Twelve blind class 7 girl students, who passed out from Kamla Mehta Dadar School for the Blind, will not be able to pursue further studies this year. This Marathi medium school has classes only up to class 7.

And for further studies students from this school go to the nearby Saraswati High School at Naigaon (Dadar) where they are provided separate resource teachers along with regular teachers. This year however, Saraswati HS is not enrolling blind students in class 8 as it does not have resource teachers as well as regular teachers to engage this class.

As per Right to Education (RTE) Act, children with disability have to be admitted in schools and provided all provisions. However, when schools demand teachers, it's denied.

Saraswati HS teaches normal and visually-impaired students in the vicinity. The Marathi-medium school had to close down its primary section (up to class 7) last year for want of students. This March, school authorities wrote to the education dept demanding that the school be provided two resource teachers and a regular teacher as it admits blind students from the nearby school in class 8. However, the dept has not replied to date though the school academic year started on June 16.

Bhausaheb Shinde, principal, Saraswati HS, said: "Since the education dept did not reply, our normal students (eight) took admission in other schools, but the 12 blind girl students from Kamla Mehta school looking for admission in class 8 (Marathi medium) won't be able to continue studies this year. Ours is the only school where resource teachers for the blind are available and students from Kamla Mehta used to take admission here. The 3 resource teachers we have, who teach in class 9 and 10, have not been paid by the govt from 2012. Marathi medium schools are slowly vanishing from the city."

In 2009, Shinde won India's Most Innovative School Teacher award instituted by TCS, as well as the CASTME (Common Wealth Association of Science Technology and Maths Educator) award in 2004 for innovative geometry project.

According to RTE rules, schools should have one teacher for 35 students in a division. Saraswati school could admit only 20 students in class 8, so the education dept shifted two teachers it had till last year to other schools. The school then wrote to the dept seeking one regular teacher and two resource teachers for this academic year. But there was no reply. It then asked its students to take admission in other schools.

This year the school has its principal, 3 regular teachers and 3 resource teachers to teach in classes 9 and 10. It has 30 students in class 9 (13 normal and 17 blind) and 34 in class 10 (25 normal and 9 blind).

According to the rules, for 5 blind students there should be one resource teacher. In Saraswati school, for 26 blind students in classes 9 and 10, there are only 3 resource teachers. There should actually be 5.

Suparna Ajgaonkar, principal, Kamla Mehta school, said: "Saraswati school cancelled the admission of our 12 blind girl students. We, along with the girls, are now holding talks with education dept officials to find a solution. Those girls haven't been able to find a place to pursue their studies. Saraswati school is very close to the girls hostel in our campus and had resource teachers, so our students used to take admission there. We have now provided the 12 a private tutor to keep them occupied."