PTI
New Delhi, Oct 30: The Supreme Court has questioned the lack of separate schools and distinctly trained teachers for students who suffer from autism, blindness and deafness.
The apex court observed that it is “impossible to think” that children, who are disabled or suffer from any kind of disability or are mentally challenged, can be imparted education in mainstream schools along with normal children.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that access to education has now been regarded as a fundamental right under Article 21A and there was a statutory obligation on the States to provide education under the Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
“We are of the prima facie view that the children with special needs have to be imparted education not only by special teachers but there have to be special schools for them,” the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.
The bench asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file an affidavit keeping its observation in mind in four weeks and specify when the state is going to meet the obligation. It listed the matter for further hearing November 27.
“When we say ‘disability’, we do not mean ‘disability’ as has been defined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 includes certain physical disabilities which may not be a warrant for getting admission in special schools,” the bench said.
Emphasising the need for a separate system, the court said “the students who suffer from blindness, deafness and autism or such types of disorder may be required to have separate schools with distinctly trained teachers”. The bench was hearing a plea filed by Rajneesh Kumar Pandey through advocate Prashant Shukla, claiming lack of sufficient number of special educators in Uttar Pradesh and other states to teach the Children With Special Needs (CWSN).
