Numbers Of Students With Special Needs, Special Teachers : Supreme Court Seeks Details From State

A Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjay Kumar have sought the following details from the States:

• Number of children with special needs;
• Number of special teachers enrolled;
• Number/status of vacancies;
• Number of ad hoc teachers/special teachers appointed on contractual basis and actually working;
• The time-line within which they propose to fill up the vacancies and to meet with the requirements of Court’s orders in 2021 and 2022

The Bench passed the order while considering a Public Interest Litigation which highlighted the lack of special educators in the state for teaching students with special needs.

It also asked the state governments to file their affidavits within two weeks along with their propositions. It also asked the states to serve their respective affidavits with the amicus curiae, in order to enable him to compile the relevant information before the next hearing.

The petitioners had informed that no adequate and effective compliance have been taken by other states as well with regard to the previous orders passed by the Court.

In 2021, a three-judge of the Court had issued a series of directives in the matter ranging such as asking the Central Government to notify the norms and standards of pupil teacher ratio for special schools, to initiate appointment process to filling vacancies for the posts so created for rehabilitation professionals/special teachers and more.

In a previous hearing, the Court had come down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for filing an 'inadequate' affidavit while hearing a Public Interest Litigation.

During that hearing in last November, the advocate appearing for the UP government submitted that they were looking at appointing 12,000 regular teachers and that the budget for it had been allocated.

"Whether you stand, sit or sleep, we don't want to know. You do it. As of now, you are just sleeping over it, nothing else….These are the kind of matters where you should show ultra-sensitivity, it is expected. We go on summoning and preaching, what is this?”, the Bench had observed.

The case will be next taken up on March 17.

Case Title: Rajneesh Kumar Pandey And Ors. Versus Union Of India And Ors | W.P.(C) No. 132/2016