Scheme of Integrated Education for the Disabled Children 1992

1.	Introduction

The country has witnessed a phenomenal expansion of educational opportunities in the post-Independence period. The disabled children, however, have not benefited substantially from this growth in educational facilities. The Government of India, therefore, has brought the education of this group of children for special attention to achieve the goal of education for all. The objective is to integrate the handicapped with the general community at all levels as equal partners, to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to face life with courage and confidence.

2	Aims and Objectives

The centrally sponsored scheme of Integrated Education for the Disabled Children (IEDC ) purports to provide educational opportunities for the disabled children in common schools, to facilitate their retention in the school system. The disabled children who are placed in special schools should also be integrated in common schools once they acquire the communication and daily living skills at the functional level.

3	Type of Scheme

This is a centrally sponsored scheme under which the Central Government will assist the States/Union Territories in its implementation on the basis of the criteria laid down. Assistance for all the items covered in the scheme will be on 100 per cent basis  but assistance for  the programme would be conditional on provision of professionally qualified staff.

4	Implementing Agencies

The scheme shall be implemented through the State Governments/UT Administrations/Autonomous Organisations of stature having experience in the field of education and/or rehabilitation of the disabled. Because this scheme has to be implemented in schools, the Education Department would be the implementing agency. The State Governments may take the assistance of voluntary organizations also for this purpose as may be feasible.

5	Scope

5.1	It is proposed to provide educational facilities under this scheme for children with disabilities who can be integrated in general schools. While rehabililation assistance will be made available to all children with disabilities, student benefits (para 10) will be extended on the recommendation by the Assessment Team.
5.2	The scope of the scheme includes pre-school training for the disabled children and counselling for the parents. This would be an activity preparatory to the child coming into the regular school system. It would include, among other things, special training for the hearing handicapped children, mobility and orientation training for the visually handicapped, daily living and communication skills training required by children with other disabilities, parent counselling and training in home management of these children.
5.3	The education of the disabled children under this scheme will continue up to the senior secondary school level and includes vocational courses equivalent to the senior secondary stage.
5.4	A disabled child in receipt of any scholarship/assistance under some other scheme relating to disability from State/Central Government will not be eligible for any of the benefits under this scheme unless he/she is willing to forego the other sources of assistance.

6	Procedure for Implementation

6.1	The implementing agency should set up an administrative cell under an officer not below the rank of Deputy Director to implement, monitor and evaluate the programme. These officials will be chosen for their special qualifications in the field, or if  they are not so qualified, will be trained in a course conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) or some other designated organization. This cell will identify the areas and institutions for implementing the scheme.
6.2	It is preferable that in order to properly plan and supervise the implementation of the scheme a number of developmental blocks should be selected for operation of the scheme, rather than scattering the schools under this scheme all over the state. Within the area of a selected block all the desired inputs should be provided to the schools covered.
6.3	To identify disabled children in the blocks/districts where the scheme is yet to be implemented, the first task should be to provide suitable orientation to all school teachers in the area for conducting a survey to identify disabled children in general schools. Teachers may be provided a small honorarium for conducting the survey. Each primary school may be provided Rs. 100 (to be shared by teachers) for conducting this survey. The IEDC cell should provide printed survey forms for identifications of these children. Assistance up to Rs. 10,000 may be provided to the IEDC cell for this purpose. These efforts should be supplemented by publicity through mass media.
6.4	The  State-level cell will make arrangements for equipment, learning materials, staff etc. in order to provide education to disabled children. The cell will also set up the machinery for assessment of the disabled children. Wherever survey has been conducted by any other agency it would be utilized and augmented with the survey of disabilities not covered by the earlier survey. Monitoring and evaluation of the scheme at the State level will be carried out by the cell. The cell will ensure that the information regarding the scheme is widely known.

7	Administrative Cell

The Administrative Cell to be set up by the State Education Department will have a Deputy Director (in the scale of pay applicable in the State Government), a Coordinator (who will be a psychologist) in the scale applicable to a university lecturer, a Special Educator in the pay scale applicable to a University lecturer, a Stenographer and a Lower Division Clerk in the pay scales applicable in the State/UT.

8	Assessment of the Disabled Children

8.1	The Coordinator of the programme will be responsible for arranging for the assessment of the children and monitoring their progress on ongoing basis. A three-member assessment team, comprising a doctor, a psychologist and a special educator will be formed. The State/UT assessment team would function under the Administrative Cell. Specialists will be drawn upon in consultation with the State Health Department. Wherever district rehabilitation centers have been established, its resources for assessment may be used. The non-government organizations (NGOs) with infrastructural facilities may also be used for assessment purposes.
8.2	The average cost of an assessment should not exceed Rs. 150 per disabled child. It will be necessary to examine a large number of children to select those considered suitable for placement in an integrated programme. Members of the assessment team would be given TA and DA as per State Government/UT Administration rules.
8.3	The Assessment report should be comprehensive enough for educational programming; a profile of what a particular child can or cannot do during testing situations should be adequately reported. The report should specifically indicate whether the child can be put directly into school or should receive preparation in special school/special preparatory class in the Early Childhood Education Centre specially equipped for this purpose. Functional assessment can be carried out by the teacher if formal assessment is to take a long time so that the educational programme can be started for these children.

9	Linkages

Integrated education of disabled children requires input from different Departments like Education, Health, Labour, Welfare, etc. For effective linkages between these Departments and NGOs, working in this area, coordination committees will be formed at State, regional, district and block levels.

10	Facilities for Disabled Children

(i)	A disabled child may be given the following kinds of facilities at the rates prevalent in the State/UT concerned. The facilities should, as far as possible, be given in kind. In case similar incentives are not being offered by the State Government/UT Administration under any other scheme, the following rates could be adopted.
(a)	Actual  expenses on books and stationary up to Rs. 400 per annum.
(b)	Actual expenses on uniform up to Rs. 200 per annum.
(c)	Transport allowance up to Rs. 50 per month. If a disabled child admitted under the scheme resides in the school hostel within the school premises, no transportation charges would be admissible.
(d)	Reader allowance of Rs. 50 per month in case of blind children after Class V.
(e)	Escort allowance for severely handicapped with lower extremity disability at the rate of Rs. 75 per month. 
(f)	Actual cost of equipment subject to a maximum of Rs. 2000 per student for a period of five years.
(ii)	In the case of severely orthopaedically handicapped children, it may be necessary to allow one attendant for 10 children in a school. The attendant may be given the standard scale of pay prescribed for Class IV employees in the State/UT concerned.
(iii)	Disabled children residing in school hostels within the same institution where they are studying may also be paid boarding and lodging charges as admissible under the State Government rules/schemes. Where there is no State scheme of scholarships to hostelers, the disabled children whose parental income does not exceed Rs. 5,000 per month may be paid actual boarding and lodging charges subject to a maximum of Rs. 200 per month. However, disabled children should generally not be placed in hostels unless the required educational facilities are not available in the nearby schools.
(iv)	Severely orthopaedically handicapped children residing in school hostels may need the assistance of a helper or an ayah. A special pay of Rs. 50 per month is admissible to any employee of the hostel willing to extend such help to children in addition to his/her duties.

11	Special Teacher Support

Except for children with locomotor disabilities, special education teachers may be appointed in schools where the scheme is in operation to provide specific attention to the disabled children.


12	Appointment of Special Teachers

12.1	The teacher-pupil ratio for special education teachers envisaged under the scheme is 1:8. This ratio will be same for normal classes as well as for preparatory pre-school classes. The same teachers will provide counselling to the parents. In accordance with this ratio the requisite number of special teachers may be appointed in schools (or for a cluster of schools) for children requiring special teacher support.
12.2	Qualification
Special teachers so appointed should possess the following qualifications.
(a)	Primary : Academic qualifications as prevalent in the States and Union Territories with one year course, preferably multicatagory, in special education or with specialization in teaching any type of disabled children depending upon the category of children enrolled in the IEDC Units. Such teachers can be oriented subsequently in the education of other categories of disability.
(b)	Secondary : Graduates with B. Ed. (Special Education) or any other equivalent professional training in special education.

Prescribed qualifications should be adhered to. In case qualified special teachers are not available, teachers with short training course may be appointed with the condition that they will complete the full course within three years of appointment. Special allowances for these teachers will be admissible only after completion of the full course. Teachers with single disability professional courses will be encouraged to take courses in other disabilities to improve viability in rural areas.

	Since teachers with experience in Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Adult Education(AE) are likely to have a better understanding of local environment and need, they could also be identified for training under the scheme and appointed as special teachers.

12.3	Scales of pay : The same scales of pay as available to the teachers of the corresponding category in that State/UT will be given to special teachers. Considering the special  type of duties, these teachers will be given a special pay of Rs. 150 per month in urban areas and Rs. 200 per month in rural areas. The State Education Department may recruit such teachers for this purpose following the normal recruitment procedures.

13	Training of Special Teachers

The facilities for the training of special teachers are readily available in the Regional Colleges of Education (RCEs), Regional Training Centres being run by the National Institute for the Handicapped, Special Education Departments in the universities and selected Colleges for Education. The training facilities are being further expanded. The State Government may prepare an estimate of the requirements of teachers under each category of disability and send it to the Regional Colleges of  Education/District Institutions of Education and Training (DIETs) , National Institutes for the Handicapped and the University Grants Commission under intimation to the NCERT. Since the appointment of fully trained, full-time resource teachers is an essential input for the successful implementation of the Scheme, the State-Government/UT Administration must ensure appointment of such teachers on priority basis.

	Under the scheme, grant is available through UGC for instituting full-time training courses for special teachers. The university/training institutes are expected to utilize the existing infrastructural facilities and other resources to the extent possible. The cost of the additional aids/equipment/space, and the additional faculty members will be met from the funds under this scheme. DIETs should organize in-service training courses for general teachers and refresher courses for resource teachers.
14	Training of Other Staff

The successful implementation of the IED depends upon the responsiveness of the administrators and general teachers in the school. Short orientation courses for administrators, heads of the institutions and general teachers associated with the implementation of the scheme may be organized. Training of administrators/key persons will be organized by the NCERT. State Government/UT Administrations may organize orientation programmes of three days duration for heads of the institutions and of five days  duration for general teachers of the institutions implementing the IED scheme with the help of RCEs, Regional Training Centres and DIETs for the handicapped. The modules for these orientation programmes will be provided by the NCERT. Expenditure on TA/DA of the participants will be borne by the State Government/UT Administrations concerned. The cost of honorarium and TA/DA of resource persons and contingencies, etc. will be met under this scheme. The average cost of a three-day orientation programme is estimated at Rs. 4,500 and for a five day programme at Rs. 6,000.

15	Resource Room

A resource room having all the essential equipment, learning aids and materials may be provided for a cluster of schools implementing the scheme of integrated education. The NCERT has prepared a handbook which also indicates the type of facilities which may be provided in the resource room. A list of equipments required for various disabilities is enclosed (Annex II). The average cost of such equipment is estimated at Rs. 30,000. The need for equipment would depend upon the disability types of the students enrolled in the associated schools. The resource room may be set up preferably in an existing room in the school. A new room may be built only where no accommodation is available to the satisfaction of the State Government. Grant shall be available for construction of a resource room in a school in such circumstances subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000. NGOs/Special schools wherever available should be used as resource centers for the IED programme in general schools.

16	Removal of Architectural Barriers

It may be necessary to remove architectural barriers or to modify existing architectural facilities, so as to provide easier access to orthopaedically disabled children to the school premises. Grant shall be available for this purpose for the schools where such handicapped children are enrolled.

17	Instructional Materials

At present sufficient facilities for production of instructional material for children with different disabilities do not exist in the country. Availability of requisite teaching/learning material for the disabled is vital for successful implementation of the scheme. The requirement of such materials is bound to increase with the increased coverage of disabled children. Financial assistance under this scheme will be available for purchase/production of instructional materials for the disabled and also for purchase of equipment required therefore. Wherever necessary the available material may be translated and produced in regional languages.

	Visually and hearing impaired children should be allowed to take only one language as already recommended. Provision for alternative modes of examination for blind and other children with physical disabilities coming in the way of writing should be considered and provided by the Boards of Examination.

18	Regulations for Relaxation of Rules

State Government/UT Administrations/other implementing agencies should also frame regulations for relaxation of rules relating to admissions, minimum or maximum age limit for admissions, promotions, examination procedures, etc. for improving access of the disabled children to education. Provision for admission of disabled children older than the normal eligibility (up to 8-9 years instead of 6 years) is essential in the transitional phase at least till the target of universal primary education (UPE) is achieved.

19	Pre-school and ECCE Facilities

Preparation of disabled children for education being essential, preference should be given to the blocks where the schemes of Integrated Child Development (ICD) and Early Childhood Centres of Education (ECCE) exist while selecting blocks for implementation of the scheme. Support for services for disabled children will be available for instructional materials and training of teachers.

20	Procedure for Grants to State Governments/UT Administrations

The State Governments/UT Administrations should formulate their programmes, make assessment of their financial requirements  and submit detailed proposals for the next financial year to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education, Government of  India) by the end of December every year. The proposals should contain full information on various items given in the prescribed proforma. The proposals should be accompanied by utilization certificates for grants released in the previous year and implementation report in respect of the previous year indicating, interalia, detailed information regarding areas covered, the number of disabled children  covered school-wise, teachers training programmes conducted etc. as per prescribed proforma.

	The proposal should specify clearly whether for the purpose of various allowances to the disabled children the State Government rates have been taken or in their absence the rates given in this scheme have been adopted. The proposals will be examined in the Ministry and 50 per cent of the approved grant for the year will be released as the first instalment. The remaining 50 per cent of the Grant will be sanctioned as soon as the State/UT Administration reports utilization of at least 75 per cent of the grant sanctioned earlier. The request for the release of the second instalment should be accompanied by an implementation report and a detailed statement of expenditure.

21	Procedure for Grant to Voluntary Organisations 

The voluntary organizations desirous of implementing the scheme should send their applications on the prescribed proforma through the concerned State Government/ UT Administration (with a copy endorsed directly to the Ministry).  The State Government should give its views within a period of three months regarding the organizations’ eligibility, suitability, relevance of the proposal and the capacity of the agency to implement it. Comments should be sent by the State Government even if the proposal is not recommended giving reasons therefore. 
	
	In order to be eligible for financial assistance under this scheme voluntary organizations, public trusts and non-profit making companies should
(i)	have proper constitution of articles of association;
(ii)	have a properly constituted managing body with its power and duties clearly defined in the constitution;
(iii)	be in a position to secure the involvement, on voluntary basis,  a knowledgeable persons for furtherance of their programmes;
(iv)	not discriminate against any person or group of persons on ground of sex, religion, caste or creed;
(v)	not be run for the profit of any individual or a body of individuals;
(vi)	not directly function for the furtherance of the interests of any political party; and
(vii)	not in any manner incite communal disharmony.

Only those eligible agencies which have been in existence for three years would be considered for assistance under this scheme. This requirement may be waived in respect of agencies with specially qualified workers or which can otherwise justify a special consideration.

If any agency is already receiving or expecting to receive grant from some other official source for a project for which application is made under this scheme, assistance under this scheme will be made after taking into the consideration the grant received, or likely to be received for such other official sources. It should also be ensured that an agency already in receipt of a grant from any other official source, Central or a State, should not transfer any part of that liability to a grant to be sanctioned under this scheme.

The proposals of the voluntary organizations with the recommendation of the State Government/UT Administration should be sent to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education), Government of India by the end of December every year for the following financial year. The proposals will be examined in the ministry and 50 per cent of the approved grant for a year will be released as the first installment and the remaining 50 per cent after the agency reports utilisation of  at least 75 per cent of the grant section earlier. The request for release for the second installment should be accompanied by a progress report (in prescribed proforma) and statement of expenditure. The grant will be remitted to the agency directly by Demand Draft/Cheque drawn in its favour by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education.


22	Conditions of Grant to Voluntary Organisations

(i)	The grant-receiving will be required to execute a bond on a prescribed form. The bond should be supported by two sureties if the agency is not a legal entity.
(ii)	An agency in receipt of financial assistance shall be open to inspection by an officer of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development or the State Education Department.
(iii)	The accounts of the project shall be maintained properly and separately and submitted as and when required. They should be open to check by an officer deputed by the Government of India or the State Government. They shall also be open to a test-check by the Controller and Auditor General of India at his discretion.
(iv)	The audited accounts together with the utilization certificate in the prescribed form duly countersigned by the Chartered Accountant are required to be furnished within six months in respect of a preceding year or after expiry of the duration for which grant is approved.
(v)	The-agency shall maintain a record of all assets acquired wholly or partially out of Government grant and maintain a register of such assets in the prescribed proforma. Such  assets shall not be disposed of, encumbered or utilized for the purposes other then those for which the grant was given, without prior sanction of the Government of India. Should the agency cease to exist at any time, such properties shall revert to the Government of India.
(vi)	When the State Government /Government of India have reasons to believe that the sanctioned money is not being utilised for the approved purpose the payment of grant may be stopped and the earlier grants recovered.
(vii)	The institution must exercise reasonable economy in the working of the approved project.
(viii)	The grantee agency shall furnish to the Ministry of Human Resource Development reports as may be prescribed.
(ix)	The decisions of the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, on the question whether there has been breach of violation of any of the terms and conditions mentioned in the sanction letter shall be final and binding on the grantee.

23	Evaluation and Monitoring 

23.1	State Governments/UT Administrations may identify institutions/agencies to take up concurrent evaluations of the programme in selected areas/schools. The cost of such evaluation studies would be reimbursable to the State Government under the scheme.  The Central Government may also undertake a summative evaluation of implementation of the scheme through the NCERT (or other institutions) at the end of the plan period.
23.2	Quarterly progress reports may also be furnished to the ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) with a copy to the NCERT in prescribed proforma.