Chandigarh Launches Inclusive Education Policy for Differently-Abled Children

A part of the RTE quota shall be made available for economically weaker and disadvantaged groups. The schools would be bound to provide curriculum adaptation, substitution of subjects, and concessions in examinations according to CBSE guidelines and also under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, RPwD, Act.

Identification and Placement Framework

Identification will be done through coordinated household surveys by ASHA, anganwadi workers, healthcare staff, and special educators. Schools will organize assessment and certification camps.

Children are being placed in inclusive classes, integrated settings, school-readiness centers, or home-based education programs for children with severe disabilities according to the outcomes of the screening checklists.

Enhancing Inclusive Education and Support

The policy makes cross-disability training for general teachers mandatory and asks the SCERT to develop better modules on inclusive education.

The schools have to arrange peer sensitization and parent-orientation programs to facilitate community involvement.

The effort will be supplemented by special schools run by the government and NGOs through teacher training, running of readiness centres, development of learning materials, and promotion of vocational education.

Beneficiaries will get wheelchairs, hearing aids, and low-vision tools under the schemes, ADIP and Samagra Shiksha. Besides, two assessment camps would be conducted every year.

Additional equipment may be covered by CSR funds. All eligible students, including those receiving home-based education, will be provided transport and escort allowances; all schools are to ensure barrier-free access.

Vocational Training, Sports, and Grievance Redressal

The schools should provide vocational courses with practical work experience from the upper primary level onward and introduce adapted sports training with a view to State-level inclusive sports events. There will be therapy camps in collaboration with the health department. Each school will also have to establish a grievance-redressal panel with the involvement of a parent of a child with disability, while a state-level committee, assisted by a cell in the department of education, will monitor the implementation of the act.