28-07-2025
‘Government-run school for children with special needs to be established in Madurai'
A government-run school for children with special needs should be started in Madurai, said a resolution of the Tamil Nadu Association for Rights of Differently abled and Caregivers.
During TARATDAC's fifth Madurai district conference here on Sunday, S. Namburajan, State vice-president, TARATDAC, said that the need for a school for children with special needs, administered by government itself was essential as most of the parents with such children could not afford the exorbitant fees demanded by private schools.
In addition, technical education to parents and children with special needs should be given through government institutions, he added.
It would not only provide them with qualifications but also empower the parents to earn money for themselves and their children, he noted. 'The ceiling of assistance given to the guardians or parents of children with special needs should be relaxed and they should be supported with monthly assistance and a tailoring machine,' Mr. Namburajan said.
'Madurai railway station, which is currently under renovation, is being used by thousands of people from various parts of the State and the country every day. Of them, many would hundreds would be differently abled people and elders,' he noted.
To facilitate seamless movement for such people, the Railway Department should ensure that ramps were made at necessary facilities, and lifts were operated for those who could not use the stairs. 'Regardless of the needs, as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the entire infrastructure should be differently abled friendly,' he emphasized.
To enhance the livelihood of people with disabilities, the district administration should consider according 5% reservation to them in government managed commercial complexes, he said.
A. Balamurugan, district secretary, TARATDAC, said that under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, the Union government provides only Rs.300 as its share.
'As the same amount is being given for more than 10 years, it should be revised and increased to at least ₹5,000,' he added.
Akin to neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh, and Union Territories like Puducherry, Tamil Nadu government should also increase minimum monthly assistance for differently abled people to ₹6,000, and ₹10,000 for people with severe disabilities and ₹15,000 for bed-ridden differently abled people, Mr. Balamurugan noted.
