Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) has requested Chief Minister MK Stalin to take appropriate actions to include children with disabilities in the 'Illam Thedi Kalvi' scheme.
In a letter, written to the Chief Minister, they have stated that excluding children with disabilities from the scheme is against the law. They have also alleged that the Differently-Abled Welfare Commissionerate, which has not commented on this issue, should face appropriate action in this regard. TARATDAC has also said that a census on children with disabilities must be done every five years to ensure that they are being educated. However, this has not been undertaken even once, they said.
Assuming that there must be at least three lakh children with disabilities in the state and at least 75,000 must be studying in schools — private, government, or run by NGOs — only one-fourth have been receiving education in some form. The members said the fact that the needs of those children have not been included in the 'Illam Thedi Kalvi' scheme was nothing but exclusion and sought the CM to rectify the issue by appointing volunteers who can teach children with disabilities
