Lok Sabha Question No. 134 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-11-30
Subject: Education for Physically and Mentally Challenged Students
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: E. T. MOHAMMED BASHEER

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 134. TO BE ANSWERED ON 30 TH  NOVEMBER, 2015

## Education for Physically and Mentally Challenged Students

## 134. SHRI E.T. MOHAMMED BASHEER:

Will  the  Minister  of  HUMAN  RESOURCE  DEVELOPMENT मानव संसाधन �वकास मंत्री be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  in  respect  of  capacity  building  and  education  of mentally and physically challenged students;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  wish  to  equip  the  institutions  in  this  field  with  advanced technologies; and

(c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a):  One  of  the  goals  of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (SSA),  programme  for  universalising elementary education for all children from 6-14 years of age is to bridge the social category gaps  in  education  and  enhancement of  learning  levels  of  children.  Under  this  programme, children with special needs (CWSN), including physically and mentally challenged children are also covered. SSA provides Rs. 3000/- per child per annum. Similarly, the Government is also  implementing  the  component of  Inclusive  Education  for  Disabled  at  Secondary  Stage (IEDSS)  under  the  integrated  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (RMSA)  with  an objective to enable all students with disabilities completing eight years elementary education, an opportunity to complete four years of secondary schooling (Class IX to XII).

The  RTE  Amendment  Act,  2012  included  child  with  disability  within  the  disadvantaged group. It also states that child with  severe disabilities  and a child with  multiple disabilities shall also have the right to opt for home based education.

As per District Information System for Education, 2013 -14, 25.03 lakh CWSN are enrolled in  elementary  schools  and  2.06  lakh  CWSN  are  covered  through  home-based  education. During  2014-15,  2.06  lakh  CWSN  were  given  aids  and  appliances,  143211  CWSN  were provided  transport  support,  132400  CWSN  were  provided  escort  support,  161144  CWSN were  provided  therapeutical  support  and  surgical  support  was  provided  to  13535  CWSN. 20910  resource  persons  have  been  engaged  exclusively  for  CWSN  under  SSA.  Besides, 82.33% schools have been provided with barrier free access. National  Council  for  Education  Research  and  Training  (NCERT)  has  prepared  books  on curricular  adaptations  for  children  with  visual  impairment,  hearing  impairment,  cognitive impairment  and  intellectual  impairment  for  general  teachers  at  primary  and  upper  primary levels. As of now, 1.58 lakh general teachers have been trained on this material. (b) & (c):National Institutes in this field functioning under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment are Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai; Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi; National Institute of Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad; National Institute of Visually Handicapped,  Dehradun;  National  Institute  for  Orthopaedically  Handicapped,  Kolkata; National  Institute  for  Rehabilitation  Training  and  Research,  Cuttack;  National  Institute  for Empowerment  of  Persons  with  Multiple  Disabilities,  Chennai  and  Indian  Sign  Language Research  &  Training  Centre,  New  Delhi.  These  institutes  have  been  established for manpower development, research, clinical and therapeutic services, outreach and extension services for the persons with disabilities.

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