When the government has been taking all-out initiatives to connect the people with disability with mainstream development and establish them in the society, the school for hearing and speech-impaired students in Jhenaidah has been shut for last four months leaving the students in an uncertainty.
The guardians with their especially needy children have been passing time with agony finding no other alternatives, as the number of this sort of institution is not available in the country. Guardians are blaming authorities for not prioritizing needs of hearing and speech-impaired students.
Jhenaidah government school for the hearing and speech impaired children, better known as “Jhenaidah Baak O Srobon Protibandhi School” at Mahishadanga area under Jhenaidah municipality was established in 2005. An office building, two separate dormitories for girls and boys, staff and officers’ quarters were constructed on three acres of land. The school was abandoned for couple of years after completion of the construction work due to non-recruitment of adequate manpower.
At last, the same was started with a number of manpower. The specialized school was then closed for continuous two and a half years due to global havoc corona virus, And finally resumed the classes in last year. Officials of the department of social welfare in Jhenaidah said the position of headmaster, the head of the institute, house parent was lying vacant for a long. One of the two sign language teachers was sent in deputation at Lalmanirhat, the lone matron-cum-nurse was sent to the Institute of Eye in Dhaka, one among two technical trade teachers was staying in the headquarters, while the tenure of all six outsourcing staff was over long ago. Finding no other alternative, they were compelled to shut the institution in the name of leave since December 17 last year. It could not be resumed until and unless adequate staffs were recruited for the institute. As there is not even any nightguard, cook and caretaker to look after the children, it was absurd to start the same once again, they said.
Rezwanul Karim, guardian of 13-year-old disabled student Ahmed Hujaifa of village Banagram under Khoksha upazila in Kushtia and Kazi Azam, a guardian of 16 year old Qafi of village Vekutia in Jashore Sadar upazila said they had requested the authority to keep it running with a night guard and cook so that the children with disability could stay in the campus. But they did not care it and sent the students back to their houses saying their limitations. Now they have been facing a lot when the institute was shut for an indefinite time and there was no such specialized institutions for hearing and speech impaired children in surrounding districts.
They had blamed the district level officials of the department as they could not take any effective measures when there was huge staff in the unit offices of the department in Jhenaidah district who could meet the demand of a guard and cook for the crisis hors.
Divisional director of the department of social welfare in Khulna Abdur Rahman when contacted admitted the acute crisis in the institute in Jhenaidah.
He said he has been taking initiatives to resume the services immediate after the Eid Ul Fitr so that the children could start classes anyway.