Can't ignore education of kids with special needs: HC

New Delhi: The requirement of special education to children with special needs cannot be ignored as a delay of even a day would severely impact them, the Delhi High Court today said.

The court’s observation came while directing the Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board (DSSSB) the reason for the delay in recruiting special educators in schools of the Delhi government and the municipal corporations.

“This matter is certainly of grave concern. Special education needs of children with special needs cannot be ignored. Everyday delay will be of grave harm and will be severely impacting the children,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.

The court was informed by the Delhi government that despite repeated requests to the DSSSB, recruitment process of 432 special educators has not been completed.

The bench directed the DSSSB to file an affidavit having details of the requests made by the Delhi government, the process of recruitment and the reason of delay in recruiting special educators.

It further directed that an official of the DSSSB, who was aware of the facts of the matter, be present before it on November 30, the next date of hearing, and the Delhi government should ensure compliance of its order.

In February, the AAP government had told the high court that of a total 927 posts of special educators in government schools here, 432 were still vacant.

The court was hearing the matter which was transferred to it by another judge of the high court where a mother, through advocate Ashok Aggarwal, had approached the court saying her two sons with special needs have studied at government and municipality-run schools for years, but have learnt nothing and were rather made a source of entertainment.

During the day’s hearing, the court perused the affidavits filed by the government and South Delhi Municipal Corporation and said the government’s response showed that process of recruitment has been effected to the DSSSB which was proceeding in an extremely slow manner.

It noted that even today there is a large number of vacancy and the Delhi government was constrained to appoint 332 guest special education teachers who have qualified CTET.

The government had earlier stated in its affidavit that in pursuance to the direction of the high court of 2009 to appoint minimum two special educators in each government school, it has deployed at least one such teacher in every school where children with special needs are admitted.

The court was hearing a petition by Mamta Devi and her husband Shyam Nandan, who sell vegetables in Katwaria Sarai in south Delhi.