Neeru Rathod is the 8th child in a family of 11 girls born to a Dalit construction worker in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, one of the most feudal and caste-ridden regions of India. Circumstances were difficult growing up but she found her path in 2006, when Video Volunteers and the NGO Navsarjan selected her to be part of a Community…
The Right To Education Act 2010 (RTE) guarantees free education for disabled children. The Government is meant to provide a special teacher for children with disabilities as well as specific learning material. However, for partially sighted Rekha Gishbhai this is not the case. Her mother explains how: “She sits on the side of the classroom, nobody pays attention to her.
Call to Action: Rekha is not receiving the specialised support she is entitled to. You can help, please call and put pressure on:
G.D. Kanani, District Education Officer, Surendranagar District, Gujarat, Tel: +919909970219
VV-Correspondent Neeru Rathod interviews Rekha’s mother and teachers from Kanpura village of Surendranagar district, Gujarat. Rekha is an 8
th standard student who is not receiving the specialised education she needs. Being partially sighted she cannot see in the distance or read small characters.
Her mother Maniben informs our Correspondent,
“She is in the 8th class but doesn’t know anything from her level, and the teacher just passes her.
Rupalben her 8
th Class Teacher adds,
“The itinerant teacher comes through the Government to teach them, but I haven’t seen the teacher since I have been here.”
Despite the inclusion of disabled children in the
Right to Education Act the Government has since stated that severely disabled children should be educated at home. This is against the
UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities which says:
“State parties shall ensure that persons with disability are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education or from secondary education on the basis of disability.”
There is hope however, in her
video, Pratibha Rolta reports on a unique school in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, where one remarkable woman and community are working together to provide special needs children with a dynamic education.
This goes to show new avenues can be found to help children like Rekha. We need your help. Call the District Education Officer and tell him to provide the facilities and resources Rekha needs to flourish into a fully-fledged adult. Please call the number above NOW!
Watch more videos of differently abled children
here.
More information on The Right to Education for children with disabilities can be found
here.
This goes to show new avenues can be found to help children like Rekha. We need your help. Call the District Education Officer and tell him to provide the facilities and resources Rekha needs to flourish into a fully fledged adult. Please call the number above NOW!
Written by Manjinder Singh Sidhu
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