Ministry of Education Ensures Equal Education For Specially-Abled

New Delhi: The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education conducted the National Achievement Survey (NAS) of Classes III, V & VIII in 2017, Class X in 2018 and Class III, V, VIII and X in 2021. Through the survey in 2021, students in Government, Government-aided and Private unaided schools across 720 districts in all 36 States & UTs were assessed, based on the Learning Outcomes developed by NCERT. Over 34 lakh students including Divyang children participated in the survey. The survey process incorporated provisions such as additional time, scribes and suitable adaptations as per the needs of Divyang children in order to facilitate an equitable assessment of all children.

As per UDISE 2021-22, the Children with Special Needs (CWSN) enrolment is 0.89% of total enrolment of children. The State & UT-wise enrolment of CWSN in percentage is at Annexure-I.

In the year 2018-19, the Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD has launched Samagra Shiksha – an integrated scheme for School Education covering children with special needs from classes I to XII. The Scheme is governed and regulated by the provisions of the RTE Act, 2009. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 enshrines the entitlement to free and compulsory elementary education, access to school and barrier free access for all children including Divyang children. Section 3(2) of the RTE Act lays emphasis on the elementary education of all differently abled children. As per the Amendment of 2012, the RTE Act also mandates that, a child with multiple and/or severe disabilities, has the right to opt for home based education.

Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a dedicated component for Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) through which various provisions are made available for the educational needs of differently abled children such as, identification & assessment camps, provision of aids, appliances, assistive devices, teaching learning materials (TLMs), ICT resources like JAWS & SAFA, as well as transportation, escort & scribe allowances and stipend for all girls with special needs (from I to XII). Further, individualized support is provided through therapeutic interventions at the block level. Further CWSN with severe impairment requiring individualised attention are provided home based education through special educators.

A separate provision for financial support of Special Educators has been made under Samagara Shiksha in order to appropriately address the educational requirements of children with special needs from elementary to higher secondary levels. Samagra Shiksha also has provisions for ramps, handrails and disabled friendly toilets for barrier free access to schools for all children.

The focus of Samagra Shiksha is on providing inclusive education to children with special needs wherein, children regardless of their abilities/disabilities participate and learn together in the same class, thus creating an enabling educational environment for all students.

In addition, CBSE being sensitive to the needs of Divyang students provides several exemptions/concessions to CWSN as defined in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act – 2016 such as issuing authority of Medical Certificate, facility of Scribe and compensatory time, appointment of Scribe and related instructions, fee and special exemptions for class X like exemption from third language, flexibility in choosing subjects, alternate questions/Separate Question and special exemptions for class XII like flexibility in choosing subjects, separate question paper and questions in lieu of practical component. The details of the CWSN who appeared in class X and class XII board examinations for the year 2022 and their pass percentage is as under:

Annexure-I

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (B) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 917 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2022 ASKED BY SHRI HARISH DWIVEDI HON’BLE MP  ‘REGARDING EDUCATION OF DIVYANG CHILDREN’.

Percentage of CwSN studying in Schools (State and UT wise)