Delhi HC notice to Centre, KVS on recruitment of special educators for students with disabilities

New Delhi [India], April 11 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice in Social Jurist’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the central Government and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to create an adequate number of regular posts of Special Educators, frame recruitment rules and recruit at least two, special educators, in each of Kendriya Vidyalaya for the education of children with disabilities.
The bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla on Monday sought the response of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and the Union of India through the Ministry of Education and directed them to file a counter affidavit in two weeks detailing how many special educators they have employed in KVs and details of KVs where they are stated to have been employed. The court fixed November 17, 2022 date for the next hearing in the matter.
Petitioner through Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh stated that Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan has not recruited any Special Educator to date for the education of the children with disabilities, despite the fact that it had in 2009 assured this Court that respondent KVS would not lag behind in providing facilities to its physically challenged students.
Petitioner further submitted that respondent KVS has not even created permanent posts of Special Educator, framed recruitment rules nor made any recruitment of any Special Educator for the education of children with disabilities, despite the fact that as many as 5,701 children with disabilities are studying in their Vidyalaya.
It also submitted that the inaction on the part of respondent KVS to recruit an adequate number of Special Educators on a permanent basis violates the fundamental right to education of children with disabilities as guaranteed under Articles 14, 21, and 21-A of the Constitution of India read with provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The plea submitted that respondent KVS is running 1239 Vidyalaya across the country out of which 49 KVs are situated in Delhi. It is also submitted that according to respondent KVS Annual report 2020-21 there are 13,89,995 students (7,58,100 Boys and 6,30,795 Girls) out of which 1,25,021 studies in schools of Delhi.
It is further submitted that respondent KVS to date has neither created permanent posts of Special Educator nor has framed recruitment rules nor has made any recruitment so far. It is also further submitted that despite the fact that respondents have as many as 5701 children with special needs as of December 31, 2021, in KVs across the country, to date, respondent has not taken steps to recruit Special Educators for the education of children with disabilities, plea read. (ANI)