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CHAPTER 4 (PART3) THE REHABILITATION COUNCIL OF INDIA (RCI) ❖ The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is the apex government body, set up under an Act of Parliament, to regulate training programmes and courses targeted at disabled, disadvantaged, and special education requirement communities. ❖ It was set up as a registered society in 1986. On September, 1992 the RCI Act was enacted by Parliament and it became a Statutory Body on 22 June 1993.The Act was amended by Parliament in 2000 to make it broader based. ❖ The mandate given to RCI is to regulate and monitor services given to persons with disability, to standardize syllabi and to maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register of all qualified professionals and personnel working in the field of Rehabilitation and Special Education. Objectives ❖ To bring about standardization of training courses for professionals dealing with persons with disabilities ❖ To prescribe minimum standards of education and training of various categories of professionals/ personnel dealing with people with disabilities ❖ To recognize institutions/ organizations/ universities running master's degree/ bachelor's degree/ P.G.Diploma/ Diploma/ Certificate courses in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities ❖ To promote research in Rehabilitation and Special Education. ❖ To maintain Central Rehabilitation Register for registration of professionals/ personnel ❖ To encourage continuing education in the field of rehabilitation and special education by way of collaboration with organizations working in the field of disability. ❖ To recognize Vocational Rehabilitation Centres as manpower development centres ❖ To recognize the national institutes and apex institutions on disability as manpower development centres

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LIST OF INSTITUTES RECOGNISED BY RCI ❖ Royal Seema Seva Samiti ,Tirupati ❖ Dept. Of Special Education Andhra University ,Vishakapatanam ❖ Delhi Society for the Welfare Of The Mentally Retarded Children Okhla Centre, New Delhi ❖ AWH Institute for The Handicapped, Calicut ❖ Medical Trust Hospital M.G Road Cochin PERSON WITH DISABILITY ACT 1995 ❖ Person with disabilities means a person suffering from not less than forty percent of any disability as certified by a medical authority. ❖ Persons with disabilities act, 1995 was passed by Loksabha in 12th dec.1995 and come into enforcement on February 7, 1996. This act is extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. ❖ This act explains the equal opportunities, protection of right and complete involvement of disabled persons.

The aims and objectives of the Act ❖ To spell out the responsibility of the state towards the prevention of disabilities, protection of rights, provision of medical care, education, training, employment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. ❖ To create a barrier free environment. ❖ To counteract any situation of abuse and exploitation of persons. ❖ To make special provision of the integration of persons with disabilities into the social mainstream.

Main provisions of the act 1. Prevention and early detection of disability

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❖ Undertake surveys, investigations and research concerning the cause of occurrence of disabilities. ❖ Promote various methods of preventing disabilities. ❖ Provide facilities for training to the staff at the primary health center. ❖ Take measures for pre-natal and post-natal care of mother and child. ❖ Educate the public through the pre-schools, schools, primary health centers, village level workers and anganwadi workers. ❖ Create awareness amongst the masses through television, radio and other mass media on the causes. 2. Education ❖ Promoting the integration of students with disabilities in normal schools. ❖ Promoting setting up of special schools in government and private sector ❖ Conducting part-time classes in respect of children with disabilities who having completed education up to class fifth and could not continue their studies on a wholetime basis ❖ Imparting education through open schools or open universities. 3. Employment ❖ Identify posts in government establishments, which can be reserved for disabled persons and review the list of posts at periodic intervals (not exceedingly three years). ❖ At least 3 percent of vacancies in every government establishment are to be reserved for persons with disabilities. 4. Non-discrimination

❖ Adapt rail compartments, buses. vessels and aircrafts in such a way as to permit easy access to such persons ❖ Engrave the surface of the zebra crossing for the blind or for persons with low vision. ❖ Provide warning signals at appropriate places. ❖ Provide ramps in public buildings.

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❖ Provide Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts. 5. Research and manpower development ❖ Research in the following areas shall be sponsored and promoted • Prevention of disability •

Development of assistive devices

❖ Financial assistance shall be made available to the universities, other institutions of higher learning, professional bodies and non-government research units. 6. Social security ❖ Financial assistance to non- government for rehabilitation of persons with disability ❖ Insurance coverage for the benefit of the government employees with disabilities ❖ Unemployment allowance to people with disability registered with the special employment exchange for more than a year and who could not be placed in any gainful occupation. Other provisions ❖ The supply of books, uniforms and other materials to children with disabilities. ❖ Provide financial grant or scholarship to students with disabilities. ❖ Suitable modification in the examination system to eliminate purely mathematical questions for the benefit of blind students and students with low vision. ❖ Restructuring of curriculum for the benefit of children with disabilities. NATIONAL TRUST ACT -1999 ❖ This is an act which provides for the constitution of a body at the national level for the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

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❖ It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. The National Trust works for the welfare of persons with any of the following four disabilities 1. Autism 2. Cerebral Palsy 3. Mental Retardation 4. Multiple Disabilities Objectives of the National Trust ❖ To enable and empower persons with disability to live as independently and as fully as possible within and as close to their community as possible. ❖ To facilitate the realization of equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation of persons with disability. ❖ To extend support to its registered organisations to provide need based services. ❖ To evolve procedures for appointments of guardians and trustees for persons with disabilities. ❖ To deal with problems of persons with disability who do not have family support. SCHEMES UNDER NATIONAL TRUST ACT - 1999 (1)DISHA (Early Intervention and School Readiness Scheme) ❖ This is an early intervention and school readiness scheme for children in the age group of 0-10 years. ❖ It aims at setting up Disha Centres for early intervention for Person with Disability (PwD) through therapies, trainings and providing support to family members. ❖ Day-care facilities to PwD for at least 4 hours in a day ❖ Scheme will be available in the entire country except J &K. (2)VIKAAS (Day Care) ❖ Day care scheme, primarily for enhancing interpersonal and vocational skills. ❖ Helps in supporting family members of the PwDs to get some time during the day to fulfill other responsibilities. ❖ Day-care facilities to PwDs for at least 6 hours in a day along with age specific activities. ❖ Scheme will be available in the entire country except J &K. SAHYOGI (Caregiver training scheme) ❖ Setting up Care Associate Cells (CACs).

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❖ Provide training and create a skilled workforce of care associates to provide adequate and nurturing care for Person with Disabilities (PwDs) and their families who require it. ❖ It also seeks to provide parents an opportunity to get trained in caregiving if they so desire. NIRAMAYA (Health Insurance Scheme) ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

Affordable Health Insurance to PwDs. Health insurance cover of up to Rs. 1 lakh. Free medical treatment including the medicines, pathology, diagnostic tests, etc., Regular Medical checkup. The scheme will be available in the entire country except J&K.

GYAN PRABHA (Educational support) ❖ Encourage PwDs for pursuing educational/ vocational courses like graduation courses, professional courses and vocational training leading to employment or selfemployment. SPECIAL SCHOOLS/ SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL A special school is a school catering for students who have special educational needs due to learning difficulties, physical disabilities or behavioral problems. Special schools may be specifically designed, staffed and resourced to provide appropriate special education for children with additional needs. Special needs schools and programs are for kids who have challenges or disabilities that interfere with learning. They provide support that’s not normally provided in general education programs. The government lists four broad types of special school, according to their specialism: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social, emotional and mental health Sensory and physical needs

❖ Special needs schools and programs offer a wide range of approaches and services. For instance, they may offer ;

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Individualized education Small classes Low teacher-student ratios(6:1) Specially trained teachers Self-contained classrooms Resource rooms Tutoring programs Academic and psychological counselling Learning aids Facilities for children with special needs, such as soft play areas, sensory rooms, or swimming pools etc.

ISSUES ❖

Risk students (those with educational needs that are not associated with a disability) are often placed in classes with students who have disabilities. Critics assert that placing at-risk students in the same classes as students with disabilities may impede the educational progress of people with disabilities

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Parents of typically developing children sometimes fear that the special needs of a single student will take critical levels of attention and energy away from the rest of the class and thereby impair the academic achievements of all students

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Another large issue is the lack of resources enabling individuals with special needs to receive an education in the developing world. As a consequence, 98 percent of children with special needs in developing countries do not have access to education

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Another issue would be budget cuts. Cuts can affect special education students who don't have access to proper equipment or education. .

INTEGRATED EDUCATION The concept of integrated education arises as outcome of National policy of education 1986, recommended to provide equal opportunity to all not only for access but also for success. Integration signifies the process of interaction of disabled children with normal children in the same educational setting. Integration also means ‘mainstreaming’ or

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‘Normalization’. It is the placement of the disabled children in ordinary schools with some specialized educational help and services. Importance ❖ It does not create a feeling of differentiation among disabled children. ❖ It helps to remove inferiority complex among disabled children. ❖ It provides peer group help in learning from normal children. ❖ It provides disabled children a chance to enjoy school life with normal children. ❖ It ensures social integration. ❖ It inculcates affection, love and respect for disabled children among normal children. ❖ It is less expensive as special infrastructure is not required. Special learning material and specially trained teachers are not appointed. ❖ Disabled or challenged students may get help from peers for learning and get motivated for learning. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ❖ Inclusive Education is defined as a learning environment that promotes the full personal, academic and professional development of all learners irrespective of race, class, gender, disability, religion, culture, sexual preference, learning styles and language. ❖ It includes all the students who are away from the education for any reasons like physically or mentally challenged, economically, socially, deprived or belonging to any caste, creed, gender etc. ❖ It is broader and wider concept than integrated education as it includes all the students in mainstream education. ❖ For inclusive education special planning can be done in mainstream education like special infrastructure, specially designed classes, special curriculum. Example ❖ Hearing impaired children can be provided with audio aids for hearing. ❖ Visually impaired children can be provided with books in Braille.

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Scope of inclusive education ❖ Reducing student‘s exclusion from schools and focusing their increase participation in the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools. ❖ To respond to the diversity of students in the locality, there is a need for restructuring the culture, policies and practices in schools. ❖ Improving schools for staff as well as for students. ❖ Emphasizing the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in increasing achievement. ❖ Fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and communities. Benefits of Inclusive education ❖ All the children away from education will be benefitted from education. ❖ Disabled or challenged students may get a support and help from normal students. ❖ All the students excluded from school because of some reason may get a chance to enjoy school life with normal students. ❖ Disabled or challenged students get motivated for learning. ❖ They may get a confidence and can learn to face problems, and challenges because of peer help. Disadvantages of inclusive education ❖ Disabled or challenged students may not get proper help from teachers and peers which may lower down their moral. ❖ They may face any other problems because of inadequate facilities and teaching aids required to meet their needs. ❖ They may get inferiority complex in them because of some disability.