Samagra Shiksha celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities at Jammu

Jammu, Dec 3: Samagra Shiksha under the aegis of the School Education Department (SED) on Sunday organised a function on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) at Teacher’s Bhawan here.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that Principal Secretary, Education, Alok Kumar was the chief guest on the occasion. Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare, Sheetal Nanda; Project Director Samagra Shiksha, Director School Education Jammu and other senior officers of the SED were present on the occasion
The event witnessed extraordinary cultural events showcasing the unique talent of Specially abled children drawn from schools across J&K.
Addressing the gathering, the Principal Secretary lauded the specially-abled students for performing with their best talent on the stage like folk dances, folk music, contemporary dance, singing and mimes.
He also reiterated that IDPD aims to encourage specially-abled students, adding that specially-abled students must be renamed as specially talented students as they perform at par with professional people.
Alok Kumar maintained that all the facilities need to be provided under Inclusive Education so that the students may excel in their lives and fight the challenges they face. He remarked that awareness needs to be imparted to the people, about the rights, security and development of Children with Special Needs.
While mentioning the role of SED, the Principal Secretary said that under Samagra Shiksha 64 fully equipped resource rooms have been constructed wherein 83 special educators/resource persons are working to provide educational as well as therapeutic support to Children with Special needs (CWSN).
He also added that assessment camps are being organized in all 188 Zones and free aids and appliances are being distributed among the CWSN. He highlighted that as a remarkable achievement, 4990 children have been provided assistive devices under Samagra Shiksha in the current year in collaboration with ALIMCO. The Principal Secretary further said that more than Rs. 2.35 Crores have been disbursed to CWSN on account of allowances during the current year through DBT Mode. He also highlighted that 550 CWSN-friendly toilets have also been constructed in the Government Schools.