School disregards disabled boy’s form

Commission for Disabilities orders that child be admitted; institute yet to act

School disregards disabled boy's form

Commission for Disabilities orders thatu00a0 child be admitted; institute yet to act

Four-year-old Aarav Porwal suffers from hearing impairment. His parents had filled his admission form at Mother's International School, Sri Aurobindo Marg in the Capital in the hope that he would get admission there under disabled category. However, when the school came out with the list of children selected for admission in nursery, Aarav's parents found that their son's name was not there.

No entry: PS Porwal's son Aarav was denied admission on grounds that
the quota for disabled was already filled. Pic/Mid Day

His father PS Porwal then went to the school to request the management to admit his child but was told that the 25 per cent quota reserved for disabled category had already been filled and hence they could not admit his child. However, when Porwal inquired into the issue, he learnt that his child's form was not even considered for the admission in the first place.

On learning this, the parents then filed a complaint against the school with the Commission for Disabilities for not informing them that their child's form was not being considered during the admission process . "When I met the school authorities for my child's admission, they told me that the school was not equipped with facilities to take care of children with such disabilities," said Porwal, who is working with the Ministry of Defence and is a resident of Gupta Colony, Malviya Nagar.

"My son has undergone Cochlear implant surgery, which enables an individual to hear properly. As such he faces no major problem in the studies. So I filed a complaint with the Commission for Disabilities and they issued an order to the school asking them to admit my child," he added.

Oo response
MiD DAY made repeated attempts to reach the school principal Sangamitra Ghosh but she was not available for a comment on the matter.

The Commission's Take
The Commission for Disabilities had issued a notice to the school and summoned both the parties - the school principal and the parents - for a hearing. (A copy of the notice is with MiD DAY). During the hearing, the principal had promised that she would take up the matter with the school management and create a seat for the child. The representatives from the Education Department of Delhi government also confirmed that they have written to the school to admit Aarav Porwal. "We had issued an order to the school to make place for the child and admit him without any further delay. The school cannot deny him admission under the Right to Education Act though the school principal was reluctant to give admission saying they were not equipped to handle such students," said, Rajesh Kumar, Welfare Officer, Commission for Disabilities. "We have advised the parents that they can take the matter to the High Court, if the school refuses admission to the child even after this," Kumar added. Porwal, who is still waiting for his child's admission said, "The school has not given us any clear reasons why they have refused admission to our son. I might go to the High Court if they don't do anything about it. I will fight for my child's right to education now. They cannot humiliate us this way," said he.