'Every child has a place in the classroom': Delhi High Court directs school to admit autistic child

The Delhi High Court has directed a school in the capital to admit an autistic child and highlighted the aim of "inclusive education" to be "belongingness".

Justice Vikas Mahajan, therefore, directed GD Goenka Public School to admit a girl child diagnosed with autism in Class I.

"It needs no emphasis that 'inclusive education' is not merely about access to education. It is about belongingness," the judge continued, adding:

It is also about recognising that every child has a place in the classroom —not because they are the same, but because they are different, and that difference enriches the learning environment for all.

The petition filed by advocate Ashok Agarwal said that the child was born in May 2017 and that in November 2019, a doctor suspected she was autistic and started therapy, which was interrupted by Covid-19.

The child was admitted to this school in the academic session 2021–-22 under the 'sibling clause' and her parents informed the institution about a speech delay in the admission forms, the petition claimed.

In December 2021, the child was formally diagnosed with mild autism and was recommended various therapies.

When offline classes resumed in April 2022 after the worst of the Covid-19 waves had passed, the parents submitted the diagnosis to the school and requested support in the form of a shadow teacher — that is, allowing a 'special educator' to assist her in the classroom — the petition claimed.

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Due to constant pressure and lack of support from the school, however, the education of the petitioner was discontinued from January 2023 onward, it claimed.

The court noted that the "ends of justice" would be met by allowing the child to resume her education in the school in an inclusive setup.

The judge directed the school to readmit the child in Class I or in an age-appropriate class, as a fee-paying student, within two weeks.

The court said the child should be permitted to attend school with the assistance of a parent-appointed shadow teacher, subject to the school's basic norms of decorum and safety.

It further directed the Directorate of Education to monitor the reintegration of the child and ensure an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment was instituted by the school under the relevant legal provisions.

Edited for accuracy and sensitivity

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