A day after The Hindu carried a report about A. Muthulakshmi, a 15-year-old Dalit girl suffering from partial hearing loss, who had to drop out after her hearing aid stopped working, the Education Department re-admitted her in Class X on Tuesday and offered to arrange counselling for her.
The girl was studying in the Government High School, Peravoor, near here was in Class X in 2014-15. Her hearing aid stopped functioning after water seeped into the device. As she could not perform on a par with other students, the school authorities asked her to leave the school.
On seeing The Hindu report, Chief Educational Officer (CEO) K Jayakannu swung into action and re-admitted the girl after visiting the school on Tuesday morning. Acting on the directive of Director of School Education from Chennai, the CEO brought the girl and her parents to the school with the help of a teacher and left the school premises only after completing the admission process, sources said.
“The girl was given books, notebooks and two sets of uniforms and advised to continue her education, though she was little reluctant,” the CEO told The Hindu . The girl’s father, a sanitary worker in the local panchayat and mother, who is speech and hearing impaired, were keen on the girl completing her education, the CEO said. They were advised to ensure that Muthulakshmi attended classes regularly, he added.
The CEO replied in the negative when asked whether the department would provide her a hearing aid. “The department has no provision to buy her the aid,” he said.
Meanwhile, moved by the plight of the girl, many readers called The Hindu from Chennai, Bangalore and Maharashtra and offered to help the girl to get a hearing aid and support her education. Those who wish to help the girl could contact Head Mistress P Kanagarani at 94865-59888.
School authorities had asked the hearing impaired girl to quit studies for not doing well in class
