Dear friends, I think, it is time that we create strong campaign to bring the children with disabilities and persons with disabilities in the proposed education bill, otherwise whatever we do will remain without achieving the inclusion model.
May I therefore request you to please forward the message to as many of the people as possible, who are known to you and who are social activists and concerned with the inclusion and empowerment of the persons with disabilities. Best regards, Dev Kumar, Why is the Right to Education Bill not right? Left out again – aren’t disabled children in India worth educating? Parent of children with disabilities and persons with disabilities across the State are shocked to see that there is no mention of children with disabilities and their right to an equal education in the “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill” The Bill is expected to come up in the current Lok Sabha, in the next couple of days. We believe it is critical to postpone the tabling of the Bill since it has not given adequate thought to aspects of inclusive education. Does Education for All mean disabled children too? There are 20 million disabled children in India and less than 2% of them are in school. Is this really the hallmark of a progressive modern nation? Most children with disabilities are living in poverty – in rural areas or urban slums. Education is a way out of poverty for the ordinary people. Here is a chance to do it. Four simple changes to the Bill could put this right: - Add a definition of children with disabilities in the Bill, separate from and additional to the definition of children from disadvantaged and weaker sections of society - Make sure that this definition of children with disabilities includes children with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities - Include facilities that children with disabilities might need – ramps, toilets, audio tapes, and pictures for deaf children etc. - Well trained teachers who can include every child in the class What we need is a short pause to get it Right! Use this window to ask those who know - a consultation with parents of children with disabilities, young people with disabilities, disability activists and teachers. India is proud to have been one of the first to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. So let us bring the meaning and spirit to the above said Convention. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The detail Our concerns about the bill are: 1. There is no inclusion of children with a disability in the section defining children (Chapter 1, 2d & 2e of the Bill). The Bill defines children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, but does not mention children with disability. This raises the following issues: It violates the principle of equality enshrined in the Indian Constitution and in International Human Rights law including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to both of which India is a signatory By not including children with a disability in section 2d 'child belonging to a disadvantaged group', the Bill contradicts the definition of the child within the Juvenile Justice Act which includes children with disabilities. 2. Chapter 2 section 3 (2) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 states that: “Provided that a child suffering from disability, as defined in clause (i) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection and Full Participation) Act, 1996 shall have the right to pursue free and compulsory elementary education in accordance with the provisions of Chapter V of the said Act.’. This raises the following issue: Not all children with a disability officially recognized by India are covered under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1996. In its present form, the Bill leaves out children with disabilities covered under The National Trust Act for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities, 1999. 3. While the Bill has detailed the norms required of a school (teacher-pupil ratio, buildings etc), it is silent on the facilities needed to enable children with disabilities to attend school (such as ramps, accessible toilets, well lit rooms, audio tapes, etc). Training for teachers to work imaginatively with children with a range of disabilities. We believe that inclusive education is the basic human right of all Indian children. On behalf of concerned constituents disabled and non disabled Bengaluru 3rd August 2009 ------ Kavitha Krishnamoorthy Kilikili K 544 Sena Vihar, Kammanahalli Main Road, Kalyan Nagar Post, Bangalore 560043 Cell: 98807 42028 kavi...@kilikili.org www.kilikili.org C. Mahesh Advocacy Coordinator CBR Forum 14, CK Garden, St. Thomas Town Post Wheeler Road Extension Bangalore - 560 084 Tel - 080- 2549 7387 or 2549 7388 Cell: 94490 36329 advocacy.cbrfo...@gmail.com www.cbrforum.in -- Dev Nandan Kumar MDRA 2008-10 National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped Manovikas Nagar, Secunderabad- 500 009, India Contact No- +91 9336 39 6969/ 9618 05 1601 To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
