India is one of the few countries in the world where a whopping 90% of disabled children do not receive any form of education. There are a handful of schools in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi where inclusive education is being practised. In these schools innovative teaching techniques like theatre, music and group work have replaced traditional teaching techniques.
Most schools, however, remain unconvinced that inclusive education will work in the long run; either they have different sections for disabled students or they have none. “The source of education is communication. Communication with the deaf through signs and with the blind by speaking or drawing on the palm is possible. But, how do you communicate with the DeafBlind? Most people do not know the answer to this question and this ‘lack of awareness’ is a huge problem,” says Mr N.U Nayak, Deputy Director, Helen Keller Institute for Deaf and Deaf Blind, Mumbai.
Language obviously is the communication channel through which one becomes expressive. Language acquisition takes place almost involuntarily and eventually for people with normal vision and hearing. However the Deaf and DeafBlind must first learn to communicate using language before they can move on to formal education and using the computer.
Explaining this point further, Nayak says, “They must first learn to communicate through sign language. There are countless languages in India and thus every language must have its own sign language. For example the sign for ‘Tea’ in English is different, in Hindi is different and in your mother tongue is different. So you teach them Sign language, palm printing, writing and reading in Braille.”
Two foremost reasons why most schools in India remain unconvinced about inclusive education are lack of manpower and restricted budgetary support.
As teaching and training the disabled is an enormous task, not many people with sincere dedication come forward to take this up as a challenge. The ratio of disabled students to teachers is an alarming 12:1. More vitally, the issue lies with the ‘attitude’ of people towards the disabled.
“There is sympathy but little trust. Many people question, ‘what can a disabled accomplish by getting educated?’ The answer to this is often an assumed ‘nothing much after all,’” explains Nayak.
Nikita Vaid (21), a visually impaired student, is the first of her kind to graduate in Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), Mumbai and here she recalls her experience with the authorities and their attitude towards her. “Initially the University refused to let me take the entrance test. When I did not budge, the Director interviewed me and I took the entrance test after clearing the interview. I was allowed a scriber barring all other considerations. The time limit was not extended which I think is a reasonable demand and the biggest hurdle was the ‘visual reasoning’ section. It is almost impossible for the reader to describe shapes and patterns for each question in a limited time. I took a chance with those and randomly marked my answers. I got through finally.”
Subsequent to this Vaid faced similar issues during her BMS course, such as questions in certain subjects which require diagrammatical support to answer. Though the boards of SSC and HSC had a provision for alternate questions, Vaid had no such luck with the university.
Aparna Gupta (22), another visually impaired student says, “When I took my Maharashtra CET for the MMS course this year, I could clearly sense a laid back attitude towards the disabled. First of all, the brochure is not clear about exam instructions for students of the Physically Handicapped (PH) category. Nobody at the Department of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai was sure about the eligibility criteria for the writer. Apart from that, they didn’t care to inform me the details my writer needs to carry along. Just half an hour prior to the exam, my writer’s photograph was asked for. Why can’t this rule be written down in the brochure separately for students like me?”
The same ‘visual reasoning’ section showed its ugly face to Gupta at a higher level competitive entrance exam and still no solution was offered.
India has, in the past, drafted a parliamentary bill that aimed at improving education and employment prospects for people with disabilities and preventing discrimination. The ministry of Social Welfare and Empowerment redefined welfare measures for an estimated 90 million disabled Indians.
So, what happened to the bill?
“It just remains on paper,” says Nayak. “Implementation is most important which never happens in our country. The government must provide the required monetary support. Some of the modern gadgets used to train DeafBlind are not even known to people and are expensive. They are manufactured in Europe and at Helen Keller’s we make use of them. But not many schools can afford the same.”
Negative image factors, most of which operate subliminally, are often the basis of discrimination against the disabled. For disabled persons to enter mainstream of the society other children and teachers must learn to interact with them with understanding and acceptance.
Scores of students, like Gupta, who appear for higher level competitive exams today in our country, are asking for equal rights. Nayak says an ideal situation for the disabled exists in European countries due to adequate manpower and monetary support coupled with a positive attitude towards them.
Taking efforts in fostering attitudes of acceptance that are critical to the success of educating the disabled in the least restrictive educational setting is the need of the hour.
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