Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that care of children with birth defects is a joint responsibility of the government and the society. He said that the issues of special children are very close to his heart; therefore, he has obtained special permission from Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar to bring improvement in this sector.
These views were expressed by him while presiding over a high level meeting of the Special Education Department here on Thursday in which Provincial Minister for Special Education Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq and Secretary Special Education Syed Javed Iqbal gave a briefing.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that modern gymnasiums with special facilities for special children would be set up in major cities of Punjab and in the first phase this state-of-the-art gymnasium would be inaugurated in Lahore by the Chief Minister of Punjab himself.
He said that awareness should be created about the education and training of children with disabilities in rural areas where people still consider them as a burden and keep them locked in their homes.
The Punjab Senior Minister expressed satisfaction over the fact that best services are being rendered for the education and care of special children by Department of Special Education. He directed that the Department should convene a joint meeting with NGOs to set up an advisory board so that they can benefit from each other’s experiences.
He said that concrete and practical steps should be taken for the welfare of these children. He said that many steps need to be taken for the access of children with disabilities in buildings in cities and such designs should be made at the time of construction which can help special children to access there.
Abdul Aleem Khan directed the Special Education Department to ensure that the students do not face any difficulties and develop a long term plan that can ensure better care of these children across the province.
Provincial Minister for Special Education Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq told the Senior Minister that for the first time he has formulated a policy for special children in collaboration with DFID. He said that these children need proper adjustment in the society after getting education up to matriculation.
Similarly, especially in rural areas, most of the parents keep the disabled children tied with ropes and consider it a shame to take them out where should be raised awareness.
Secretary Special Education Syed Javed Iqbal said that the Department of Special Education gives pick-and-drop to special children from home to educational institutions in addition to free education, food and drink facilities are also being provided.
