NEW DELHI, May 2: HRD Minister Kapil Sibal met representatives from the disability sector opposing the amended RTE Act that provides home-based schooling to children with disabilities with one of them claiming they were assured of steps to prevent the Act from being misused.

Founder chairperson of Spastics Society of India Mithu Alur said the Minister assured that a task force will be set up to frame legally binding guidelines in this regard.

According to her, the Act would make it easier for schools to misuse the provisions and deny admission to children with disabilities and recommend home-based schooling.

She said those suffering from mild symptoms could become a victim of this provision as there is a thin line between various forms of disabilities.

Several activists have already written to the Prime Minister condemning the provision of the Act.

The Rajya Sabha had passed an amendment in the RTE Act last week widen the beneficiary net for children with disabilities and providing those with severe disability the option of receiving education at home.

The Bill is due to be placed in the Lok Sabha soon. The fear of the activists to the provision of the Act also stems from the fact that schools in general tend to turn away children with disability and cite multiple factors to deny them admission.

Meenakshi Balasubramaniam of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People calls the step a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which India is a signatory.


Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com