When Musa was three years old, he was denied admission by seven private play schools in Srinagar due to his mild autism. Now that he is seven years old, his mother Saima Mubeen is still running from pillar to post to find a school that will accept her son.
“He is due to get admitted in Class 1, but schools in Jammu and Kashmir are not admitting him,” says the 40-year-old Srinagar resident. “Every school should have a separate section for kids with special needs, equipped with a trained speech therapist, and a special educator at least.”
NCPCR notice
She is one of the many parents of children with special needs who have struggled to get admission into J&K schools. After receiving numerous complaints and a notice from the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the National Education Policy cell of the J&K Directorate of School Education (DoE) has shot off a letter to all school education officials in the Union Territory to ensure that no school head — whether of a government or private school — denies admission to children on any such grounds.
“All officers, joint directors, chief education officers, cluster heads, zonal education officers should ensure that no school denies admission to children with special needs, thus creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all children,” the letter says, warning that action will be taken against defaulters under the rules.
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The DoE sent the circular after receiving a notice from the NCPCR to make sure that children get admitted to schools under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 as well as the Right To Education Act, 2009.
‘Private schools denying admission’
There are more than 1.2 lakh disabled children in J&K of which 83,567 are school-going, says Kashmir-based activist Zaheer Jan. However, private schools are denying admission to children with special needs, he says. “We approached DoE and different private schools — Burn Hall School, Presentation School, Delhi Public School, Tyndall Bisco and Mallinson Girls Higher Secondary School — but they didn’t reply to our representation,” Mr. Jan wrote to NCPCR.
“After abrogation of Article 370, all central laws are applicable to J&K. Our PIL regarding the matter of denial of school admissions is also pending in the J&K High Court since 2020,” Mr. Jan adds.
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Ms. Mubeen told The Hindu that parents of children with special needs want to see real transformation on the ground. She recalls the experience of being rejected by seven play schools. “My kid finally went for a few months to a play school which admitted him, after which there was abrogation of Article 370 and the valley was shut, post which there was COVID pandemic,” she says.
She points out that there is no reason that Musa’s mild autism — a developmental condition which affects the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical health of a child — should keep him from getting a quality education. “Autistic children are very smart and are known to have high IQ levels, we just need to identify their focus areas and work on them,” she adds.
