Deaf, mute students protest in Jaipur, accuse government of ignoring their needs

Deaf and mute students of a school on Monday took out a protest against the Rajasthan government, saying it is ignoring their needs.

“we want those who understand our language,” a placard of the protesting students read.

Students of the state-run Seth Anandilal Poddar Senior Secondary school on JLN Road in Jaipur demanded replacement of their principal with one capable of understanding sign language. They carried out the protest outside the school.

The new arrangement of two shifts in a single day was taxing and that it should be reverted back to the setup of a single shift per day, they demanded.

A parents' body of the students also submitted a letter in this regard to Rajasthan Education Minister Vasudev Devnani on Monday. The demand for single shift classes and change of the incumbent principal was mentioned in the letter.

Several students come to the school from far off places, beyond 60 km, and the two-shift arrangement was not feasible for them, they explained.

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Yogendra Kumar Joshi, secretary of the parents' association, claimed that the principal and some of the newly-recruited teachers have no knowledge of sign language.

"The students cannot take up the matter with the principal as she does not understand sign language. There is one interpreter which is insufficient. Some of the newly recruited teachers also cannot communicate with the students," he said.

"They are special children and they cannot be treated as normal kids. It is important that there is proper communication between students and faculty," Nivita Devyani, whose son studies in class 9, was quoted as saying in PTI.

Ashok Kumar Sharma, assistant district education officer, Jaipur, said the two-shift system was introduced after the school principal asked for it.

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However, following the students' demand the decision was withdrawn today, Sharma said, adding that teachers who do not know sign language are being trained separately so that the issue can be resolved.

(With inputs from agencies)