New Delhi, July 31 (Inditop.com) Distraught that the Right to Education Bill, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha Friday, does not specifically mention the rights of disabled children, a rights group here said the bill should be amended to make it more inclusive.
Javed Abidi, convenor of the Disabled Rights Group, said despite all the jubilation over the bill being passed in the Rajya Sabha and now being introduced in the Lok Sabha, it holds little meaning for the thousands of differently abled children in the country.
India has 50-75 million disabled people.
To put forth his demand about a clause in the Right to Education Bill for the disabled population, Abidi said he met the Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) Kapil Sibal early Friday.
“However what he (Sibal) told us was completely shocking. While we stress on inclusive education, he said that different infrastructure and schools are needed for the disabled,” Abidi alleged.
“This was against the theory of inclusiveness. It is hence a very sad day for us and the disabled community,” Abidi told IANS.
Refusing to give up, a number of disabled rights groups gathered at Jantar Mantar Friday afternoon to protest against the bill which they said was “full of lacunae”.
“This is a token protest to discuss the matter and we will plan our next move soon,” Abidi added.
