Education of Disabled Children in India

Disability is multi-dimensional and there is no single universally accepted definition of disability. Not only definitions are different across the countries but these also differ and change with evolving legal, political and social discourses. Education for disabled children in India is lacking either in its efficacy, infrastructure, implementation and/or other causes. One of the causes is the exact figures for disabled children. It is very difficult to find reliable data about the prevalence of disability in India. In general, the search for a single prevalence rate is an illusion, so are the range of estimates and their varied origins. This makes it difficult to come up with an exact figure of people afflicted with disabilities. The 2001 Census, covering five types of disabilities, recorded a prevalence rate of 2.13 per cent, or 21.91 million people with disabilities out of a total population of 1028 million. The National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) 58th round (July-December 2002) survey reported that 1.8 per cent of the population (18.5 million) had a disability. But the above-mentioned estimates conducted by the two bodies are near and dear to the reality found; there may be more or less than this.

• Education of Disabled Children in India: An Overview
• Integrated Education for Disabled Children: India
• Organizations working for Education of Disabled Children
• Education for Disabled Children in India: Drawbacks / Observations
• Measures to Make Better Education of Disabled Children in India

Education for Disabled in India: An Overview

The need for special education in India can be traced back to pre-independent India. There are many examples in Indian history that show that people with disabilities had educational opportunities and that disability did not come in the way of learning. However, during the colonial period, India increasingly looked at educational models existing outside the country. Parents of children with disabilities started schools for their children, mainly from urban areas and with exposure to approaches prevalent in western countries. Since the government had no policy on the education of children with disabilities, it extended grants to these private schools. This approach of setting up separate schools, mostly residential, spread across the country, much of them concentrated in urban areas. For over a century, these special schools offered the only education available to children with disabilities because of the widespread belief that children with special needs could not be educated alongside others. This allowed a small number of children to have access to education but it did not help these children to enter the mainstream community after completing their education.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children: India

With a purpose of integrating the physically and mentally challenged people in the society as equal members, the government of India has brought about a scheme known as Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC). IEDC is a centrally sponsored scheme initiated in 1974 which is being implemented in various States and UTs. The IEDC program was revised in 1992 under which 100% financial assistance was offered to students to integrate them into the mainstream population. This financially supported transport facility, books, and stationery, uniform, instructional material, assistive equipment, readers facilities for the visually handicapped, attendance facility for the orthopedically handicapped, special teacher facility, hostel facility for disabled children situated on school campus and removal of architectural barriers in schools etc. Community involvement and partnerships between government agencies and NGOs are instrumental in promoting the education of disabled children in India.

Under IEDC Program a Disabled Child may be given the following Facilities at the rates Prevalent in the State/UT concerned:

• Actual expenses on books and stationery up to Rs.400 per annum.
• Actual expenses on uniform up to Rs.200 per annum.
• Transport allowance up to Rs.50 per month. If a disabled child admitted under the scheme resides in the school hostel on the school premises, no transportation charges would be admissible.
• Reader allowance of Rs.50 per month in case of blind children after Class V.
• Escort allowance for severely handicapped with lower extremity disability at the rate of Rs.75 per month.
• The actual cost of equipment subject to a maximum of Rs.2000 per student for a period of five years.
• In the case of severely orthopedically handicapped children, it may be necessary to allow one attendant for 10 children in a school. The attendant may be given the standard scale of pay prescribed for Class IV employees in the State/UT concerned.
• Disabled children residing in school hostels within the same institution where they are studying may also be paid boarding and lodging charges as admissible under the State Government rules/schemes. Where there is no State scheme of scholarships to hostellers, the disabled children whose parental income does not exceed Rs.5,000 per month may be paid actual boarding and lodging charges subject to a maximum of Rs.200 per month. However, disabled children should generally not be placed in hostels unless the required educational facilities are not available in the nearby schools.
• Severely orthopedically handicapped children residing in school hostels may need the assistance of a helper or an ayah. A special pay of Rs.50 per month is admissible to any employee of the hostel willing to extend such help to children in addition to his/her duties.

Organizations Working for Education of Disabled Children

The Sikshit Yuva Sewa Samiti (SYSS), an NGO in a partnership with the government, participates in the implementation of the Integrated Education for Disabled Children and DPEP (district primary education programme) projects. It also strengthens the program through community-based intervention initiatives. The projects provide physical infrastructure for schools through trained personnel and ensure accessibility for an enrolment of children with disabilities in community schools. Trained Anganwadi (grassroots) workers play a crucial role in this activity. It also provides resource teachers as a support system to general teachers and a backup team of physiotherapists. The NGO provides awareness and orientation training to general teachers, develops materials and supports general teachers in the modification of curricula to facilitate learning by children with disabilities.

The other helping body is Sir Shapurji Billimoria Foundation. It is a teacher development initiative, which provides in-service training for ordinary teachers to meet the needs of children with disabilities. In addition, there is a three-year pre-service training program for school leavers. The training program ensures that teachers are able to facilitate the learning of all children in the classroom. Practical experience, exposure to participatory learning methodology and the ability to teach at the elementary level in a multiple setting are emphasized together with a focus on human development.

The Joyful Inclusion Training Program is being conducted by the CBR Network, an NGO. It is involved in the education and rehabilitation of children with special needs. Teachers in rural government schools utilize a training pack that includes a curriculum-based criterion. The training manuals have proved useful, which are developed for training master trainers as well as general teachers. Teachers have been trained in the methodology developed in the Joyful Inclusion Package for teaching all children including those with disabilities.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is another initiative towards the education of children with disabilities. The focus on SSA is very essential, as it is currently heralding the biggest educational movement in the country. Discussions here focus on issues of access; it also raises important concerns about the quality of education being delivered. SSA also examines the role of the non-governmental sector in educating children with disabilities. It also reflects briefly on the rates of participation in early childhood education. In keeping with the diversity that underpins the social, cultural and economic makeup of India. The paper highlights the vast inter-state variations in responding to the educational needs of children with disabilities. It then concludes by attempting to bring together a range of disparate themes to suggest the fundamental dilemmas faced in planning and providing for children with disabilities and discusses some ways of moving forward. It is important to note here that there is currently a significant lacuna of knowledge in the field of special and inclusive education for Disabled Children in India.

Features of the Programs Initiated for Disabled Children

The programs which are being implemented/ or implemented for the education of disabled children in India have some of the following features:

1. The knowledge of diverse needs, disabilities, and giftedness
2. Skills to develop appropriate programs for diverse needs
3. Adoption of a good approach to ideologies and teaching methodologies
4. Ability to teach at the elementary level in multiple settings
5. Integration of different disciplines-medical, paramedical, therapeutic, social sciences, psychology, human development and related professions
6. Development of resource centres in each school (for course material, project material, reference material, books, journals, etc.).
7. Put emphasis on individual learning, group assignments, self-study and discovery learning
8. Inculcation of humanism, sensitivity, inquiry, and creativity
9. Raising of critical concerns and issues, and relating them to contemporary needs

Education for Disabled Children in India: Drawbacks/Observations

Central and state governments have taken a number of initiatives to improve the enrolment, retention, and achievement of children with disabilities. The Government of India also provided a Comprehensive Education Scheme for Disabled Children in compliance with Section 30 of the Disabilities Act 1995 in the year 2004. There is a need to establish interlinks and collaborations among various organizations to prevent overlapping, duplication and contradictions in program implementation.

The below mentioned are some of the observations:-

1. Restricted Education - Most of the services for children with disabilities are concentrated in big cities or close to district headquarters. The majority of children with disabilities who live in rural areas do not benefit from these services.
2. Lack of Correct Figures - There is an absence of consistent data on the magnitude and educational status of children with disabilities, and the disparities between regions and types of disability. This makes it difficult to understand the nature of the problem, and to make realistic interventions.
3. Student-Teacher Ratio - Many schools have a large number of children in each classroom and few teachers. As a consequence of this, many teachers are reluctant to work with children with disabilities. They consider it an additional workload.
4. Lack of Proper Know-how - Training for sensitization towards disability and inclusion issues, and how to converge efforts for effective implementation of programs, are important concerns.
5. Inadequate Policies of Education - Different disabilities require different supports. The number of skilled and trained personnel for supporting inclusive practices is not adequate to meet the needs of different types of disability.
6. Redundant Curriculum - The curriculum lacks the required flexibility to cater to the needs of children with disabilities.
7. Family Approach - Families do not have enough information about their child’s particular disability, its effects and its impact on their child’s capacity. This often leads to a sense of hopelessness.
   

Measures to Make Better Education of Disabled Children in India

The constitution of India as amended in December 2002 provides that free and compulsory education is a fundamental right of all children in the age group of 6-14 years. According to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (the Government of India) has formulated a comprehensive and integrated national program of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and others to provide assistance to states. This program adopts a ‘zero rejection policy’ so that no child is left out of the education system. The program has been launched to provide eight years of quality education to all children including children with special needs. It also supports a wide range of approaches, options, and strategies for the education of children with disabilities.

Some of the Efforts in this Area are given below:

Transport Facilities for Disabled Children - Transport facilities to children with special needs to encourage and ease their education.

The facilities towards this effect are given below:

• The schools providing transport facilities to their children should ensure that the children with disabilities also get the facility of transport suitable to their requirements. This would mean availability of facilities so that wheelchair users have access to the transport and the children with other disabilities provided necessary assistance to utilize the services.
• The schools, which are not providing transport facility to their children, should establish a system by hiring/ arranging transport vehicles to suit the requirement of children with disabilities studying in their schools.
• In case it is not possible to arrange for the transport facility for the children with disabilities, necessary arrangements may be made with the help of parents of the children with disabilities through the formation of an association, self-help groups, and citizen welfare groups.

Removal of Architectural Barriers - Removal of Architectural barriers from schools, colleges or other institutions imparting vocational and professional training.

The efforts towards this are given below:

• All new school buildings being constructed should provide for barrier-free features such as ramps, handrails and other facilities as laid down in the guidelines for disabled and elderly persons issued by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, Government of India. These guidelines set out standards for providing barrier-free access in the built environment.
• All the existing schools should also modify their school buildings in such a manner that they become barrier-free.
• The creation of barrier-free environment including the provision of ramps etc. should be done using locally available material and appropriate technology suitable and available in the area.
• The structural designing/ modification should be done under the guidance of qualified civil engineers.
• The funds available in various programs/ schemes including SSA, IEDC etc. should be utilized for the purpose.

Supply of Helping Materials- Supply of Books, Uniforms and other materials to children with disabilities attending school and the like are mentioned below:

• To encourage children with disabilities to attend schools regularly, they should be provided with free textbooks.
• The IEDC scheme has a provision for grant-in-aid for incurring expenditure on books and stationery up to Rs.400/- per annum per child with disabilities. This should be utilized.
• Children with disabilities should also be provided with uniforms and other materials free of cost.
• The children with disabilities should be provided with teaching/ learning aids such as:
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  • For visually disabled children– Braille books, talking books, mathematics kits, science kits, sensory training kits, canes for mobility, text-to-speech software and computer hardware having Braille keyboard etc.
  • For hearing disabled – Clinical audiometer, portable audiometer, speech trainer, a micrometre for ear-mould making for speech and hearing impaired, speech recognition software and other relevant equipment.

Providing Scholarships to Children- Grant of scholarships to students with disabilities are mentioned below:

• Scholarships to fund the cost of education are provided to children with disabilities on the basis of merit.
• Scholarships may be given in the monetary form to students with disabilities directly or to the schools as underwritten cost.
• List of students with disabilities being provided with scholarship should be separately mentioned and discussed in the Parents Teacher Association meetings.
• List of scholarship-holders should be regularly revised.

The Appropriate form for Redressing of Grievances- Setting up of the appropriate form for the redressing of grievances of parents regarding the placement of their children with disabilities are given below:

• Parent Teacher Association should be established in every school to redress the grievances of parents of children with disabilities.
• Regular meetings of Parent Teacher Association should be ensured.
• The school management committees and village education committees set up under SSA should be utilized to provide a forum to address grievances of the parents of children with special needs.
• The Colleges also should make similar arrangements.

Modification in Examination for Blind Students- Suitable modification in the examination system to eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of blind students and students with low vision

The following are the efforts taken in this area by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to provide facilities to the children with disabilities in examinations:

• An alternate question in lieu of questions requiring special skills based on visual inputs is being provided in Mathematics and science for Sec. School Examination (class X).
• Blind, Physically Handicapped and Dyslexic Students are permitted to use an amanuensis (transcribers). The amanuensis must be a student of a class lower than the one for which the candidate is taking the examination.
• The visually Handicapped students (with low vision) appearing are provided Question Papers with enlarged print.
• Disabled candidates are allowed an additional one hour (60) minutes) for each paper of external examination.
• An exemption is granted from examination in the Third Language.
• Centre Superintendents have been instructed to make arrangements for the conduct of the examination of such candidates on the Ground Floor as far as possible.
• Physically Challenged children are to specifically indicate their category and also state whether they have been provided with a writer in the columns provided in the Main Answer Book. In addition to the above facilities extended by CBSE to children with disabilities, there should be an effort to eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of blind students and students with low vision.

Curriculum Restructuring for Hearing Impaired Children- Restructuring of curriculum for the benefit of students with hearing impairment to facilitate them to take only one language as part of their curriculum. There is a focus on inclusive education and hence child-centred pedagogy emphasized. The curriculum to meet the needs of children with disabilities should be suitably developed in consultation with experts so that these children can learn together with other children in regular classrooms. There may be a need to suitably modify the curriculum as done by CBSE for children with disabilities.

The modifications made are presented below:

• The children with disabilities (dyslexia, blind, spastic and candidate with visual impairment) have the option of studying one compulsory language as against two.
• The language opted by them should be in consonance with the overall spirit of the Three Language Formula prescribed by the Board.
• Besides one language, they can offer any four of the following subjects: Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Science, Another Language, Music, Painting, Home Science and Introductory Information Technology.

Though the education of such children is not at par with the efforts of the western world but taking a look at the above mentioned, the education for disabled children in India is improving with the passage of time. There are many efforts/policies being made and implemented by the government and NGOs in this area. Emphasis on the moral duty of parents of such children is also a big factor towards the cause of education of Disabled Children in India.