Lok Sabha Question No. 4305 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-07
Subject: Education for Differently Abled Children
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD, HARI MANJHI, MOHANBHAI KALYANJIBHAI KUNDARIYA

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

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4305 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.01.2019

## Education for Differently Abled Children

## 4305.   DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD: SHRI HARI MANJHI:

## SHRI KUNDARIYA MOHAN BHAI KALYANJI BHAI:

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

- (a) whether it  is  a  fact  that  after  implementation  of  the  Right  to  Free  and  Compulsory Education Act the differently abled students in schools across the country still facing serious infrastructure and pedagogy problems and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is a fact that the schools have failed to provide differently abled friendly educational material and majority of teachers are also not trained to understand the special needs of differently abled students
- (c) if so, the steps taken/being taken by the Government to address the issue in light of the study of NCERT;
- (d) the  details  of  Government  run  schools  for  differently  abled  children  along  with  the funds allocated, sanctioned and utilised for such schools during the last three years, State/UT-wise; and
- (e) whether the Government has any proposal for establishment of more such schools and any special schemes for higher education for differently abled persons in the country and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SATYA PAL SINGH)

(a) to (c):- The provisions of RTE Act, 2009 were implemented through centrally sponsored scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) up-to 2017-18. In the year 2018-19, the Department of  School  Education  &  Literacy,  MHRD  has  launched Samagra Shiksha -  an  integrated scheme for School Education covering children  from classes  I  to  XII  which  subsumes  the erstwhile Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  Sarva  Shiksha Abhiyan  (SSA),  Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) & Teacher Education (TE). One of the objectives of the  Scheme,  is  removal  of  architectural  barriers  in  schools  so  that  Children  with  Special Needs (CwSN) have access to classrooms, laboratories, libraries and toilets in the school. So far,  2,65,069  number  of  ramps  and  14,113  number  of  CwSN  friendly  toilets  have  been sanctioned under the Schemes for elementary schools across the Country.

There is a dedicated inclusive education component for the education of children with special needs as part of Samagra Shiksha. Support has been enhanced from Rs. 3000/- per child per annum to Rs. 3500/- per child per annum under the scheme which includes specific student  oriented  interventions  like  aids  and  appliances,  assistive  devices,  teaching-learning materials, Braille & large print books, and ICT resources like JAWS and SAFTA etc. in order to  appropriately  address  their  educational  requirements.  The  intervention  for  home  based education  is  provided  to  the  children  having  multiple  and  or  severe  disabilities  and  who cannot access neighbourhood schools. Additionally, stipend for girls with special needs has been expanded to classes  I  to  XII  in  order  to  encourage  girls  to  enroll  and  complete  their schooling. In 2018-19, an outlay of Rs. 1023.5 crore has been approved for the education of children with special needs, under Samagra Shiksha.

NCERT has developed  curricular  and  resource  materials  for  students,  teachers  and other stakeholders for promoting inclusive education. The list of recently developed materials is given below:

- Including children with Special Needs: Primary Stage (Hindi & English)
- Including children with Special Needs: Upper Primary Stage (Hindi & English)
- Barkha: a reading series for all (40 UDL based printed booklets)
- Modules  for  Enhancement  of  Quality  Education:  A  Training  Package  (Hindi  and English)
- Inclusion  in  Education:  A  manual  for  School  Management  Committees  (Hindi  and English)
- Including Children with Autism in Primary Classes: Teacher's Handbook

NCERT also conducts in-service training programmes for teachers, resource persons and other stakeholders.

(d)  &  (e):-  The  National  Curriculum  Framework  (NCF)  2005,  developed  by  National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), states that, 'Inclusive education is about embracing all.' According to the NCF 2005, 'the participation of all children needs to be  ensured  in  all  spheres  of  their  life  in  and  outside  the  school.    Schools  need  to  become centres  that  prepare  children  for  life  and  ensure  that  all  children,  especially  the  differently abled,  children  from  marginalised  sections,  and  children  in  difficult  circumstances  get  the maximum benefit of this critical area of education.' Accordingly, Samagra Shiksha adopts an inclusive pedagogy wherein, children regardless of their abilities/disabilities participate and learn  together  in  the  same  class,  thus  creating  an  enabling  educational  environment  for  all students. Samagra Shiksha aims to mainstream differently abled children within the fabric of formal schooling, thus there are no provisions for establishment of separate or special schools under the scheme.

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