Ministry of Social Justice announces programme for educators

In an inclusive initiative, the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendera Kumar on October 2,2024 announced a programme whose purpose is to create a skilled workforce of educators equipped to teach children with disabilities, the officials told.
The Integrated Special and Inclusive Teacher education programme (ISITEP) , it is for the duration of four years . It is an integrated Bachelor Of Education degree programme which is created to prepare special education teachers for different levels, for foundational which includes up to class 2, preparatory up to class 3 and class 5 , middle class 6 and 8 and secondary levels involving class 9-13 , a senior official told.

The programme complies with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It highlights the need for multidisciplinary, higher quality teacher education programme.
The ISITEP seeks to ensure the teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills which are required to handle the needs of students with disabilities across different educational setups, Kumar stated.

Moreover the minister also announced the beginning of BSc (Hons) in clinical psychology. It is a four-year course tailored for students who has a science background in 12th standard. It is developed in alignment to NEP 2020. The course is introduced as a replacement of MPhil in clinical psychology, which is now discontinued. The aim to produce assistant clinical psychologists.

Both the programmes’ launches are expected to fill a critical gap in specialised education and healthcare, to foster inclusive growth and also expand opportunities for students who aspire to pursue their career in these fields. He added

The National Board of Examination in Rehabilitation (NBER) and the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment also organised a convocation ceremony to recognise national toppers at the certificate and diploma levels in the field of disability rehabilitation and special education. Efforts is to make more inclusion in the society.