TEAM HERALD
teamheald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Thursday gave an assurance that he would constitute a special team to evaluate performance and decide syllabus for schools catering to differently abled children including students suffering from autism, disability and slow learners in the State.
A meeting of concerned departments and those interested legislators has been called in this regard, next week.
“I will put in whatever is required for the betterment of autistic students. We will work out a fast track mechanism…money is no obstruction,” he told the State Legislative Assembly during Question Hour.
He declined to accept the suggestion from the Opposition to bring it under the purview of the Education Department.
“It is complicated…I regret I cannot hand it over to Education Department because it is not equipped to handle this. Let them concentrate on funds, infrastructure… day-to-day needs cannot be done by this department,” Parrikar, who also holds education portfolio said.
The issue about the performance evaluation of the institutes imparting education to differently-abled people was raised by Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte, who demanded that the special attention should be given to the kind of education that has been given. “Those handling the issue needs study, understanding and inner heart for it, not just brains,” Parrikar added, giving an assurance that he would chalk out a plan before April 23.
The chief minister said there are enough people who have an interest in the field, who along with the parents can be appointed on the special team. He conceded that teachers who are currently teaching these children are not formally trained, but are trained on the job.
“We support schools doing service to community…To handle these children is a big challenge. There are 20 teachers undergoing training for this purpose in the Nirmala Institute at present. We are intending to increase the strength. It’s a huge task,” he said. There are 34 resource rooms in the State, which cater to the differently abled persons.
The government is already carrying out certain schemes for these children including home-based education.
