Delhi Govt insensitive towards education of Mentally Retarded Children - Delhi Govt, Department of Social Welfare run Asha Kiran Home which shelter approximately 800 mentally retarded destitute persons. Nearly half of these are children below age of 18 years. A year's back, I had raised issue in a meeting chaired by Mr. Rakesh Mohan, Delhi Education Secretary in regard to providing education to the children of the Asha Kiran Home in mainstream school in terms of their right to education. It was agreed that a team from Edu Deptt would visit the Home and identify the children for the purpose of education in Govt School adjacent to the Home. About 7-8 months back, a team headed by Mr.R.P.Yadav, DDE visited the Home. I also accompanied them. After discussion with the Home's Incharge, it was estimated that nearly 200 children could be imparted education in the Govt School. Later on, the experts in the field from Edu Department interacted with the children to get the accurate picture.
Today I have come to know that though the Education Department has so far identified over 36 children who could be admitted immediately and taught in the school but the Department of Social Welfare has refused to send these children to the next door mainstream govt school on a totally rubbish ground that they cannot take risk. There are other 150 or so children who could also be prepared in due course to join mainstream school. However, the Social Welfare Deptt which has no education facilities with them have actually made the mockery of right to education of these lesser god children by refusing to send them to next door mainstream govt school.
In these circumstances, the Social Jurist would take up the matter very soon with the Hon'ble Delhi High Court.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
No one here to teach disabled students – Delhi HC issues contempt notices to Delhi chief secretary, MCD chief
The Delhi High Court on 20.09.2010 issued notices to Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner K S Mehra on a contempt petition filed by Social Jurist, A Civil Rights Group through Advocate Ashok Agarwal complaining that Delhi Govt and MCD were required to recruit 6000 special teachers for their 3000 schools for education of disabled students which they have failed to do.
The petition states that the government and the corporation had failed to comply with a court order directing them to appoint at least two teachers for disabled students in each of their schools and to provide necessary teaching aids and reading material to the disabled students within six months. Justice G.S. Sistani asked Mehta and Mehra to file a compliance report within four weeks, failing which; they would have to appear in court.
The PIL was filed in 2009 seeking directions to provide trained teachers, including those qualified in sign language and Braille, for students with disabilities like blindness, hearing impairment and mental retardation. It also sought a barrier free environment in schools for students with disabilities, special toilets, books, including reading and writing material in Braille, and other equipments needed for the education for the blind students.
According to the PIL, thousand of students with disabilities and particularly those suffering from blindness, hearing impairment and mental retardation were studying in the 1,000 Delhi government and 1,800 MCD schools, without specially trained teachers. ‘In the absence of special educators, the children with disabilities who are already in the schools are dropping out and other children with disabilities do not dare to go to school,’ said Ashok Agarwal, counsel in the case.
The next date of hearing is Nov 10, 2010.
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
M-09811101923
21.09.2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Delhi Govt. & MCD fail to appoint special teachers - SJ serves contempt notices on Chief Sect. Mr. Rakesh Mehta & Mpl. Comm. Mr. K S Mehra
SOCIAL JURIST
A Civil Rights Group
To, 09.09.2010
1. Shri Rakesh Mehta,
Chief Secretary,
Govt. of N.C.T of Delhi,
Delhi Secretariat, I.P. Estate,
New Delhi
2. Shri K.S. Mehra,
Commissioner,
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
Town Hall, Chandni Chowk,
Delhi-110006
Subject: - Contempt Notice- Delhi Govt. & MCD fail to appoint special teachers in schools in compliance of Delhi High Court order dated 16.09.2009
Dear Sir,
Take notice that a Division Bench of Hon’ble Delhi High Court has passed orders dated 16.09.2009 in W.P.( C ) No. 6771 of 2008 (PIL) entitled Social Jurist, A Civil Rights Group vs. Govt. of N.C.T of Delhi & Anr. directing you to ensure that each school should have at least 2 special teachers and further that necessary teaching aids and reading material are provided within 6 months. The relevant para 6 of the said judgment is reproduced as under:-
“6. Keeping in view the aforesaid affidavits, we are of the opinion that respondent nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 should try to achieve teacher pupil ratio of 1:5 at the secondary level and 1:2 at the primary level. We further direct respondent nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 to grant equivalence to B.Ed. (SE) with B.Ed. (General) and to D.Ed. (S.E) with D.Ed./TTC for the purpose of appointment of special teachers in all schools in the State as well as schools run by local bodies namely NDMC, MCD and Cantonment Board. Needless to say that the service conditions of the special teachers shall be same as that of the regular teachers holding the qualification of general teachers. We also request the respondent nos. 1,2,5 and 6 to consider granting preference and priority to candidates holding B.Ed. (SE) and D.Ed. (SE) degrees in appointment of teachers in all their schools. The school authorities shall ensure that each school shall at least two special teachers and further that necessary teaching aids and reading material are provided. This shall be done in within six months.”
A copy of the said order dated 16.09.2009 is enclosed hereto for your ready reference.
Take notice that a period of 6 months as stipulated in the aforesaid order dated 16.09.2009 has since expired and till date you have not taken any step to implement the aforementioned directions having being given by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court.
Take notice that you have deliberately and intentionally disobeyed the aforementioned directions of the Hon’ble High Court which amounts to contempt of Hon’ble High Court and attracts penal action against you.
With regards
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
Advisor, Social Jurist
M-9811101923
Monday, October 27, 2008
The invisible 83 million
Ananth Krishnan’s article “The invisible 83 million”, appeared in THE HINDU, 26 October 2008, is a wonderful attempt to pull the society for its failure to become sensitive towards persons with disabilities. The author has nicely presented the story of Gao Yu Li of China who had only child with Cerebral Palsy. Shortly after the child was born, her husband left her. She did not bow down to the circumstances. On the other hand, she put a tuff fight against all the odds. The most important message Gao has given to all of us “Take your kids out to the park, to the shops, wherever you can, and however difficult it might be, because that is the only way people will ever become used to us”.
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
M-09811101923
Saturday, May 10, 2008
STATUTORY EDUCATION SCHEME FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
RESULT OF SOCIAL JURIST PIL
Background note on the PIL
According to the letter dated 01.06.1999 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, the population of disabled children is estimated to be about 20 millions in the country and that less than 1% of the disabled children have actually been brought to the schools so far. The letter further says that the response from the States, UTs has been rather inadequate despite the fact that IEDC scheme has 100% central funding with the result that the country has not even achieved the primary goal of having one integrated school in every district in the country. The budgetary allocation for the year 1998-99 for the scheme, which was fixed at Rs. 13.00 crores stood underutilized.
The situation since 1999 has not improved till date. In Delhi alone, it is estimated that there are about 2 lacs children with disabilities in the age group 6-18 years and only about 6,000/- such children are in school. One of the reasons of this unfortunate situation is that schools run by Govt. of Delhi and MCD are not disabled friendly and thus do not attract the children in school. On the other hand, the conditions of these schools are such that the students studying in these schools may be pushed out of the school at any time. This is reflected in the high percentage of dropouts both in Government and MCD schools.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 came into force w.e.f. 07.02.1996. The children with disabilities are prevented to receive education because of several problems like lack of transport facilities, architectural barriers in the school, lack of supply of book, uniform and other material, non-availability of scholarship, lack of setting up of appropriate fora for the redressal of grievances of parents regarding the placement of their children, lack of suitable modification in the examination system to eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of the blind students and students with low vision, lack of restructuring of curriculum for benefit of children with hearing impairment to facilitate them to take only one language as part of their curriculum etc. The lack of aforesaid and other facilities not only prevents the out of school children with disabilities to come in school but also creates situation for school going children with disabilities to stop attending school. It is, therefore, necessary that adequate provisions are made to make the aforesaid and other such facilities, which the children with disabilities, need in order to enable them to attend the school.
That the Section 30 of the PWD Act, 1995 was enacted with a view to overcome the aforementioned and other problems. In terms of the Section 30 of PWD Act, 1995, the Government is required by notification to prepare a comprehensive education scheme providing for transport facilities, supply of books etc. However, neither Central Government nor any State Government/UT has prepared such a scheme. In this backdrop of facts, Social Jurist, A Lawyers Group filed PIL on 18.02.2003 in Delhi High Court. The grievances made in the PIL are firstly, the governments have not till date by notification prepared a comprehensive educational scheme for the benefit of all disabled children studying in the various schools in Delhi as required under Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995, Secondly, the centrally sponsored scheme of IEDC (1976-77) is not in conformity with the provisions of Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995 as the said scheme has never been notified as per the provisions of Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995 and also that the said scheme has not dealt with all kinds of benefits contemplated in Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, and further that the said scheme is not in accordance with the letters and spirit of Section 30 of PDW Act, 1995. Thirdly, the said IEDC scheme (1976-77) is obsolete and unworkable as the rate at which benefits have been prescribed are totally inadequate and are totally incomprehensive. Fourthly, the said scheme is arbitrary and discriminatory as it covers children with disabilities only in 141 schools run by Government of Delhi and does not cover thousands of other children with disabilities studying in other 870 schools run by Government of Delhi, 1887 schools run by MCD, Government and MCD aided schools and also other schools of Delhi. Fifthly, the grant given by Human Resource Development Ministry, Government of India remained unutilized and unspent. Sixthly, the benefits whatsoever provided in the said scheme are denied to the children with disabilities studying in government run schools that are in dire need of the same. Hence, the present public interest petition.
The PIL came for the hearing first time before the High Court on 19.02.2003 when the High Court was pleased to issue notices to the Government of India, Delhi Government and MCD and asked them to submit their replies. The PIL again came up for hearing before the High Court on 24.9.2003 when the High Court passed the following orders:
“Order
24.09.2003
By making law it is declared to the people at large that the government is coming up with a policy for disabled children so that they can make progress. So far as the children of rich people are concerned, they are not likely to make a grievance before the Court. However, the children belonging to poor strata have no voice. It is seen that no action has been taken. Therefore, this petition has been filed. It is a sorry state of affairs that despite legislation of 1996, the Secretaries of the concerned departments are fighting inter se as to who should bear the cost or make payment. Despite the cognizance taken by the court on 19.2.2003, no action has been taken till date. If by the next date, action is not taken, then the concerned Joint Secretaries shall remain present before the court without fail.
List on 1.10.2003
Sd/-
Chief Justice
Sd/-
A.K. Sikri, J.”
The PIL then came up for hearing before the High Court on 28.7.2004 when the Additional Solicitor General of India made a statement that the scheme will be notified, which is under preparation, by the end of October. The matter was adjourned to 10.11.2004.
That on 10.11.2004, when the PIL came up for hearing before a Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D. Ahmed, the counsel for the Govt. of India informed the court that Government of India has by notification dated 04.11.2004 prepared a comprehensive education scheme for the children with disabilities. A copy of the notification-dated 04.11.2004 was placed on the court record. The counsel for the Govt. of Delhi made a statement in the Court that Govt. of Delhi will follow the scheme notified on 04.11.2004. In view of this development, the High Court disposed of the PIL.
Implications of this notified comprehensive education scheme prepared by the Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment published in the Gazette of India by notification dated 4.11.2004.
1. This scheme is a statutory scheme under the PWD Act, 1995 and the Court can be approached for implementation of the same.
2. It will cover the entire country and benefit all the children with disabilities estimated to be 20 millions.
3. It is a landmark achievement for the on going disability rights movement in the country.
4. The High Court’s intervention in the PIL has compelled the government to discharge their statutory obligations of framing comprehensive education scheme for the children with disabilities.
By Advocate Ashok Agarwal
Background note on the PIL
According to the letter dated 01.06.1999 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, the population of disabled children is estimated to be about 20 millions in the country and that less than 1% of the disabled children have actually been brought to the schools so far. The letter further says that the response from the States, UTs has been rather inadequate despite the fact that IEDC scheme has 100% central funding with the result that the country has not even achieved the primary goal of having one integrated school in every district in the country. The budgetary allocation for the year 1998-99 for the scheme, which was fixed at Rs. 13.00 crores stood underutilized.
The situation since 1999 has not improved till date. In Delhi alone, it is estimated that there are about 2 lacs children with disabilities in the age group 6-18 years and only about 6,000/- such children are in school. One of the reasons of this unfortunate situation is that schools run by Govt. of Delhi and MCD are not disabled friendly and thus do not attract the children in school. On the other hand, the conditions of these schools are such that the students studying in these schools may be pushed out of the school at any time. This is reflected in the high percentage of dropouts both in Government and MCD schools.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 came into force w.e.f. 07.02.1996. The children with disabilities are prevented to receive education because of several problems like lack of transport facilities, architectural barriers in the school, lack of supply of book, uniform and other material, non-availability of scholarship, lack of setting up of appropriate fora for the redressal of grievances of parents regarding the placement of their children, lack of suitable modification in the examination system to eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of the blind students and students with low vision, lack of restructuring of curriculum for benefit of children with hearing impairment to facilitate them to take only one language as part of their curriculum etc. The lack of aforesaid and other facilities not only prevents the out of school children with disabilities to come in school but also creates situation for school going children with disabilities to stop attending school. It is, therefore, necessary that adequate provisions are made to make the aforesaid and other such facilities, which the children with disabilities, need in order to enable them to attend the school.
That the Section 30 of the PWD Act, 1995 was enacted with a view to overcome the aforementioned and other problems. In terms of the Section 30 of PWD Act, 1995, the Government is required by notification to prepare a comprehensive education scheme providing for transport facilities, supply of books etc. However, neither Central Government nor any State Government/UT has prepared such a scheme. In this backdrop of facts, Social Jurist, A Lawyers Group filed PIL on 18.02.2003 in Delhi High Court. The grievances made in the PIL are firstly, the governments have not till date by notification prepared a comprehensive educational scheme for the benefit of all disabled children studying in the various schools in Delhi as required under Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995, Secondly, the centrally sponsored scheme of IEDC (1976-77) is not in conformity with the provisions of Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995 as the said scheme has never been notified as per the provisions of Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, 1995 and also that the said scheme has not dealt with all kinds of benefits contemplated in Section 30 of P.D.W. Act, and further that the said scheme is not in accordance with the letters and spirit of Section 30 of PDW Act, 1995. Thirdly, the said IEDC scheme (1976-77) is obsolete and unworkable as the rate at which benefits have been prescribed are totally inadequate and are totally incomprehensive. Fourthly, the said scheme is arbitrary and discriminatory as it covers children with disabilities only in 141 schools run by Government of Delhi and does not cover thousands of other children with disabilities studying in other 870 schools run by Government of Delhi, 1887 schools run by MCD, Government and MCD aided schools and also other schools of Delhi. Fifthly, the grant given by Human Resource Development Ministry, Government of India remained unutilized and unspent. Sixthly, the benefits whatsoever provided in the said scheme are denied to the children with disabilities studying in government run schools that are in dire need of the same. Hence, the present public interest petition.
The PIL came for the hearing first time before the High Court on 19.02.2003 when the High Court was pleased to issue notices to the Government of India, Delhi Government and MCD and asked them to submit their replies. The PIL again came up for hearing before the High Court on 24.9.2003 when the High Court passed the following orders:
“Order
24.09.2003
By making law it is declared to the people at large that the government is coming up with a policy for disabled children so that they can make progress. So far as the children of rich people are concerned, they are not likely to make a grievance before the Court. However, the children belonging to poor strata have no voice. It is seen that no action has been taken. Therefore, this petition has been filed. It is a sorry state of affairs that despite legislation of 1996, the Secretaries of the concerned departments are fighting inter se as to who should bear the cost or make payment. Despite the cognizance taken by the court on 19.2.2003, no action has been taken till date. If by the next date, action is not taken, then the concerned Joint Secretaries shall remain present before the court without fail.
List on 1.10.2003
Sd/-
Chief Justice
Sd/-
A.K. Sikri, J.”
The PIL then came up for hearing before the High Court on 28.7.2004 when the Additional Solicitor General of India made a statement that the scheme will be notified, which is under preparation, by the end of October. The matter was adjourned to 10.11.2004.
That on 10.11.2004, when the PIL came up for hearing before a Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D. Ahmed, the counsel for the Govt. of India informed the court that Government of India has by notification dated 04.11.2004 prepared a comprehensive education scheme for the children with disabilities. A copy of the notification-dated 04.11.2004 was placed on the court record. The counsel for the Govt. of Delhi made a statement in the Court that Govt. of Delhi will follow the scheme notified on 04.11.2004. In view of this development, the High Court disposed of the PIL.
Implications of this notified comprehensive education scheme prepared by the Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment published in the Gazette of India by notification dated 4.11.2004.
1. This scheme is a statutory scheme under the PWD Act, 1995 and the Court can be approached for implementation of the same.
2. It will cover the entire country and benefit all the children with disabilities estimated to be 20 millions.
3. It is a landmark achievement for the on going disability rights movement in the country.
4. The High Court’s intervention in the PIL has compelled the government to discharge their statutory obligations of framing comprehensive education scheme for the children with disabilities.
By Advocate Ashok Agarwal
Thursday, May 8, 2008
DISABLED TOO ARE EQUAL CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in case of Bhagwan Dass vs Punjab State Electricity Board (2008) 1 SCC 579 expressed its anguish against the employer for failure to respect the provisions of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
The Hon’ble Judges observed, “ This case highlights the highly insensitive and apathetic attitude harboured by some of us, living a normal healthy life, towards those unfortunate fellowmen who fell victim to some incapacitating disability. The facts of this case reveal that officers of the Punjab State Electricity Board were quite aware of the statutory rights of Appellant 1 and their corresponding obligation yet they denied him his lawful dues by means that can only be called disingenuous”.
The Hon’ble Judges further observed, “ We understand that the officers concerned were acting in what they believed to be the best interests of the Board. Still under the old mindset it would appear to them just not right that the Board should spend good money on someone who was no longer of any use. But they were quite wrong, seen from any angle. From the narrow point of view the officers were duty-bound to follow the law and it was not open to them to allow their bias to defeat the lawful right of the disabled employee. From the larger point of view the officers failed to realize that the disabled too are equal citizens of the country and have as much share in its resources as any other citizen. The denial of their rights would not only be unjust and unfair to them and their families but would create larger and graver problem for the society at large. What the law permits to them is no charity or largesse but their right as equal citizens of the country”.
The Hon’ble Judges observed, “ This case highlights the highly insensitive and apathetic attitude harboured by some of us, living a normal healthy life, towards those unfortunate fellowmen who fell victim to some incapacitating disability. The facts of this case reveal that officers of the Punjab State Electricity Board were quite aware of the statutory rights of Appellant 1 and their corresponding obligation yet they denied him his lawful dues by means that can only be called disingenuous”.
The Hon’ble Judges further observed, “ We understand that the officers concerned were acting in what they believed to be the best interests of the Board. Still under the old mindset it would appear to them just not right that the Board should spend good money on someone who was no longer of any use. But they were quite wrong, seen from any angle. From the narrow point of view the officers were duty-bound to follow the law and it was not open to them to allow their bias to defeat the lawful right of the disabled employee. From the larger point of view the officers failed to realize that the disabled too are equal citizens of the country and have as much share in its resources as any other citizen. The denial of their rights would not only be unjust and unfair to them and their families but would create larger and graver problem for the society at large. What the law permits to them is no charity or largesse but their right as equal citizens of the country”.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Directives to States on persons with disabilities
NEW DELHI: Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar has written to all Chief Ministers bringing to their notice the provisions of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and urging suitable action by the administrative bodies in regard to raising awareness, accessibility, personal mobility, and security.
‘Ensure freedom’
She has also asked the States to ensure freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse, ability to live independently, education, health, rehabilitation, employment and ensuring adequate standard of living for persons with disabilities.
The Convention, which came into effect on Saturday, was evolved after international consensus on the subject. It was signed by India on March 30, 2007. In so doing, India reaffirmed its commitment towards the International Policy Framework in respect of the persons with disabilities.
Subsequently, India was also among the first countries to ratify the Convention on October 1, 2007 and with the 20th ratification happening on April 3, 2008, the Convention came into force one month later. The purpose of the Convention is “to promote, protect and ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.”
India has enacted the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act in 1995 and certain other laws, and has taken certain other institution-building measures for persons with disabilities.
Also the National Policy for Disabled People, adopted in 2006, comprehensively spelt out the goals towards full acknowledgement and exercise of all human rights of persons with disabilities as well as promoting a broad commitment to accessibility, autonomy and equality of opportunity for them.
-The Hindu
Special Correspondent
Monday, May 05, 2008
Special Correspondent
Monday, May 05, 2008
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