Relief to the disabled is a State subject by virtue of entry 9 of the State List of the Constitution of India. The Government enacted Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 which came into force on 19.04.2017. The said Act provides for inclusive education under Sections 16 & 17 and free education for children with benchmark (40% or more) disabilities under Section 31. However, the Central government supplements the efforts of the State governments for the welfare of persons with disabilities.

National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), Dehradun under this Department is running a Senior Secondary Model School for the Children with Visual Disabilities (Divyangjan) at Dehradun, Uttarakhand affiliated to CBSE, and is imparting education to 248 children with visual impairment from Class Nursery to Class 12th.

NIEPVD provided Accessible learning material to children with visual impairment are as follow:

1. E-Pub/Daisy

2. Human narrated recording

3. Large Print/Audio Books

4. OCR- Structure E-Pub without proofreading

5. Tactile Diagrams

6. Online service through Sugamya Pustakalya

 

In addition to above, the Department is also implementing following major schemes for the welfare of persons with disabilities including education to visually impaired children:

1. Under the Deendayal Divyangjan Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) of the Department, financial assistance is provided to the voluntary Organizations for running various projects for the welfare/empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) including project of Special Schools for the children with Visual Disability (including Deaf blindness) with option for Home Based Rehabilitation and Community-Based Rehabilitation Project and Low Vision Centre Project.
2. Department is also implementing an Umbrella Scheme titled ‘Scholarships for Students with Disabilities (Divyangjan) under which scholarship is provided to students with benchmark disabilities.
3. Department is also running a National Action Plan for Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities (NAP-SDP) including children with visual disabilities.
4. Tuition fees are reimbursed through the National Institutes under the Department for 100% blind students pursuing STEM subjects from Class 9 to Class 12 under the National Fund of the Department.

 

As informed, the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, has launched an overarching programme for the school education sector viz; Samagra Shiksha Scheme. There is a dedicated Inclusive Education component for the education of Children with Special Needs as an integral part of Samagra Shiksha. The scheme covers all children with disabilities as mentioned in the schedule of disabilities of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

 

This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT, SHRI B.L. VERMA, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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VM

(Rajya Sabha US Q1887)

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