Nine-year-old girl Damini, suffering from diabetes, was removed from a Municipal Corporation primary school located in Jawalapuri area in Delhi for logging too many off days. The decision was taken by the school management after the student failed to attend class on a regular basis due to her ill health. Damini who is a student of Class 4, was detected with diabetes in March 2016.
The little girl, after being hit by this severe disease, was referred to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and post that she has been on insulin drips. Daughter of a rag-picker and a daily wage labourer, Damini lives in Nihar Vihar area in Nangloi.
Over the past few months, Damini was not able to attend classes on a regular basis due to her fluctuating health and in past two months she was unable to attend any class. Her parents have regularly informed the school authorities about Damini’s ill health and have submitted medical forms and other related certificates on a regular basis.
After a little improvement in her health, when Damini went to resume her classes on December 20, her class teacher informed that her name has been taken off the rolls. Damini’s mother requested her class teacher and school principal, but they did not allow her to join back.
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Later her father informed the entire incident to a senior lawyer and child rights activist Ashok Agrawal who said that what the school has done is a violation of a student’s Right to Education (RTE). A complaint has been submitted to the corporation seeking some strict action against the school authorities.
However, the school has blamed the parents saying every time they tried contacting Damini’s parents, they would receive no response in return. Teachers wanted to inform them about examination dates and schedule, but were never able to get in touch, they said.
