Punjab education dept collecting data on special educators after SC directive
Ludhiana : The Punjab education department has started collecting data to assess the number of special educators currently employed and the total count of children with special needs enrolled in government schools.
The move comes following the Supreme Court’s March 7 directive asking all states and Union territories to notify by March 28 the sanctioned posts of teachers for special children and immediately begin the selection procedure of the same.
The initiative involves collecting data on the number of special educators currently employed and the total number of children with special needs (CWSN) enrolled in the state government schools. The move comes in response to a long-standing issue of inadequate special education teachers in Punjab.
Anindita Mitra, administrative secretary of the Punjab school education department, confirmed that the department is working quickly to comply with the Supreme Court’s order. “We received the directive on March 7 and have already started collecting district-wise data. By March 28, we will finalise and announce the number of sanctioned posts for special educators as per the Supreme Court’s mandate,” she said.
The urgency of the issue was highlighted by a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by the Union of Unemployed Special Education Teachers, which revealed a concerning shortfall in special educators in the state.
Currently, Punjab has only 386 contractual special educators serving 47,979 children with special needs, creating a ratio far below the required standard. For example, in Ludhiana, just 30 special educators are responsible for 7,330 CWSN students. This significant gap directly violates the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2022, which mandates one teacher for every 10 CWSN students in primary schools and one for every 15 in secondary schools.
The issue also gained national attention when the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) intervened after receiving a complaint from special educator Harish Dutt on February 17.
The commission wrote to the director general of school education, Punjab, urging an inquiry and corrective action. The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also raised concerns, directing the elementary education department to investigate the matter.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision, Harish Dutt expressed hope that the state government would take swift action to ensure no child is deprived of quality education due to the shortage of special educators. “Our hopes are now on the state government to ensure that no child is denied learning opportunities because of a lack of teachers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the education department had previously indicated plans to regularise contractual special educators and introduce a bridge course to train regular teachers to handle CWSN students. However, according to the Supreme Court’s ruling, recruitment will be carried out in compliance with the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) certification requirements. “We will comply with all directives and recruit accordingly,” assured Mitra.
