Lok Sabha Question No. 1364 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Encouragement to Dumb and Deaf Students towards Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Malook Nagar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1364 ANSWERED ON-11.12.2023

## Encouragement to Dumb and Deaf Students towards Education

## †1364. Shri Malook Nagar:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state.

- (a) the various steps taken by the Government in addition to welfare measures to encourage the deaf and dumb students to pursue study from class 1 to graduate and post-graduate level or any professional courses; and
- (b) the  details  of  the  schools  available  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  students  in  the  country, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a)  &  (b)  The  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  launched  in  2018-19,  has  a dedicated Inclusive Education component for the education of Children with Special Needs (IE for  CwSN) covering 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 including Hearing Impairment  and  Speech  and  Learning  Disability.  It  aims  to  look  at  education  of  CwSN  in  a continuum from Pre-Primary to Class XII studying in Government, Government-aided and local body schools.

Through  this  component,  CwSN  are  provided  support  via  specific  student  oriented interventions  such  as  identification  and  assessment  camps,  provision  of  aids,  appliances  and assistive  devices,  transportation,  scribe  and  escort  allowance  support,  Braille  books  and  large print  books  for  children  with  visual  impairment,  stipend  for  girls  with  special  needs  and teaching-learning  materials  etc.  in  order  to  appropriately  address  their  unique  educational requirements in general schools. Capacity building of general teachers and special educators on meeting learning needs to provide quality education to children with special needs and improve their learning outcomes, are also covered.

The National  Institute  of  Open  Schooling  (NIOS)  has  strived  to  provide  inclusive  and barrier free educational opportunities to interested learners since its inception in order to achieve its vision of sustainable inclusive learning. Indian Sign Language (ISL) has been introduced as a language subject at secondary level by NIOS. NIOS has already developed more than 978 videos in  ISL  at  the  Secondary  and  Senior  Secondary  level  course  and  uploaded  on  its  Youtube Channel.

National Council for Educational Research and Training has also developed E-content for visually and hearing impaired by developing 596 videos for Classes 1-5 in Indian Sign Language and uploaded 954 textbook based ISL videos on DIKSHA.

Further,  the  Department  of  Empowerment  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  (DEPwD), Ministry  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment  has  the  following  major  provisions/schemes  to encourage the persons with disabilities including the deaf and dumb students:

- (I) DEPwD is implementing Scheme of 'Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (ADIP)' under which funds are released to various Implementing Agencies for distribution of aids and assistive devices to eligible persons with disabilities including hearing & speech  impaired,  boys  and  girls  throughout  the  country.  Under  the  ADIP  Scheme,  there  is  a provision for Cochlear Implant Surgery for children with hearing impairment.
- (II) For the welfare of hearing & speech impaired boys and girls, the scheme namely Financial Assistance to the existing deaf colleges in the country envisages financial assistance to colleges affiliated to the UGC approved State/ Central/ UT administered colleges in the country.
- (III)  An  umbrella Scheme titled  'Scholarships  for  Students  with  Disabilities  (Divyangjan) (including for hearing & speech impaired boys and girls) in the country is implemented. The six components of the Scholarship Scheme are : Pre-matric (Classes IX & X), Post-matric (Classes XI  to  Post  Graduate  Degree/Diploma),  Top  Class  Education  (Graduate  and  Post  Graduate Degree/Diploma  in  notified  Institutes  of  excellence  in  education),  National  Fellowship  (M. Phil/Ph.D in Indian Universities), National Overseas Scholarship (Master's Degree and Ph.D in Foreign Universities) and Free Coaching (for competitive exams and entrance examinations for admission to technical and professional courses).
- (IV) Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) is conducting a 'Diploma course in Teaching Indian Sign Language' for the deaf students where tuition fees are waived off for  the  deaf  students  registered  with  UDID.  ISLRTC  has  also  brought  out  a  sign  language dictionary of 10,500 words which is facilitating teaching learning process of deaf students and communication of persons with hearing impairment.
- (V) Deendayal Divyanjan Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) is a Central Sector Scheme in which grant-in-aid is provided to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) running projects like Preschool  and  Early  Intervention,  Special  Schools,  Community  Based  Rehabilitation  etc.  for  the welfare of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) including deaf and dumb students, aimed at enabling them  to  maintain  their  optimal  physical,  sensory,  intellectual,  psychiatric  or  social  functional levels.

The State/ UT -wise details of the schools for Hearing Impairments in the country, as per UDISE+2021-22 is at ANNEXURE.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) & (B) OF THE LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 1364 FOR 11.12.2023 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP, SHRI MALOOK  NAGAR,  REGARDING  'ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  DUMB  AND  DEAF STUDENTS TOWARDS EDUCATION'.

State/  UT  -wise  details  of  the  schools  for  Hearing  Impairment  in  the  country,  as  per UDISE+2021-22

| S. No.   | State/UTs                          |   Number of Schools |
|----------|------------------------------------|---------------------|
|          | INDIA                              |                2669 |
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |                   0 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                     |                 185 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                   3 |
| 4        | Assam                              |                  40 |
| 5        | Bihar                              |                 310 |
| 6        | Chandigarh                         |                   1 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                       |                  60 |
| 8        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                   1 |
| 9        | Delhi                              |                   5 |
| 10       | Goa                                |                  18 |
| 11       | Gujarat                            |                  82 |
| 12       | Haryana                            |                  16 |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh                   |                   5 |
| 14       | Jammu &Kashmir                     |                   7 |
| 15       | Jharkhand                          |                  39 |
| 16       | Karnataka                          |                 175 |
| 17       | Kerala                             |                 218 |
| 18       | Ladakh                             |                   0 |
| 19       | Lakshadweep                        |                   0 |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh                     |                 105 |
| 21       | Maharashtra                        |                 451 |
| 22       | Manipur                            |                   3 |
| 23       | Meghalaya                          |                  17 |
| 24       | Mizoram                            |                   7 |
| 25       | Nagaland                           |                   3 |
| 26       | Odisha                             |                 155 |
| 27       | Puducherry                         |                   1 |
| 28       | Punjab                             |                  23 |
| 29       | Rajasthan                          |                 145 |
| 30       | Sikkim                             |                   2 |
| 31       | Tamilnadu                          |                 136 |
| 32       | Telangana                          |                  20 |
| 33       | Tripura                            |                   8 |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh                      |                 254 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand                        |                   9 |
| 36       | West Bengal                        |                 165 |