Disabled people feel attacked on social media on the subject of reservations in education frequently. However, if no change is made in our education system from its very grassroots, disabled people are set to fail by the education system. With only 1% of the current student population in secondary schools being people with disabilities, the numbers get bleaker as one moves towards higher education falling to 0.25%.
Let's talk about education:
India reports 40% of children with disabilities enrolled in schools. An alternate report by CRPD actually denies this already dismal numbers by telling us that in reality, the enrollment rate is merely 1.26% against the total.
Similarly, less than 1% at senior secondary which drops to approximately 0.25% at high school. Imagine now of this 0.25% how many end up in undergrad colleges. If we bring gender into this, data proves that I'm actually one in a million. Not sure if that makes me proud though.
30% of girls out of schools are with disabilities. Reasonable to accept that the women who actually do end up graduating are so dismal that they are actually anomalies. In this whole analysis, I've not included how most of the disabled population hails from rural backgrounds.
People call out reservation for the disabled like they know how it's a dream to live as a disabled in a country like India. How many disabled people do you know? And the audacity to use the word mediocre like it's a swear word.
The discrimination didn't stop just because I got into an IIM. The number of times a recruiter has asked me how long can I sit on a wheelchair& if I can do my job is not a number you'd like to acknowledge also.
After all this today I have a job which is sought after by many. I got it because of my talents & my parents perseverance & lots of grace.
I didn't overcome my disability. I'm proud of it. What I overcome everyday is ableism & people like you who have no sense of reality.
