Disabled kid denied ‘quality education’: ‘how long can we serve double standard education?’

Once more the issue of the double standard education system prevailing in our country comes to our discussion tables. Now, it brings an emotional story along with it to feel and forget. We should thank ‘Akanksha Jain’ of ‘the Hindu’ for bringing the issue once again into the forefront. When the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal considered the petition of a disabled small boy, Priyanshu, the son of a widow whose husband was died of cancer, who lost his leg in an accident, his family member’s only request was that the kid should be given opportunity to get quality education. The court mercifully accepted the request and directed one of the private schools located near the kid’s house to admit the boy.

There began a legal battle. Even though the school authorities, who argued that they had no vacant seat to admit the kid, lost all the legal battle, it still not fulfilled the dream of the small handicapped child to sit in the school in which he loves to study because the school authorities approached the supreme court to prevent the boy from getting into the school. Before directing all your anger towards the ‘unnamed school’, do you have every thought why the family members of the kid preferred a private school over a government school, which is supposed to admit all underprivileged students and offer mid-day meal and ‘education or something that resembles education’. The simple answer was the family members of the kid want their kind to be given opportunity to grab ‘quality education’, not ‘something that resembles education’ or the mid-day meal. How long can we ignore that our education sector is largely struggling under external players? How many years will it take us to turn our public sector education institutions into a hub of quality education? Am I a terrible dreamer if I dream of a future India government that provides quality education and health service to all Indians at zero cost? Still, tens of thousands of ‘Priyanshus’ are struggling in the clutches of the private education business. our ignorance can add more ‘Priyanshus’ in that list.

vignesh

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