The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Ploy in admitting special children alleged

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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Ploy in admitting special children alleged

Sangeeth Kurian

Rise in number of mentally challenged children in schools

Educators suspect attempt to avert division fall
Most schools do not have trained teachers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A steady increase in enrolment of mentally-challenged children at several government and aided schools in Thiruvananthapuram is fuelling the allegation that it is an attempt by school authorities to maintain the required student strength and ensure that teachers do not lose their jobs.

Many of these schools do not have specially trained teachers to look after the needs of such children.

As per the Kerala Education Rules, termination of a teaching post or ‘division fall’ occurs when the student strength in a particular class falls below the prescribed limit. The minimum required strength is 25 students per class.

School authorities deny any deliberate attempt to boost numbers by admitting mentally challenged children and cite a directive issued by the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) that calls for an “integrated approach to education” as a justification. But, educators associated with the SSA allege that there is more to it than meets the eye.

At Government Upper Primary School, Chakka, in Thiruvananthapuram for instance, over 20 per cent of the students are mentally challenged children. The school has a combined strength of 54 students spread across classes I to VII, including 11 who are mentally challenged. Yet, the institution does not have a trained teacher to take care of the children.

“The number of children with mental disabilities being admitted in the school is increasing with each passing year. This year we had four new recruits,” says Shahul Hameed, headmaster of the school.

“Some of the children are very difficult to manage. At times, they get violent and start bullying other students and teachers. We have requested our ward councillor to help us in getting a special teacher.” However, Mr. Hameed denies allegations that the school is encouraging the admission of mentally challenged children to arrest division fall.

But, Anitha Nayakam, a resource teacher working at one of the 12 block-level resource centres under the SSA, is not convinced. “A few years ago we had to fight with the school authorities to provide admission to a mentally challenged child,” she notes.

She recalls an incident wherein the parent of a special child was forced to seek a special order from a top-level official at the Education Department before the child could gain admission to a Government Lower Primary School in Sasthamangalam nearly two years ago.

“Now almost every week we get calls from schools seeking assistance in handling children with mental disabilities who become uncontrollable,” says Ms. Nayakam who, along with three others, provides periodic training to teachers who look after special students in all the 79 schools coming under SSA’s Block Resource Centre (BRC), Charachira. The latest figures at this BRC show that there are 347 mentally challenged children studying at the 79 schools coming under it.

Meanwhile, R. Rajan, Deputy Director, Integrated Education for the Disabled, Directorate of Public Instruction, admits that there may be schools that are encouraging admission of mentally challenged children to prevent division fall but also adds that the Education Department has, of late, been showing greater interest in the welfare of such children through the process of integration.

“However, the challenge before us is the lack of qualified teachers to look after them,” says Mr. Rajan. “We have only 1,452 special teachers at present. We need at least 4,500 teachers more.”

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