ATDSU draws SW Minister's attention
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NNN
Imphal, July 30 2013:
The All Tribal Disabled Students' Union (ATDSU) today urged the state Social Welfare minister to realize the decentralization of the authority for issue of disability certificates and to set up a special school with hostel facility for tribal disabled students in one of the hill districts in the state.
In a memorandum to Social Welfare minister AK Mirabai, ATDSU said that physically challenged persons are first examined and treated at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) Imphal and then related medical documents are submitted to the office of the Social Welfare which issues disability certificates to them after taking about four months time in the process.
This procedure being adopted by the state Government has denied disability certificates to more than 70 percent disabled persons residing in far flung areas of the hill, it alleged.
At the same time, ATDSU demanded for setting up of a special school with hostel facility for the tribal disabled children and students in one of the hill districts of the state.
It said that there are about 7,000 tribal disabled children in the hill areas intending to go to school, but they have failed to do so since they have certain problems of physical inactivity and the society at the same time discourages them to get education.
There is only one school in the state that is located at Takyelpat in Imphal West district, especially for the blind, deaf and mute persons, but still there is not a single school for Locomotor Disabilities (LD) and mentally retarded persons.
It added, therefore, it is quite necessary to set up a school for LD and mentally retarded persons in the state so that they can get proper education.