KOZHIKODE: Disabilities do not dishearten those who are driven by determination. And there is no better example of this than Muhammed Aasim, a differently-abled boy from Velimanna in Kozhikode, who has been waging a spirited battle for the past several months to get his upper primary school upgraded to a high school for himself and the benefit of several other students from the region.
Though Aasim, 12, is worried as he already missed two months of school, he confidently says he will continue the legal battle till justice is done. “I am sure I will get justice. If the school gets upgraded to a high school, not only me, it will benefit several students from our region,” he said.Aasim - who suffers from 90 per cent disability - completed his Class VII from the Government Upper Primary School, Velimanna. He will have to travel for 5-10 km to reach the nearest high schools in Koodathayi, Venappara and Karuvanpoyil, which would be quite difficult for the family.
Aasim needs his parents’ help to commute to the school and meet his basic needs. The boy’s plight hit the headlines when he wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan last November, seeking the upgradation of his school, which is hardly 100 metres away, so that he can continue his studies without any hurdles. Born without hands, Aasim has trained himself to write with his feet. He has disabilities with his legs too.
After many ups and downs, Aasim’s chances of continuing his schooling brightened after the High Court directed the Education Department on June 11 to ensure facilities for his higher studies within two weeks.
Aasim’s father Muhammed Saeed had filed a petition in the court seeking a direction to the state government to upgrade the upper primary school to a high school and start Class VIII this year itself. The High Court had dismissed 134 similar petitions for upgradations of schools across the state on the same day.
But, the government moved the High Court against the order passed by a single-judge bench. In an affidavit, the government said it would arrange a vehicle for Aasim’s commute to and fro the nearest school and it was not practical to upgrade the school as all the other students have received admissions to Class VIII in other schools.
‘Counter affidavit filed’
School PTA president Anwar Sadath T K said, “A counter affidavit was filed in the court on Tuesday, pleading with the court to vacate the stay order. Aasim needs his parents’ help to meet his basic needs. Aasim is the eldest and the couple has four other children. It is not practical for the mother to stay back with Aasim during school time. And his father has to be away for work.”“The students who have taken admissions in other schools are all ready to come back. The parents of 31 students had submitted a joint petition in the court on Tuesday seeking the upgradation of the upper primary school,” he said.