Parents of intellectually challenged children and special schools are set to intensify their protest, with marches and sit-in dharnas to be held across all 14 district headquarters on Monday.
The agitation to be spearheaded by the Parents’ Association for Intellectually Disabled (PAID) will also witness the participation of various organisations, including the Association for Intellectually Disabled, Management Association for Intellectually Disabled, Association for the Welfare of Special School Staff, and Special School Employees’ Union.
“The Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act is yet to be fully implemented in the State. Hence, special children are being denied a slew of benefits, including 4% reservation in jobs. Therefore, the implementation of the Act in letter and spirit remains one of our major demands during this agitation,” said PAID president K.M. George.
Increasing the package for special schools and their timely distribution was another major demand. For instance, the package was distributed towards March-end during the last academic year, posing immense hardships to the schools.
“As of now, special children are being abandoned on attaining the age of 18 years. The government should ensure their rehabilitation. Budgetary allocation should be made for vocational training centres for them and the allocation should be distributed in time,” said Mr. George.
Stern action should be taken against the denial of benefits for which special children and their parents are eligible. Mr. George said a section of the officials were apathetic as they kept creating problems for the parents by needlessly insisting on certificates for the distribution of benefits. The distribution of the education scholarship of ₹28,500 was a case in point. While it did not need income certificate, some officials kept demanding it, he added.
The distribution of the Unique Disability ID (UDID) card issued by the Central government continues to be marred by problems. “Majority of the beneficiaries are yet to get the card, which has been made mandatory for many benefits. Besides, the details included in the card are often wrong and there is little room for correcting them. The issue of cards should be made foolproof,” said Mr. George.
Assistance under the Aswasakiranam project should be enhanced and limited to the intellectually disabled. It should also be paid without fail, he said.
