Tamil Nadu | Dearth of govt schools for special children leaves parents in despair

Tamil Nadu might score well in several public education matrices, but it seems to largely ignore the educational needs of children with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Due to a dearth of government-funded schools for children with ID, their parents are forced to shell out large amounts of money for private schools, which charge exorbitant fees.

“The Tamil Nadu government is systematically destroying special schools by not providing the required facilities,” said educationist Prince Gajendra Babu.

Just one school

The state has just one government school exclusively for such children, named the Government Institute for Mentally Retarded, Tambaram, situated on the outskirts of Chennai. Even this institution, housing 64 children, is in a dire state as it is understaffed, with just two special educators and a handful of caregiving staff.

Besides this institution, the state has 15 government-aided schools, and 286 NGO-run schools for students with ID, according to G Jagadeesan, Deputy Director, Welfare of the Differently-Abled Persons Department.

The government institute in Tambaram offers education and therapy free. But, in other districts, parents are forced to fork out vast amounts of money to educate their children with cognitive disabilities.

NGO-run schools

The NGO-run schools receive some funds from the government, which is never enough for operations, Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance, a coalition of independent, community-based organisations which advocate with and for people with any disability, told The Federal.

Therefore, NGO-run schools too are forced to raise their fees, making it difficult for parents. While government aided schools get more money, the amount is restricted to Rs 20,000 per month for NGO-run schools, said Jagadeesan.

Not only do the parents shell out high fees, but they also end up spending long hours assisting their children in therapy due to a perennial shortage of teachers in these institutions.

“The department pays salaries for three teachers (₹18,000 a month per teacher) in a school and also pays the building rent," Jagadeesan told The Federal. "Other expenses are borne by the people running these institutions, which therefore levy fees to manage the expenses."

High expenses

Uma Maheswari, a 34-year-old homemaker, pays ₹5,000 a month to educate her son in an NGO-run school in Madurai. Her son,13-year-old Santhosh NM, is diagnosed with autism and ID. Besides the fees, the family spends ₹2,500 a month on Santhosh’s medicines.

“My husband earns around ₹16,000. After spending for Santhosh’s needs and paying the rent, we are broke by the middle of the month,” Uma Maheshwari told The Federal.

Santhosh requires special care that therapists can only provide in a specialised school. He becomes aggressive in social settings and prefers spending time alone. In a specialised school, he receives cognitive behavioural and social skills therapy.

“There is some improvement after seven years of therapy. That's why we have enrolled him in a special school even though we simply cannot afford it,” said his mother.

Like many parents of children with cognitive disabilities who belong to lower middle-class families, Uma Maheswari too feels there is an urgent need for government institutions for special children.

Cutting down on therapy

To cater to the needs of such children, mothers often quit work. While the monthly compensation of ₹2,000 given by the Tamil Nadu government offers some respite, it is highly inadequate.

“My child studies in an NGO-run school for children with special needs. However, the school doesn’t provide therapy. We have not been able to take him for occupational therapy which costs ₹500 per session,” said 42-year-old Karpagam A, whose 15-year-old son Sriram Prakash suffers from autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

Occupational therapy in daily environments for children with cognitive disabilities may enhance their participation in everyday activities.

Mainstream schools

Most parents enroll their special children in NGO-run schools which are cheaper than private ones and charge a minimum of ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 a month.

Jansi, the mother of a child with special needs, was forced to enroll her son in a mainstream school when, two years ago, the NGO-run school he was then attending increased the fees from ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 a month. “My husband earns less than ₹500 a day. How can we afford to pay ₹5,000 a month as fees?” she asked.

She had quit her job to take care of her son. At the special school that he attended for three years, he was given extra attention by his teachers, which is impossible in a mainstream school.

“He even participated in sports competitions held for special children. The speech therapy at the special school was effective in improving his communication skills,” Jansi recalled, adding that her son no longer participates in such competitions in the mainstream school.

Inclusive education lacking

M Sridevi had a different experience. “I had enrolled my daughter in Santhome Higher Secondary School (Chennai) as they have teachers for special children. However, I had to be at the school to take her for therapy classes in different buildings,” said Sridevi, whose 14-year-old daughter suffers from cerebral palsy.

Sridevi then enrolled her daughter at a private facility paying ₹6,000 a month.

This underscores the state's lack of progress in offering an inclusive education.

Activists said there are many lapses in providing education for special children since it falls under the purview of the Differently-Abled Department.

Question of departments

The school situation in Tamil Nadu, in fact, is rather strange. The state has for long had various departments maintaining their own schools.

For instance, apart from the Differently-Abled Department, the Forest Department, the Adi Dravidar Department Department, and even the Police Department oversee schools under their jurisdiction, pointed out M Aarthi, Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

"However, there is now a top-level discussion aimed at consolidating all these schools under one umbrella, specifically under the School Education Department, to ensure better quality education," Aarthi told The Federal. 

Prince Gajendra Babu concurred, saying: “When the issue of bringing these schools under the School Education Department is discussed, more care should be taken to address various issues, including bringing in planning experts and other human and material resources to address the needs of children with multiple disabilities.” 

Need to consolidate

“Education for special children should be under Tamil Nadu’s Education Department and not under the Differently-Abled Department, as the latter is not equipped to handle this,” said S Namburajan, National Working President, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled, a disability rights organisation.

The Differently-Abled Department has no infrastructure to frame a school curriculum, and lacks funds. It escapes the attention of educationists who typically point out the loopholes in a system, said Namburajan.

He further cited the example of West Bengal, which he said is the only state where special schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Education Department rather than the Department for the Differently-Abled. "Across the country, activists for the differently-abled have been urging their respective state departments to reconsider this structure. They argue that only the education departments have the necessary expertise to provide quality education, conduct research on syllabi, and upgrade existing curricula," he told The Federal.