The RTE Act, after it was originally passed, was later amended to make it more disabled-friendly as it had initially included only children with physical challenges in its ambit. It was amended to include children with autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities — as defined in the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, and the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
Inclusive education is a crucial component of the Right to Education Act, 2009, and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Tamil Nadu works towards this for universalisation of elementary education, said Pooja Kulkarni, State project director, SSA.
“We have identified 1,36,000 children with disabilities across the State in the age group of 6-14. A majority of them — about 73,000 — have intellectual and cognitive disabilities, autism or multiple disabilities. About 1,20,000 are in schools, with about 90,000 being in government and government-aided schools. There are not many in private schools,” she said. The SSA trains teachers, has special educators visit schools to help and has also adapted curriculums for the children. “Our training modules and adapted curriculums are available and can be accessed by private schools if they want them,” she said.
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