During the hearing of the PIL, high court judges were upset to learn that there are only four testing centres in the state, which has over 3.7 crore students. Currently, there are only three centres in Mumbai.
Statistics compiled by the District Information System for Education for 2014-15 show that there are only about 43,000 students with learning disability. But international studies put the estimates much higher.
While lack of awareness among parents and schools is cited as a common reason for the low number of the students identified with the developmental disorders, fewer testing centres is a major hurdle. The institutes take anywhere up to a year to complete the process of certification, say parents.
"For students with autism, we need to go to Nair Hospital to get certification. The process spans over three or more months with a battery of tests and 14 visits to the hospital. While the testing and certification done is perfect, it is very difficult to get an appointment because the ratio of number of children, testing centres and time frames do not match," said a parent of a student who is taking the board exams through NIOS.
Doctors at the testing centres say there is an immediate need to increase the number of centres. "Our facilities are overloaded and we have children and parents coming from various parts of the state. This need should not arise," said psychiatrist Dr Henal Shah from Nair Hospital, which is one of the authorized testing centres.
"Having a testing centre in smaller cities and towns is more important because with a centre there will be awareness among the people," she added.
Experts want the government to take proactive steps to resolve the problem. "Simpler methods needs to be evolved for quicker identification and certification. Lakhs of children have never known that they have LD and have lost their chance for education. This government is proactive and has the political will to prevent the a key rights violation that affects lakhs of children. Financial grants for the centres at civic hospitals need to be released so that the poor get assistance," said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty.
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