To ensure the right to education as well as to ensure the equal right and opportunity for the people with disability 4thMay to 10th May is observing as the Global Action Week throughout the whole world. In Bangladesh the week is also observing with equal importance and significance with a slogan that Education and Disability: Equal Right, Equal Opportunity. As per the statistics given by the World Health Organization (WHO), the total number of the disable children all over the world is almost 100 cores.  Unexpectedly almost 12% of the total population all over the world is under different kinds of disability.
By and large under the spectrum of disability we include both the people who are physically or mentally disable. But Autistic children neither fall under the category of the people who are physically disable nor within those who are mentally disable. Relatively we would like to address them as children who are especially able.
Sometimes they are even indulged as a special child or gift of God also. True, that the adjectives we use for them sounds very good and it's a good practice. But consequently they are being deprived from a basic human right like right to education. Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterised by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development.”  
It is estimated by the Ministry of Social Welfare that the total number of persons with ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders), could be as high as 1, 4 million—of whom only a few hundred have been diagnosed. One estimation is also that one child in 500 in Bangladesh has autism, meaning that the approximate number of children with ASDs in Bangladesh is no less than 280,000. The general attitude towards autism is mostly negative and it is seen as a social barrier.  
Human rights are neither a new morality nor a lay religion and are much more than are language common to all mankind. Human rights would be meaningless if they were not assigned a place within the social order in which they are to be exercised.   
Right to education has been recognised in the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. Education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights. It promotes individual's freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits. The most basic instruments laying the foundation of International Human rights law is the charter of the United Nations. This charter repeatedly focused on an issue that every human being is entitled to enjoy every human right irrespective of any discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, birth place or religion.
Furthermore almost all the general human rights instrument have certain common features which are very much part of human rights law. First, the principle of equality or non discrimination which is in fact a guiding element of all the instruments and which represent the idea of justice in human rights law. The children with autism are always becoming the victim of discrimination and disparity. In Bangladesh, though Government has taken many initiatives to ensure the easy access to education but very unexpectedly autistic children are completely out of those consideration and privileges.
Most of the Government Primary schools directly refused to accommodate the autistic children in their institutions. Whereas a very diminutive arrangement of special care and privileges can be a great relief for the guardians and can also able to ensure the right of the children to go to the school and have the opportunity to enforce the right to education.
In Bangladesh, there are only 20 schools for disabled children; all of them are situated in the capital city of Dhaka. Though we have many organizations in Bangladesh working with various fields of disability, there is hardly any quality institute developed exclusively for the autistic children. The problem further is aggravated with the unavailability of centers to train trainers or teachers to work with autistic children. In addition, the available institutions in Bangladesh relating to autistic children are not effective and reachable for the people of all classes.
In the year of 1974 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed and subsequently amended and expanded in 1997 and 2005.  This Act guarantees that children will have access to a free and appropriate public education, regardless of any disabilities they may suffer.  Autism is one of the disabilities specifically outlined by this law.  Other legal rights afforded to children with autism are outlined in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973, by which special services must be provided to disabled children in the course of their education (when not covered by IDEA).
To promote the rights and well-being of the disabled, including children with developmental disabilities the United Nations adopted an International Convention in 2008 which is known as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to reaffirm the fundamental principle of universal human rights for all. As a part of this process the United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to help and improve the lives of children and adults who suffer from the disorder so they can lead full and meaningful lives.
In Bangladesh, National Education Policy 2010 has also given importance on more training for the teachers for increasing the skill to handle the child with special need. The Bangladesh government reserves 1% quota for the disabled and autistic people in all first and second class jobs, including BCS, and 10% in class three and class four jobs for the disabled and orphans, and the their age-limit for entering the services has been extended up to 40 years. But if the children do not get at least a congenial environment for their primary education then keeping quota for their job will be of no value.

The writer is Assistant Professor & Chairman, Dept of Law & justice at BUBT.