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Special Education

Notes 4. Income tax concessions: The parent or guardian of a disabled person is entitled to a deduction
up to Rs 40,000 in tax on income. Deduction is also permissible to an individual or family
member with respect to expenditure incurred on medical treatment of a disabled person. The
limit of this deduction is Rs 41,000. Deduction from total income of a disabled person has been
raised to Rs 40,000.
5. Bank loans and subsidy: Persons with physical disabilities and institutions working for such
persons can avail of loans from public sector banks at differential rates of interest. Under the
Integrated Rural Development Programme, the physically disabled receive subsidy up to Rs
6,000.
32.2.1 Implementing machinery

Various agencies have been established to spearhead, maintain and encourage rehabilitation efforts.
The National Institutes provide direct services (e.g. assessment, early intervention, training etc.),
conduct human resource development programmes, engage in research activities independently and
in collaboration with voluntary agencies, and produce resource material and equipment relevant to
Indian needs. Each National Institute has regional centres in different parts of India.
Under the provisions of the Persons with Disability Act (1995), the government has appointed a
Chief Commissioner of Disabilities at the Centre, and a Commissioner of Disabilities in each state,
who are responsible for implementing the Act. At the state level, the Ministry of Social Justice &
Empowerment implements its policies by funding and monitoring rehabilitation efforts of government
and non-government agencies.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), the apex government funding agency for monitoring
higher education, has sanctioned the setting up of Disability Units in universities to promote
opportunities for higher education for persons with disabilities. Established under the UGC scheme
of Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (HEPSN), the Disability Units are expected to
ensure that the physical and educational environments in affiliated colleges and departments of the
university are conducive to students with disabilities pursuing higher education. Additionally, the
Units would ensure that persons with visual, hearing and physical impairments are employed in the
university under the 3% job reservation scheme.

What are functions of UGC in the context of disabled students?

32.2.2 Disability: From paper to practice
Whatever the provisions on paper, India's approach towards the rehabilitation of the disabled reflects
the confused state of mind of a person who wants to be emancipated and modern while preserving
age-old traditional values.
Government policy, legislative actions, schemes and provisions for the disabled give the impression
of a State that is committed to human rights and equal opportunities.
Most people believe that disability is either an irremediable medical condition or an act of fate. In
both cases the onus of care must rest with the family of the disabled and not on the community.
Myths and misconceptions about disability abound, causing the disabled to be isolated and
marginalised. The legal definitions (Persons with Disability Act 1995) view disability strictly from
the medical and/or psychometric perspective. This ends up reinforcing a medical model of intervention
rather than the much-needed community-based rehabilitation.
Prevention and early detection are important components of the medical model. However, measures
taken for these are insufficient. While the Pulse Polio drive and immunisation against diphtheria,
pertussis and tetanus have been quite successful, efforts for the prevention of other conditions such
as blindness, deafness and neurological disabilities have been dismal. The incidence of developmental

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