President Draupadi Murmu on Saturday stressed on maximum use of technology to remove language barriers in education and make education more accessible to children with disabilities.
He presented the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for 2021 and 2022 on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Addressing the gathering, the President said that according to an estimate by the United Nations, there are more than one billion people with disabilities in the world. This means that almost every 8th person in the world is disabled in some form or the other.
More than two percent of India’s population consists of persons with disabilities. Therefore, it becomes the duty of all to ensure that persons with disabilities can lead a dignified life independently.
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“It is also our duty to ensure that they get good education, are safe in their homes and society, have the freedom to choose their career and have equal employment opportunities,” he said.
The President said that in Indian culture and tradition, disability has never been considered as a hindrance in gaining knowledge and achieving excellence.
It has often been seen that the disabled are endowed with divine qualities. There are innumerable examples in which our Divyang brothers and sisters have achieved impressive achievements in many fields on the strength of their indomitable courage, talent and determination. Given enough opportunities and the right environment, they can excel in every field.”
He said that education is the key to empowerment of every individual including persons with disabilities.
“We must make maximum use of technology to remove language barriers in education and make education more accessible to children with disabilities,” he added.
He said that he was happy to know that the NCERT text books of class 1 to 6 have been converted into Indian Sign Language for hearing impaired children. He said that this is an important initiative to include hearing impaired students in the mainstream of education.
The President said that the government is taking several steps for the empowerment of Divyangjan.
He said that it is very important to instill confidence in the differently-abled to empower them.
“People with disabilities have the same talents and abilities as normal people, and sometimes even more. All they need to do is instill confidence in them to make them self-reliant.
He urged all sections of the society to motivate the differently-abled to become self-reliant and move ahead in life. He said that when the Divyangjan will make their effective contribution by joining the mainstream, the country will move ahead on the path of development at a fast pace.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presents National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities every year to individuals, institutions, organizations, State/District etc. for their outstanding achievements. and work done towards the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
The applications short-listed by the Screening Committees were considered by the National Selection Committee in its meeting held on 2 November and recommended 25 awardees for the year 2021 and 29 awardees for 2022.
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