St Columba beats retreat, takes back palsy student

MUMBAI: Faced with the threat of legal action from the Supreme Court, St Columba high school at Gamdevi reversed its decision to get rid of a student with cerebral palsy. The student, Darshana Ramgiri, was overjoyed to meet her old friends when the school reopened this week.
Cerebral palsy which is caused by damage to the motor control centres of the brain during pregnancy or childbirth has left Darshana with a slight limp and a weak right hand.Otherwise, the nine-year-old is like any other child and Nair hospital has even certified that she has a normal IQ. There are several instances of people with cerebral palsy overcoming the physical handicap and going on to become famous in their chosen fields.
Despite this, Darshana's principal Annette Lobo wanted her to leave the school. Justifying her decision, she had told this reporter a blatant lie. "The child has to be carried up to her classroom every day. She can't do anything on her own. Can I keep a special teacher just to look after her?,'' Lobo had said. Asked on Thursday why she had reversed her decision, Lobo refused to speak to TOI when contacted at school as well as home.
Incidentally, St Columba, established in 1832, is the first school for girls in Mumbai and 1,800 kids study in its leafy campus at Nana Chowk today.
Educationists and mental health experts quoted by TOI had denounced the school's decision as a blatant violation of child rights and a negation of the principle of inclusive education enunciated in 'sarv shiksha abhiyan'. In fact, it is also against the Persons with Disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full
opportunities) Act.
However, neither the school education department nor the state human rights commission nor any child rights organisation intervened to help Darshana after TOI published the story on May 20. The deputy director for school education did not even bother to reply to a complaint lodged by Darshana's mother.
Darshana's saviour turned out to be the New Delhi-based National Legal Services Authority which took cognisance of the TOI report. The body, which is headed by the chief justice of the supreme court, felt that "injustice had been done to the child, affecting her right to education" and instructed its Maharashtra counterpart to "file a writ, if any, and provide legal aid to the child".
On receiving the notice from the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA), headmistress Annette Lobo of St Columba high school immediately changed tack. "We did not file a writ as the school took the student back," said K K Sonawane, a district and sessions judge who is member secretary of the MSLSA.
To protect herself from legal action, Lobo attached a one-line, handwritten letter by Darshana's mother dated March 10, 2010, saying she was withdrawing the child from the school "due to personal reasons". Darshana's mother had told TOI that she wrote the letter under duress as she was afraid that her daughter would be failed and would end up losing an year. Eventually, Darshana cleared her third standard with 44.5% marks, scoring 65% in maths.
"It is shameful that school managements support teachers who spread terror in the classroom," said psychiatrist Harish Shetty who had taken up Darshana's case. He said it was high time that the education department looked into child rights violations which are rampant in Mumbai's schools.
Legal aid for all
The Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA), also known as the legal aid cell of the Bombay high court, strives to ensure that justice is not denied to citizens by reasons of economic or other disabilities. It provides free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of society and also conducts Lok Adalats and legal literacy camps. The authority is also empowered to file public interest litigation or finance a PIL if it is convinced that the petitioners are poor or illiterate.
Situated at the Bombay high court, the MSLSA can be contacted on tel no 22691358/95 and email can be sent to it on mslsa-bhc@nic.in. The official website is legalservices.maharashtra.gov.in.