ODISHA: FAILING ITS CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Odisha doesn't allow teachers holding qualifications in special education to join regular schools. This has left the vast majority of its 1.46 lakh disabled students without vital support.

- Sanjay

Shubhakriti Sahoo, mother of a deaf student Omprakash Shahoo, nine, has sent a legal S notice to a senior Odisha government official demanding appointment of a special educator and other equipment and facilities at the Puri district government school where her child is in Class 4. She is among the thousands of poor parents of children with special needs who have now taken up the legal battle against the state government for quality and inclusive education.

Shubhakriti complained that regular teachers don't pay attention towards children like her son and the lack of inclusive learning activities in the school is killing his interest in studies.

"There is no proper sitting arrangement in the classroom and most often my child is made to sit on the last bench and hence he is not able to hear what the teacher is teaching. The teachers don't pay any extra special attention towards my child and don't teach him in sign language. There is no special activity for him where he can learn things easily. Though he plays with other children during lunch hour, he does not learn how to write and read. This is resulting in his disinterest in studies and it is demotivating for him," she told Careers 360

The absence of special educators is a result of Odisha government's policy of not appointing teachers holding Bachelor or Diploma in special education qualification in its regular schools. They can be appointed only in "special schools" of which there are less than 150 in the state. The vast majority of disabled children are in regular public schools.

Lack of special educators is one of the main factors behind the continuous decline in the number of disabled students from primary to higher secondary level, said Birabar Samantasinghar, president, Odisha Secondary Special Education Teachers' Association (OSSETA).

Large numbers, few resources