Lok Sabha Question No. 2241 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Education for Differently Abled Students
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Asaduddin Owaisi, Imtiaz Jaleel Syed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2241 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019

## Education for Differently Abled Students

## †2241.  SHRI ASASUDDIN OWAISI: SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL :

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that as per the report of 'State of the Education Report for India 2019 the children with disabilities' released recently reveal that 72% of the children between  at  age  group  0-5  years  never  got  childhood  education  while  61%  of  such children between age group of 5-19 years attended any educational institutions;
- (b) if  so,  the  other  points  pin-pointed  in  the  report  in  regard  to  education  of  disabled children;
- (c) whether in spite of taking various efforts and amending the Children with Disabilities Act, the education level among these children is very low; and
- (d) if so, the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a)  to  (c):    The  UNESCO  State  of  Education  Report  for  India  2019  covers  the  effort undertaken to protect the right to education of children with special needs (CWSN) in the country. This report aims to provide comprehensive information on the current state of education  for  CWSN.  The  report  documents  children  below  the  age  of  18  years. However, there is reporting of information in regard to children of 19 years of age as a cohort of 10-19 years. The report states that over two percent of children between 10 and 19 years live with disabilities, and this age group forms the largest cohort. There are 22, 55,063  CWSN  enrolled  in  schools  as  per  Unified  District  Information  System  for Education (UDISE), 2017-18.

(d)    :  The  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  aims  to  look  at  education  of Children  with  Special  Needs  (CwSN)  in  a  continuum  from  pre-school  to  class  XII.  The scheme  covers  all  CwSN  with  one  or  more  disabilities  as  mentioned  in  the  Schedule  of disabilities of the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

Section 3(2) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates that, every child with disability within the age group of 6 to 14 years has the right to pursue free and compulsory elementary education.

The  Scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  lays  impetus  on  inclusion  or  mainstreaming  of CwSN into the fabric of formal schooling. Inclusive education for CwSN under the Scheme emphasises on developing full potentiality of each child with a disability through equitable and quality education.

In  keeping  with  the  principle  of  inclusion,  CwSN  are  provided  support  through specific  student  oriented  interventions  i.e.  aids  and  appliances,  teaching  aids,  assistive devices, identification and  assessment  camps,  teaching  and  learning  materials,  braille books/kits, transportation allowances, escort allowances, uniforms (under RTE), stipend for girls,  training  of  general  teachers,  financial  assistance  for  special  educators,  etc.  These interventions are provided to address their educational requirements in general schools.

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