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- IGNOU and NHFDC's national conference is themed around ‘Vocational Rehabilitation and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disability in India’.
- Efforts to make education accessible to PwD category students are being undertaken by the government.
National Centre for Disability Studies at Indira Gandhi National Open University and NHFDC (National Handicap Finance and Development Corporation) are organising a two-day national level conference on ‘Vocational Rehabilitation and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disability in India’. The conference began on October 24, 2017, at the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Convention Centre. Mr. Ramdas Athawale – MoS (MoSJE) and Mr. P C Das – CMD (NHFDC) were the chief guests on the first day of the conference.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Krishan Pal Gurjar – Minister of State (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) said that the Government of India had taken numerous initiatives for the persons with disability. With an objective to distribute cochlear implants to 7.5 lakh disabled people, the government has organised 5,500 mega distribution camps. The government has also increased the reservation for the persons with disability to 5% in the education sector.
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Speaking about the theme of the national level conference, Vice-Chancellor of IGNOU, Professor Ravindra Kumar stressed that vocational rehabilitation and economic inclusion of the persons with disability in society is mandatory to encourage their participation in all occupations. On the other hand, the government is playing a vital role in providing financial aid to PWD students. So far, the government has provided Rs. 77 crore worth scholarships to 13,140 students of NHFDC. These students underwent six months training courses along with a stipend of Rs. 2,000, he added.
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Dr. Hemalatha – Director of NCDS (IGNOU) gave a detailed account of different initiatives taken by IGNOU to make education accessible to the persons with disability. The varsity provides study materials in Braille format for visually challenged students. It also made efforts to digitalise all the study materials which can also be accessed through e-Gyankosh. Various other premiere universities in India like Delhi University, Mumbai University, Madras University, Pune University organise various seminars for studenst across all disciplines.
