The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Special centres for hearing impaired children on the anvil in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 23, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Special centres for hearing impaired children on the anvil in State

Special Correspondent

To facilitate their entry into regular schools

Poongothai

CHENNAI: Special centres to train children with hearing impairment so as to facilitate their entry into regular schools will be started in 10 districts in the State at a cost of Rs.30 lakh, Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna announced in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Presenting the department's demand after discussions, Dr. Poongothai said the training imparted in these centres to children at a very early age would enable them to enter the regular school stream. Early detection of hearing impairment and early intervention were essential for imparting specific skills to children, as demonstrated at the Bala Vidyalaya School for Young Deaf Children in Adyar, the Minister said. Arrangements would also be made for hearing impaired students to do B.Com, BCA courses at Presidency College, Dr.Poongothai added. A Statewide database on disabled persons would be set up. It would also provide details on the welfare schemes available to them. A helpline for differently abled persons would be set up at a cost of Rs.5.60 lakh.

Funds sanctioned

The Assembly also sanctioned funds for schemes to upgrade anganwadi centres throughout the State. Several MLAs requested the Minister to ensure that the quality of food provided to children at the anganwadis was improved.

They sought increase in allocation to ensure that groceries of good quality were used to cook the food.

Indicating a paradigm shift in approaching malnutrition — from its management to prevention — Dr.Poongothai said anganwadi centres would function as focal points for dissemination of health and nutrition related messages and detection of disabilities in children, apart from providing nutritional supplements to children and pregnant and lactating mothers.

In the first phase, 7,000 anganwadis would be provided new utensils at a cost of over Rs.1.03 crore and 16,605 noon meal centres given a total of Rs.1 crore to refurbish kitchen utensils, tumblers and plates.

Modernisation of the kitchens was also on the cards, with gas connections replacing choolahs in 750 centres and some others getting pressure cookers.

Rubella vaccination for adolescent girls up to the age of 15 would be taken up in the State as a preventive measure.

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