PANJIM: The unfortunate and hurtful row between the Goa University and senior academic, Assistant Professor Nandkumar Kamat, over University’s decision to ask his eight-year-old autistic child to leave GU’s day care facility, seems to be escalating.
Professor Nandkumar Kamat, respected in social and academic circles has accused the Goa University of callously expelling his underage child from its day care centre. Kamat, who is an assistant professor at the University, has charged that GU has taken this step as his eight-and-half-year-old Nachiketas is autistic.
“The GU has come out with a very immature, knee-jerk reaction as it has failed to understand its constitutional duty to care for special needs of children in need… The movement to expel my son was initiated some two months ago, step by step to protect the interests of ‘normal kids’ of normal parents. None of these aggrieved parents ever talked or approached me,” Kamat said.
However, the University has strongly denied the allegations stressing that the day care centre permits children of only upto six years. But the Press communiqué released by the Registrar of the University, clearly indicated that the University is prepared to fight this in the public domain, against one of its own professors.
GU Registrar V P Kamat in a press release stated “the child has developed signs of violent behaviour including threatening other children, some of whom are as young as two years of age. The matter was reported to Kamat but in vain. One parent was forced to withdraw her child citing her son could be a victim of Nachiketas’ violent behaviour.
Kamat argued the allegations of violent behaviour against his ‘helpless, defenseless’ child was baseless and his family was never given an opportunity to put forth their say.
GU runs a day care centre from 9:30 am to 6 pm daily, to take care of its employees children. An ayah and an untrained teacher appointed on daily wage basis takes care of more than a dozen children of university employees. According to GU, the centre is meant for children upto the age of six.
“Nachiketas, who is diagnosed as autistic in recent years, has been using this facility continuously since 2009. In 2012, when he turned six, his parents enrolled him in a nearby primary school. After realizing that he needs special education in view of his autism, GU advised his parents to enroll him in a special education school,” reads the press release of GU Registrar V P Kamat adding, “Dr Kamat, who is also a member of the day care centre management committee since 2008, thereafter continued to send his son to the centre without making any alternate plan/arrangement for the education of his son in a special education school that can handle autistic children.”
