Edu Secy summoned for lack of toilets for diff-abled in schools

A division bench comprising Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice R Hemalatha before whom a plea in this regard came up for hearing on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the government counsel claiming that it would soon be done and that funds were being sanctioned for this purpose soon.

However, the bench, on wondering as to whether funds meant for the physically-challenged are being diverted for schemes like Amma canteen, directed the School Education Department Secretary to appear before it through video conferencing and explain as to why such mandatory provisions are yet to be provided for the physically-challenged children in so many schools.

The petitioner L Muruganantham submitted that despite the High Court offering directions in this regard in 2017 nothing much had transpired leaving the physically-challenged children in schools in a tough spot. The government was also yet to undertake an access audit report in the schools in the State.

The petitioner also pointed out that safe transportation facilities for differently-abled children to enable them to attend school was also lacking.