Rights of children with disabilities

The Right to Education Act (amendment) Bill passed recently in the Rajya Sabha to widen the beneficiary net for children with disabilities is a retrogressive step since it defeats the very purpose of the Act, which is to promote social inclusion in elementary schools. The amendment is in contradiction of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the recent Supreme Court judgment (April 2012) on RTE, since it seems to suggest that home-based education may be the best option for children with 'severe disability.'

The very notion of what constitutes 'severe disability' is a contested term and the assumption that 'certain children' may be best educated at home rather than schools, defeats the very premise of inclusive education that espouses the belief that every child, including those with differing abilities have an entitlement to study with their peers and not be excluded from mainstream education. Even if we were to presume that certain parents 'choose' home-based education for say their child who has severe medical complications with impairment , how would the state governments find the human resources to make home-based education a reality?

Currently, there are a total of 415 institutions which are recognised by Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) to run rehabilitation councils, and the total number of registered rehabilitation professionals in the country is approximately 35,000, with special educators included in this figure.

A recent study has highlighted that in 2007, the total number of special teachers' requirement for all categories of children with disabilities stood at 1,79,116 ( IAMR, 2009) - a current shortfall of approximately 1.4 lakh special teachers. According to MHRD, the number of out-of-school children with disabilities remains a high 35% (SRI-IMRB , 2009) and currently coverage of children with disabilities stands at 26.4 lakh in mainstream schools and 2.4 lakh through home-based education. Is homebased education going to be the vehicle to legitimatise rejection of children with disabilities from schools?

The above mentioned figures are based on Census 2001 estimates of 2.3% of the population with disability . Census 2011 results are due and expected to show an increase in the national population of children with disabilities. Is exclusion and segregation going to be the path that India chooses to meet the fundamental right to education of children with disabilities in the country? This is a contradiction to India's commitment to ensure access to quality education for all children including those with disabilities.