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Ludhiana: Child rights panels flag special educators’ shortage in Punjab
A head teacher from a government primary school in Ludhiana, speaking on the condition of anonymity, admitted that managing special needs students without trained educators is a major challenge
The shortage of special educators in state’s schools has sparked concerns, with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stepping in to address the issue. Acting on a complaint filed by Harish Dutt, a special educator, on February 17, the commission has written to the office of director general of school education, Punjab, urging an inquiry and necessary action.
The complaint highlights that the state government has failed to appoint enough special educators, leaving thousands of children with special needs (CWSN) without proper guidance. The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had also raised the issue last week, directing the education department (elementary) to investigate the matter.
A Right to Information (RTI) request filed by the Union of Unemployed Special Education Teachers had earlier exposed the grim reality. Punjab currently has just 386 contractual special educators for 47,979 special needs students, falling drastically short of the required number. Ludhiana alone has only 30 educators for 7,330 students, making the situation even more alarming.
Frustrated by government inaction, Amandeep Singh, a union member from Malerkotla, said, “There are trained educators waiting for jobs, yet thousands of special needs children are left without guidance. We have been pleading with the authorities, but nothing changes.”
Dutt, the union’s president, said, “In a few districts, even if an educator visits a different school every day, a child might only receive specialised instruction once in several months.”
The Right to Education (RTE) Act 2019, amended in 2022, mandates one teacher for every 10 CWSN students in primary schools and one for every 15 in secondary schools. However, these guidelines are being blatantly ignored.
A head teacher from a government primary school in Ludhiana, speaking on the condition of anonymity, admitted that managing special needs students without trained educators is a major challenge. “We cannot deny admission to any child, but some students have very low IQ levels. To manage, we ask parents to send them only once every two weeks. We don’t have the expertise to teach them properly, and other students’ education also suffers,” the teacher said.
When asked about the issue, Vinay Bublani, the director general of school education, Punjab, stated that the matter is currently in Supreme Court. He mentioned the ongoing discussions about regularising contractual special educators and introducing a bridge course to train regular teachers to handle CWSN students. The Punjab government has also sought guidance from the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) for this initiative. However, the final decision depends on the court’s ruling, as similar issues persist in other states.
