Boy denied admission to special school hostel

A 13-year-old boy with autism and intellectual disability has been denied admission to the hostel of C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute for the Mentally Challenged (SIMC) at Pangappara here despite a directive from the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The SIMC functions under the General Education department.

The boy’s grandmother who went to SIMC on Monday said she was told the approval of the Minister for General Education was needed for the boy to be admitted. It was hinted to them that there were other institutions too that were open for special children.

She said they had submitted a petition to the Chief Minister and were told the matter would be forwarded to the Minister for General Education. However, she had not heard from any official since.

When contacted, the office of the Minister for General Education said the matter had not come to their attention. However, the boy’s family could submit a complaint to the Minister directly.

The grandmother who is 63 said the boy and his mother were living with them. However, in the absence of school he was at home throughout and had no one whom he could play or interact with.

The boy had not been going to school since September last year. He had been denied entry to the classroom on various grounds. When she enquired, she was told to call first and then visit, the grandmother had said in her plea to the child rights panel.

Directive to DGE, school director

The panel had recently directed the SIMC director to take steps to ensure further education of the boy. It had also asked the Director of General Education (DGE) to examine the reasons for the disruption of the boy’s education and take disciplinary action against those responsible.

The commission had asked the district police chief to inquire into the ‘insulting’ remarks against the boy in the report submitted to the commission by the SIMC director. The district child protection officer (DCPO) had been asked to provide the boy counselling if need be and ensure that he was getting uninterrupted medical treatment.

The DCPO under the Women and Child Development department had reported that the boy’s mother was mentally unsound and could not take care of him. His father was dead. His grandparents who lived nearby could not ensure his education or special training he required. He was undergoing treatment at SAT Hospital.

The petitioner had told the commission that her husband was ill and they had no relatives to support them. They were dependent on whatever she earned to make ends meet.