Hyderabad: Barriers to Education of the Hearing Impaired

Lack of education in sign language at the five Government schools for the hearing-impaired in Andhra Pradesh, limitations in the Disabilities Act and non-implementation of the act have led to barriers in education and accessibility for the hearing impaired.

Of the estimated 12 lakh hearing-impaired people in the state, three lakh are children. These children do not receive free education in an 'appropriate' environment till the age of 18, as prescribed in the Persons with Disabilities (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995. According to Christine Lazarus, the managing director and chairperson of NGO Deaf Reach, it is essential that in order to reach out to the maximum number of students with hearing handicaps, teachers should know sign language. Only if sign language is taught can hearing-impaired people learn to read a written language (bilingualism). Most hearing-impaired students come out of school without learning anything, since sign language is not adopted. Without a common language, hearing impaired people understand the same message in different ways. Another disadvantage hearing impaired and disabled people face is a clause in the Disability Act itself.

Provisions under Chapter Eight of the Act state that Governments and local authorities, as per their economic capacity, shall ensure non-discrimination against the disabled. This provision helps Governments in not following guidelines in the Act, as it gives them the option of stating economic or development policies as excuses, she added.

Source: 'Need to teach sign language', Times of India March 19, 2002, Hyderabad, India