Guidebook launched to check hurdles faced by disabled students

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with UNICEF today launched a guidebook to address the physical and infrastructural barriers that children with disabilities may face in schools.
"Right to quality inclusive education is every child's right irrespective of class, caste, race, gender, geographical origin and abilities," Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot said.
He said the guidebook, titled 'Making Schools Accessible to Children with Disabilities', aims to help create accessible schools that give a fair chance to all children, including children with different abilities.
The launch comes in the backdrop of the passage of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, in Parliament on December 16.

Stating that children with disabilities are among the most marginalised and excluded when it comes to education, UNICEF India Representative Louis Georges Arsenault said the curriculum, teaching and learning materials for children with disabilities need to be inclusive and responsive to their individual requirements so that they can all learn together.
"School infrastructure and facilities within schools should be accessible to all, which is the focus of the guidebook launched today," he added.
The guidebook details the infrastructural barriers children with disabilities may face in schools and provides practical solutions for making the physical environment of a school safe and accessible for these children.

The book also provides a checklist which is a simple tool to check accessibility in schools.