Javed Ahmad Tak
Today is World Disability Day. The theme for this year’s World Disability Day is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.” The theme defines & guarantees the role of Society and Government in a more inclusive and sustainable world for all. It also highlights the importance of the participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making processes and in development of the Nations. The yearly observance of the World Disability Day for persons with Disabilities was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. The commemoration of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability and extend support for the safeguard of rights & ensure well-being of persons with disabilities. The day gives us opportunity to create inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of Social, Cultural, Economic & political life.
Education of persons with disabilities has been full of challenges for persons with disabilities. The school buildings are not accessible to all types of children with disabilities. Although the children with disabilities have been given term Children with Special needs but the special needs are not catered. There is no appropriate learning material available in all schools. The special educators, sign language interpreters and rehabilitation therapists are not available in schools. Thus most of the children with disabilities get dropped out despite tall claims from the SAMAGRAH Shiksha. The slogan of 100% literacy count has failed so-far because children with disabilities are not been included in the educational processes.
The higher education institutions including colleges, University campuses and professional colleges are not disable friendly. The class rooms have lot of barriers for students with disabilities in higher education and professional institutions. The marks relaxation is not given to students with disabilities in UG & PG programmes. There are no sign language interpreters available in colleges and universities. There are no parking slots reserved for students with disabilities in higher education institutions. There is no access to wash stations and basic amenities to students with severe disabilities. The students with communication disabilities especially hearing and speech disabilities are denied admission in colleges because of no appropriate teaching faculty thus 90% students with hearing and speech disabilities get dropped out from higher education.
The Reservation for Persons with Disabilities should be vertically fixed and removed from Horizontal directions and fixed on vertical column as fixed for other categories.
Educated persons with disabilities face immense challenges and barriers to seek employment against the reservation guaranteed by rights of Persons with disabilities Act 2016. The biggest hurdle is that Government order Job identification has shrunk the jobs for persons with disabilities. Recently JKSSB & JKPSC notified many posts but persons with disabilities were not served any reservation. Here are various posts which have been introduced new in the jobs of J&K cadre but these jobs have not been included in the Job identification Government order. The person with blindness, hearing speech disability, two arm persons with disabilities and both legs have not been included for some posts on which they can work easily. The TWO ARM Ph.D. degree holders are even not eligible for teaching post. Thus revival of job identification Government order has become mandatory in presence of educated youth with disabilities. So that career of youth with disabilities is saved. The Job identification government circular needs immediate revival and Jobs need to identify so that all 21 types of benchmark disabilities seek jobs. Recently JKSSB notified selection list of Supervisors under Mission Poshan ICDS, Unfortunately the women with disabilities who qualified the test still wait for notification of selection list. In the same analogy Multitasking post selection list was notified after two years after the list notified for other categories. The discrimination towards educated persons with disabilities by JKSSB and JKPSC is very unfortunate affair and violation of Honourable Supreme Court orders, Rights of Persons with disabilities Act, UNCRPD and Constitutional guarantees.
Government of J&K has been providing marriage Assistance to the woman that are going to marry. The women with disabilities too should be given marriage assistance under special scheme. The assistance should be around 1 lakh rupees to arrange the marriage and fulfil the requirements of the marriage. The men with disabilities should also be given Marriage assistance so that marriages are initiated among persons with disabilities.
The persons with disabilities are dependent on Integrated Social Security scheme that is Rs 1000. The amount is not paid regularly on monthly basis. Still the families headed by persons with disabilities are charged by high electricity cost and water supply cost. How families depending on social security can pay the service charges. Government should devise a policy for providing complementary services to families headed by persons with disabilities, so that they don’t face odds and hardships.
Government of J&K has started e-governance for the every department but there is no separate column about the persons with disabilities. Every form and scheme should include persons with disabilities in order to create an inclusion. There should be a column about that Disability so that persons with disabilities are catered and given the reservations and benefits.
Government of J&K has designed Advisory Board for persons with disabilities but the meetings of advisory board are not happening. The advisory board meetings should happen at regular intervals. National trust act 1999 has been implemented in J&K but local level committees have not been formulated in all the districts. The meetings are not happening in time thus persons facing Autism, cerebral Palsy, mental disabilities and multiple disabilities have been facing difficulties. Various schemes under national trust Act if implemented well will minimize the sufferings of persons with intellectual disabilities and their rights will be safeguarded.
All the underprivileged sections of the society have been served with Political reservation so that the representatives of such sections can highlight and discuss the solutions for problems faced by such sections. Disability sector has not been considered as the vote bank and no political reservation is being extended to the Disability sector. The best way to empower disability sector is to provide the political reservation, so that inclusion is created from Parliament of India, Legislative assemblies of all the states and union territories and in Panchayti raj / local / self-governments from grass root level.
The government should make disability sector productive part by providing education, employment, access to services and political reservation and not to devise charity oriented dependent schemes through which disability sector will turn into parasite section disliked and rejected by the societies. The slogan of disability sector (BE a Part NOT apart) should be implemented at grass root level and while polices are framed the think tank and intellectuals of disability sector should be consulted.
(The author is Disability rights Activist Padma Shri Awardee)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
