MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL ‘NISHANK’)
(a) to (e) : A statement is laid on the table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *114 FOR ANSWER ON 10.02.2020 ASKED BY SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE & SHRI SHRINIWAS PATIL, HON’BLE MEMBRES OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING “EDUCATION FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED STUDENTS ”
(a) With the Right to Education Act, coming into force continues effort is being made to address the infrastructure and pedagogical requirements of children with special needs (CwSN) in schools across the country. In the year 2018-19 the Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD launched Samagra Shiksha an Integrated Scheme for School Education which covers Children with Special Needs (CwSNs) with one or more disabilities as mentioned in the schedule of disabilities as provided in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, studying in Govt., Govt. aided and local body schools. Under Samagra Shiksha Infrastructure and Pedagogy issues have been overcome to a great extent. With regard to removal of infrastructure barriers in schools, out of total 11,68,292 Governments and Government Aided schools, 8,33,703 schools have barrier free access for differently-abled children (UDISE+ 2018-19 provisional). Similarly, the curriculum and textbooks have been adapted to ensure accessibility and teachers have been sensitised to transact the same in an inclusive environment.
(b) To provide quality education to differently-abled students, as per UDISE+ 2018-19 (Provisional) 4,24,285 general teachers have been provided training in addressing the needs of differently-abled students. Training of general teachers is a continuous process. Apart from the above, 28,285 dedicated Special Educators and Resource Persons have been recruited by the States and UTs for addressing the scholastic and co-scholastic needs of differently-abled students in Government and Government Aided schools.
In addition to the above, the Department has launched National Initiative for School Heads'' and Teachers'' Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA). It aims to build competencies among all teachers and school principals in all States and UTs at the elementary stage, including curriculum, learner centred pedagogy and learning outcomes of inclusive education.
Further, NCERT has developed curricular and resource materials for students, teachers and other stakeholders for promoting inclusive education.
(c) Department of School Education & Literacy under Samagra Shiksha Scheme provides facilities for all children with disabilities Government and Government Aided schools. The Scheme includes assistance for two kinds of components:
(i) Student oriented components
Assistance is provided to States and Union Territories @ Rs. 3500/- per CwSN, including CwSN attending school and those who cannot attend school due to severe disability (home based education). The amount of Rs.3500/- per annum per CwSN is utilized for specified items like
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(a) Identification and assessment of children with disabilities.
(b) Provision of aids and appliances, medical services, diagnostic services etc.
(c) Access to and development of teaching learning material as per his/her requirement etc.
(d) Provision of facilities like transport/escort facilities, hostel facilities, scholarship, assistive devices, support staff (readers, amanuensis) etc.
(e) Provision of large print text book, Braille books and uniform allowances.
(f) Stipend for Girl Students @ Rs. 200 per month for 10 months to encourage their participation in the school system.
(g) Access to technology (ICT) for the disabled as it increases their access to a vast amount of information not otherwise available.
(h) Awareness and motivation camps
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(ii) Resource support
For providing resource support to CwSN, special educators are appointed under Samagra Shiksha. All educators are registered with Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). These educators are mandatorily available for all CwSN with high support needs as well. The educators are posted at the block or cluster level as per the requirement and operate in an itinerant mode, covering a group of schools where children with special needs are enrolled.
(d) The details of funds allocated/sanctioned and utilized by the States and UTs in the last five years is annexed.
(e) The other steps taken by the government for the betterment of differently-abled students in the country are as follows:-
(i) CBSE has made provision for differently-abled students for exemptions/ concessions for both class X & XII board exam such as facility of scribe and compensatory time during exams, designating a few selected schools as examination centers to facilitate access for special students, use of portable video magnifier by Visually Impaired candidate, no registration and examination fee for classes IX, X, XI, XII is not charged from visually impaired candidates and flexibility in choosing subjects.
(ii) The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities implements the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) under which financial assistant is provided to NGOs for various projects including special schools for intellectual, hearing & speech and visual disabilities. Around 350 Special Schools are assisted under DDRS every year.
(iii) The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities implements 5 scholarship Schemes namely: Pre-matric, Post-matric, Top Class, National Scholarship and National Overseas Scholarship for differently-abled students.
(iv) The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities also provides free coaching for differently-abled students for engineering and medical institutes, professional courses and for Central and State Civil Services.
(v) University Grant Commission (UGC) under Ministry of Human Resource Development also implements the scheme of National Fellowship for differently-abled students.
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