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Context

The Karnataka government has suspended officers for dereliction of duty in implementing the Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) scheme.

Details

• The scheme, sponsored by the Central and State governments, aims to enable students with disabilities to pursue four years of secondary schooling in an inclusive environment.
• Launched in 2009-10, it replaced the Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) scheme.
• The primary aim of the IEDSS is to enable students with disabilities to pursue four years of secondary schooling (classes IX-XII) in an inclusive and enabling environment.
• The scheme has been subsumed under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) since 2013, with States/Union Territories (UTs) in the process of integrating it further under RMSA.

Objectives

• Enable all students with disabilities to pursue secondary education after completing eight years of elementary schooling.
• Cover children with disabilities in government, local body, and government-aided schools in classes IX to XII, including those with blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, locomotory disabilities, mental retardation, mental illness, autism, cerebral palsy, and potential coverage of speech impairment, learning disabilities, etc.
• Focus on girls with disabilities to facilitate their access to secondary schools and provide information and guidance for their overall development.
• Envisage the establishment of Model Inclusive Schools in every State under the scheme.

Components

• Student-oriented components: This includes medical and educational assessment, books and stationery, uniforms, transport allowance, reader allowance, stipends for girls, support services, assistive devices, boarding and lodging facility, therapeutic services, teaching-learning materials, etc.
• Other components: Special education teachers' appointment, allowances for general teachers teaching children with disabilities, teacher training, orientation of school administrators, establishment of resource rooms, providing a barrier-free environment, etc.

Implementing Agency

• The School Education Department of State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations is responsible for implementing the scheme.
• NGOs with experience in the education of disabled individuals may be involved in the implementation process.

Financial Assistance

• Central assistance covers 100 percent of the costs for all items under the scheme.
• State governments are required to make provisions for a scholarship of Rs. 600 per disabled child per annum.
• The IEDSS aims to create an inclusive and supportive environment for students with disabilities, ensuring that they have access to education and the necessary resources for their overall development.

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