Centre plans to train teachers to handle special children

In response to the thousands of children with disability entering regular schools as part of the Right To Education (RTE) Act, the government is planning to train teachers with special skills needed to handle them.

“Going by the 2001 census, India had 2.14 crore differently abled children whose numbers going to be around 2.45 crore by 2012. It is more than the population of many countries.
We are going to launch a big programme on teacher's training,” Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday responding to a short notice question given by BJP member Tarun Vijay.

The minister said curriculum for bachelor of education and diploma in education courses will be altered to include modules on special skills so that teachers would be sufficiently trained from the beginning to handle children with disability.

While 61 per cent of 42 lakh teachers—close to 22 lakh—received three to six days training on special children, only 3 per cent teachers (1.27 lakh) received extensive 90 days of training meant for acquiring special skills required to teach children with different needs.

Sibal lamented that the states had not come forward with training and deployment of special teachers though it was primarily their responsibility.

Raising the issue, Vijay said children with special needs were getting raw deal as no state governments were implementing the Persons With Disability Act 1995 fully and there was a dearth of special educators making such children orphaned in schools.

Citing the examples of Delhi and Uttarakhand, the MP said none of them are equipped to handle children with special needs as mandated by law.