education secretary seeking infrastructure support for school.
But absence of infrastructure like special educator andresource room is grim ground reality in Goa with hardly any government schoolhaving special educators.
“We never denied her admission; we have requested that we don’thave proper infrastructure support to teach her,” said Chairman of ShriShradhanand Vidyalaya, Arun Bhatt.
“As parents they are concerned about their child, asmanagement of school we have to think holistically. Because of one studentother students are also getting distracted,” Bhatt added. Convener of BailanchoSaad, Sabina Martins, agrees that the girl child has minor intellectualproblem. But the school never asked for infrastructural support to teach the girl.The school sought infrastructure support only after Education Secretary issuedan order against the school.
“Except for couple of private schools not a singlegovernment or aided school has special educator and special resource room,”confi rmed Teacher Association President, Vitoba Desai.
