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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Now, Chandigarh to offer free education till 18 for children with special needs
In a significant step towards ensuring equal opportunities and building an inclusive education system, the UT administration on Friday launched a dedicated education policy for children with special needs (CWSN). Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria unveiling the inclusive education policy for children with special needs in the presence of chief secretary Rajeev Verma, education secretary Preerna Puri and director school education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar in Chandigarh on Friday. (HT Photo) The policy, framed in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, includes several key provisions such as free education till the age of 18, 3% reservation under EWS/disadvantaged group category in admissions and availability of textbooks in accessible formats. Children with benchmark disabilities, as defined under the RPwD Act, 2016, are considered children with special needs. Unveiling the policy at Punjab Raj Bhavan, Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria said, 'This policy is not just limited to opening the doors of schools, it also aims to bring out the inherent talent and potential of these children. Chandigarh is proud to be strengthening the spirit of equal opportunity and inclusion in the field of education.' The policy will directly benefit 3,175 children with special needs, currently studying in government schools across Chandigarh, and is likely to set standards for private schools as well. At present, the education department has 16 special educators at the JBT level, 20 at the TGT level and 21 resource teachers under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme. Policy a result of HC directions The policy comes in line with directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana high court in two cases in 2017 and 2019. Under the new policy, free and compulsory education will now be extended to children with disabilities in government and aided schools till the age of 18, up from the earlier age limit of 14. Children who are unable to attend school due to their disability will be provided home-based education. This will be supported through transport allowances and other support services. The policy also gives CWSN the right to admission in all-inclusive neighbourhood schools, and mandates a 3% reservation for them within the 25% quota reserved under the EWS/disadvantaged category under the Right to Education Act. Private recognised schools will also be required to admit children with special needs and provide them with appropriate educational support in line with this policy. To ensure the inclusive classrooms are run effectively, the policy mandates the presence of trained special educators, adapted curriculum, Braille and large print books, sign language resources and a special evaluation system. For children with more severe disabilities, links with special schools and integrated education centres will be strengthened. Vocational and skill training will also be provided from Class 9 onwards to help students with special needs become self-reliant. Additionally, state-level sports competitions for CWSN will be held in collaboration with the department of sports. The number of government schools with Special Resource Centres, which offer therapy, counselling for parents, assessments and functional academics, has been increased from five to 20 under this policy. To ensure smooth and effective implementation, every school will have a grievance redress committee. A state-level monitoring committee has also been set up. Also present at the policy launch were UT chief secretary Rajiv Verma, principal secretary to governor Vivek Pratap Singh, education secretary Prerna Puri and director of school education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
SC issues notice to U'khand on plea of blind judicial services exam aspirant
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Uttarakhand government and its public services commission on a plea challenging exclusion of persons with blindness and locomotor disability from taking up judicial services examination. SC issues notice to U'khand on plea of blind judicial services exam aspirant A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued fresh notices to the state, the services commission and the registrar general of the Uttarakhand High Court on Sravya Sindhuri's plea. The bench was informed that the petitioner, who is completely blind, challenged the exclusion of the blind, and those with locomotor disability from being eligible for the judicial exams. "That is very bad, very bad on the part of the government,' Justice Pardiwala asked. The bench issued the notice to the state considering the examination was scheduled to begin on August 31 and none appeared despite previous notices. The top court on March 3 delivered a landmark judgement in a similar case and held blind persons cannot be denied opportunity of employment in judicial services, as it struck down provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules that excluded them. "It is high time that we view the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the RPwD Act 2016, of the same stature as a fundamental right, thereby ensuring that no candidate is denied consideration solely on account of their disability," it said. The plea, on which the top court issued the notices on Friday, alleged the recruitment advertisement of May 16 violated constitutional rights and statutory provisions under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act Act. The petition also challenged the restriction of PwBD eligibility to only four specific categories: leprosy cured, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, and dwarfism, and consequential exclusion of several other benchmark disabilities such as blindness and locomotor disability. The petitioner's counsel submitted the recruitment notification not only unlawfully restricted eligibility but also imposed a domicile requirement, disqualifying persons with benchmark disabilities who are not residents of Uttarakhand. The advertisement was alleged to be contrary to Section 34 of the RPwD Act, which mandates 4 per cent reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities in government establishments, with 1 per cent specifically for blindness and low vision and another 1 per cent for locomotor disabilities. It sought quashing of the advertisement to the extent it excludes non-domiciled PwBD candidates and restricts eligibility to only four sub-categories. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
SC issues notice to U'khand on plea of blind judicial services exam aspirant
New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Uttarakhand government and its public services commission on a plea challenging exclusion of persons with blindness and locomotor disability from taking up judicial services examination. A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued fresh notices to the state, the services commission and the registrar general of the Uttarakhand High Court on Sravya Sindhuri's plea. The bench was informed that the petitioner, who is completely blind, challenged the exclusion of the blind, and those with locomotor disability from being eligible for the judicial exams. 'That is very bad, very bad on the part of the government," Justice Pardiwala asked. The bench issued the notice to the state considering the examination was scheduled to begin on August 31 and none appeared despite previous notices. The top court on March 3 delivered a landmark judgement in a similar case and held blind persons cannot be denied opportunity of employment in judicial services, as it struck down provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules that excluded them. 'It is high time that we view the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the RPwD Act (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act) 2016, of the same stature as a fundamental right, thereby ensuring that no candidate is denied consideration solely on account of their disability," it said. The plea, on which the top court issued the notices on Friday, alleged the recruitment advertisement of May 16 violated constitutional rights and statutory provisions under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD) Act. The petition also challenged the restriction of PwBD (persons with benchmark disability) eligibility to only four specific categories: leprosy cured, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, and dwarfism, and consequential exclusion of several other benchmark disabilities such as blindness and locomotor disability. The petitioner's counsel submitted the recruitment notification not only unlawfully restricted eligibility but also imposed a domicile requirement, disqualifying persons with benchmark disabilities who are not residents of Uttarakhand. The advertisement was alleged to be contrary to Section 34 of the RPwD Act, which mandates 4 per cent reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities in government establishments, with 1 per cent specifically for blindness and low vision and another 1 per cent for locomotor disabilities. It sought quashing of the advertisement to the extent it excludes non-domiciled PwBD candidates and restricts eligibility to only four sub-categories. PTI SJK SJK AMK AMK view comments First Published: July 25, 2025, 16:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Railways certs amend ‘retardation' to ‘intel disability'
File photo NEW DELHI: A father's fight for the dignity of his daughter, who has 65% intellectual disability, which made the court of the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities (CCPD) issue directives to remedy the situation, has led to the Indian Railways replacing the use of 'mental retardation' with 'intellectual disability' on railway concession certificates. A disability rights advocate, Pankaj Maru had failed to get a response from railways regarding the terminology used in the concession certificate issued to his daughter, Sonu (26). On July 12 last year, he filed a complaint with court of CCPD regarding the description of his daughter's disability — 'mansik roop se vikrit'. 'Use of derogatory terms go against SC guidelines' This (the terminology issue) was despite Pankaj Maru submitting the unique disability ID card of his daughter along with the application, wherein her disability was described as intellectual disability, in keeping with provisions of Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. In its final order Thursday, CCPD said the Railway Board had informed court on July 14 that an instruction dated May 9has been issued stating ministry of railways has decided to replace the term 'mentally retarded persons' with 'persons with intellectual disability'. The change has been implemented from June 1. CCPD emphasised the criticality of language in ensuring dignity of people with disabilities. While noting that the board had already issued a circular in 2018 whereby words such as 'blind', 'deaf and dumb' and 'physically challenged' were replaced with terms prescribed in RPwD Act, the court has recommended that railways should review their existing forms and all other documents to determine if similar corrections are required to be made and to ensure that the existing stationery is not used for any certification in future. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo CCPD cited the concern raised by Maru in his complaint that outdated and derogatory terms like 'handicapped' still appear in preprinted concession certificate format, which goes against SC's guidelines on respectful disability terminology. CCPD has sought an action-taken report within three months and also asked railways to sensitise its staff on types and sub-types of disabilities. In its observations in the case in Feb, CCPD had countered railways' interpretation of legal provisions as reason for continuing with the use of 'mental retardation' in concession forms. It noted that the 'Railway Board's contention that intellectual disability and mental behaviour have been separately defined in the Schedule to RPwD Act, 2016 is correct, but their averment that 'retardation' is defined under 'mental behaviour' is not. In fact, the definition of 'mental behaviour' in the schedule of the law explicitly excludes 'retardation'.'
Time of India
16-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Gig workers with disabilities unable to access lounges
Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation has set up lounges with air conditioning, power outlets and toilets in Anna Nagar and T Nagar for gig workers to relax between orders, but the spaces remain inaccessible to people with disabilities (PwDs). K Sasikumar, a food delivery partner, says being on the road all day on his battery-powered wheelchair is physically exhausting as his app algorithm forces him to travel to faraway locations. "Since I take my wheelchair to faraway locations, using the wheelchair on these roads induces severe body pain. I tried using the lounge once, but there is no way to access it as it's on a pavement with no way to get on it with my wheelchair. Also, the entrance has an extended door frame that hinders the path. It's nice the govt is coming up with such initiatives, but when they build such structures, they should keep us in mind," he said. S Namburajan, vice-president of Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers (Taratdac), said the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD Act), 2016 in India mandates accessibility across various sectors, including physical infrastructure, transportation, information and communication technology (ICT), and public services. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The Act also states that the govt should ensure all public buildings and spaces that are already constructed be made accessible through modifications. "Despite such an Act in place, policy makers continue to build places that are inaccessible. It needs to be strictly enforced during planning phase." You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai While GCC plans similar lounges in Thiruvanmiyur, Villivakkam, Royapettah, Mylapore, and Nungambakkam, activists say small retrofittings can make a huge difference. Sathish Kumar, an activist, said a ramp should be made that connects the road to the entrance. "There should be a charging space for wheelchairs and the width of the toilet door should be 3 feet. The toilet also should be accessible and be made spacious according to space available. " "We've taken note of the issue and are planning to install a temporary ramp as we work on constructing a permanent one," said GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran.
