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Centre to safeguard education rights of differently abled kids

Last Updated 02 May 2012, 18:40 IST

The government will formulate an “explicit” guideline for implementation of a provision, proposed in the Right to Free and Compulsory (Amendment) Bill, that seeks to give children with multiple and severe disability an option to complete their elementary education from home.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has decided to set up a task force in this regard. “The HRD Minister (Kapil Sibal) may make an announcement in this regard in the ongoing Session of Parliament,” sources told Deccan Herald.

This comes following apprehensions by activists and non-government organisations that schools, especially those run by private entities, may exploit this provision and prevent such children from attending classes in schools.

A delegation of activists called on Sibal on Tuesday expressing their concerns. They urged the minister to bring clarity in the provision to prevent misuse  by schools. Several activists have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too, urging him to protect the rights of differently-abled children.

An amendment proposed to Section 3 of the RTE Act says that a child with “multiple disabilities” referred to in Clause (o) of Section 2 of the National Trust Welfare of the Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, “may also have the right to opt for home-based education.”

The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on April 24 in a voice vote. It is yet to be tabled in the Lok Sabha. Before the passage of the bill in the Upper House, Sibal had underlined that the proposed amendment should not be used “as an instrument by institutions to deny admission” to differently-abled children. The proposed amendment led to apprehensions that it may be misused since the criteria on which kids with multiple and severe disabilities will be recommended for pursuing elementary education from home, is not clearly specified.

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(Published 02 May 2012, 18:40 IST)

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