Member of the National Committee of Election Commission of India for Accessible Elections and former expert member of HP State Advisory Board on Disability, Ajai Srivastava has been a 24/7 helpline for the disabled in Himachal Pradesh for almost three decades now.
He has been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of children with disabilities, filing Public Interest Litigations in court to get them their due and influencing government policies to facilitate them to be a part of an inclusive society.
Chairman of Umang Foundation, a charitable trust, Ajai Srivastava talked to the News Arena India in Shimla on disability rights scenario in Himachal Pradesh.
What is your view on the government’s recent announcement to have separate schools and colleges for disabled children in HP?
We don't require it. We must have an inclusive education approach for children with disabilities, not separate schools or colleges. We do require special school for the visually impaired and hearing and speech impaired children till 8th standard so that they learn basic Sign language or Braille. But they have to be a part of the inclusive society ultimately. We should not set up islands for them in the name of a special college, as it would isolate them.
We should educate them in mainstream schools (after 8th) and colleges so that they learn to live in society and the other students also learn to live with them. We can have different modules of technology-supported education for disabled children as per their requirements.
The state government must reconsider the decision to have separate schools and colleges for them. I will personally meet the Chief Minister on this issue and urge him to review it as he has so far shown sensitivity towards the social and welfare sector. The government can however focus on the research on teaching and training for children with disabilities in some institutes.
Do you think the government schools and colleges hesitate to accommodate children with disabilities?
Disabled children also feel insecure to an extent in mainstream schools or colleges as they fear bullying by normal students. The same is with the government teachers, who find it difficult to manage disabled children due to lack of exposure.
But unless we prepare the disabled children to be part of the inclusive society and the teachers to take care of the special needs of the disabled students through technology in mainstream schools/colleges, we can’t imagine the disabled children to gel with society and vice versa.
Does Himachal have adequate facilities for the disabled at the school level?
The hill state has two schools for visually impaired and hearing and speech impaired children, one for boys in Shimla and another for girls in Sundernagar. Both the schools, which were upgraded to 12th standard some years back, don’t have a focus on technology.
They need to be strengthened because the children coming out of these schools face difficulties later.
Moreover, there is no government set up for the education of children with intellectual disabilities.
The NGOs in the state are not able to do it as required due to a lack of funds. There is no system for ascertaining the disability of these children with intellectual disabilities and nobody has worked on their rehabilitation in the state so far.
Do you think there is a lack of an established system for the smooth education of disabled children in the state?
Himachal Pradesh lacks established systems for the education of the disabled. Every time we have to get relief for these children from the court. The court orders too are implemented for individuals only when the latter run from pillar to post.
I have personally filed 5-6 PILs and got the directions issued to the state government on different aspects over the years. Earlier, the two special schools for visually impaired and hearing and speech impaired children were till 10th standard and the mainstream government institutions were averse to giving the disabled children admission after that.
In 2011, there was an interim order by the High Court on my PIL, following which three blind girls were permitted admission to the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Portmore in Shimla in 11th standard. It was a residential school. Similarly, three more residential schools in Jogindernagar, Nahan and Nagrota Bagwan were notified for inclusive education of disabled boys.
In the final judgment on the same PIL, the government was asked to give free education to children with disabilities till the PhD level. Even this order has not been followed fully in the institutions for medical and technical education institutes.
Have you been able to change the mindset of people towards children with disabilities in HP with your campaign for their rights?
Yes. We have been able to sensitize people to a large extent, but not bureaucracy over the years.
The teachers and students in schools and colleges have largely got to know how to deal with the disabled and the latter have learnt about others with whom they study. It has helped in setting up an inclusive environment for them. However, the bureaucracy is still indifferent to their cause.
They are not as responsive to their issues as they should have been. Politicians are sensitive to individuals and facilitate them, if they can reach them.
What about the media perspective on disability issues?
Unfortunately, the media has only been interested in glorifying the success stories of disabled children in contrast.
Well-researched write-ups on the basics and the solutions to improve the system for these children are missing. There is a lack of orientation on account of the language to be used for children with disabilities.
The National Human Rights Commission has put in efforts to educate the media on all the issues from time to time. Yet there are gaps in awareness among media persons on disability issues.
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