Six-year-old visually impaired Sargam, daughter of Rashmi and Ram Sushil Kushwaha of Bhilpura, finally got assurance of admission in a reputed private school of the State capital following efforts of Arushi, a voluntary organisation working for education of disabled children.
Anil Mudgal, drector of the organization, said on Friday that he had received a complaint from the parents of the child that the staff of Anand Vihar School in Tulsi Nagar locality tried to dissuade them from seeking admission to the school.
"They told us that school authorities tried to frighten them saying the child would not be able to adjust with other students. The parents were told that their child would not be able to play with other students, nor would she be able to use toilets in the school," he said on Friday.
Arushi approached the school for admission of Sargam, and after considerable efforts, the school agreed to admit her in KG, he said. Sargam will now get a chance to study in a decent school. Arushi will continue to support the child by providing books written in Braille script and other audio learning materials.
When Anand Vihar School principal Aruna was contacted by The Pioneer, she denied that any discrimination had been done against the child. "There was a misunderstanding and it has been resolved," she said.
Sachin, coordinator at Arushi, said that every year they come across many cases of disabled children being denied admission in schools. "Not only private schools, even government schools, including the Central Schools deny admission to such children. Even the passage of Right to Education Act has not changed the situation much as far as the educational rights of the disabled students are concerned," he said.
He pointed out that in the name of creating a barrier-free atmosphere in schools, the exclusive focus is on building ramps. "Most ramps are such that a disabled person cannot use it without aid. Besides, there are no other facilities like specially trained teachers, teaching aid, disabled-friendly toilets in the schools," he said, adding that disabled children continue to face an insensitive system as far as their educational rights are concerned.