The Education Ministry has issued an advisory to states and union territories to ensure the provision of Right to Education (RTE) entitlements and PM-Poshan support for Children with Special Needs (CwSN) in government, government-aided, home-based, and special schools.
Under the Centrally Sponsored Samagra Shiksha Scheme, major interventions across all levels of school education include RTE entitlements, with financial support provided to states and union territories.
These entitlements include free uniforms, free textbooks, reimbursement for 25% of admissions under the RTE Act, and special training for age-appropriate admission of out-of-school children (OoSC) at the elementary level.
The Inclusive Education (IE) component of the Samagra Shiksha programme aims to ensure fair access to high-quality education for CwSN by providing essential academic assistance and resources. This initiative offers financial assistance through targeted interventions, including identification and assessment camps, aids, appliances, and assistive devices, transportation, scribe and escort allowance support, Braille books and large print books, stipends for girls with special needs, and teaching-learning materials.
Additionally, the Centrally sponsored PM POSHAN scheme provides nutritional support to children from pre-primary to Class 8 in government and government-aided schools. These RTE entitlements, IE interventions, and PM POSHAN provisions are accessible to all CwSN, regardless of their mode of education, including inclusive schools, home schooling of CwSN students enrolled in inclusive schools, and special schools under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016.
The secretary of education has urged all state counterparts to take necessary measures, including thorough identification drives and awareness campaigns, to ensure that all CwSN within their jurisdictions receive RTE entitlements, interventions under the IE component of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, and PM POSHAN support, which may be provided in the form of dry rations or Direct Benefit Transfers if needed.