Special Educators to be Hired at CBSE Schools

As per a new circular sent out by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), it has been made mandatory requirement to appoint Special Educators (SEs) at all CBSE affiliated schools. This move is to promote assimilation of children with special needs or learning disabilities with other students.

The circular was sent out by Jaiprakash Chaturvedi who is the deputy secretary of CBSE affiliated schools on June 17. It was noted in the report that many of the affiliated schools do not follow the provision for appointing SEs. Accordingly, the management and head of the affiliated schools have been directed to compulsorily follow the directive from the Board and appoint SEs, effective immediately.

According to data from the District Information System for Education that was drawn up on the Human Resource & Development’s initiative, there are as many as 240 CBSE affiliated schools in the state of Telangana. There are a total of 68,163 children with special needs enrolled in these schools, and the ratio of teachers required to attend to these children in very low.

It was revealed by Kalpagiri, the national convenor of Special Educator’s Forum in India that the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas do not have SEs appointed at their schools either despite the CBSE having made it mandatory. This is partly because the rule remains unchecked at the ground level by the Board.

Schools are also complaining that finding qualified and professional SEs is very difficult. Colleges for training teachers focus on providing training for teaching students with visual and hearing impairments. Disabilities related to learning difficulties are not taught.

It is also noted that not all schools have children with learning disabilities or special needs, which might be a deliberate act on the part of the schools. However, with SEs being appointed at schools as a mandatory requirement, more admissions of students with disabilities might take place.