Delhi govt to honour differently abled for academic excellence
NEW DELHI: For 17-year-old Pooja Kumari, who suffers from locomotr disability, getting an award for academic excellence just three years later is a dream come true.
On Tuesday — International Day for Persons with Disabilities — Kumari and 23 other students will be felicitated by the Delhi government’s Inclusive Education branch and Samagra Shiksha for their academic and co-curricular performances.
“People with disabilities are not encouraged very often. Events like these motivate us ,” said Kumari, now a class 11 student at a Delhi government school in Mukundpur. She scored 81% in her class 10 board examination.
While 12 students will be felicitated for academic excellence, the rest will be for their achievements in co-curricular activities. “If a person can’t walk, managing everything is difficult. Yet, my father has made every effort to make sure I continue my education. He literally carries me to school everyday,” Kumari said.
“My father is a vegetable vendor and he doesn’t earn enough to support our family of eight. For three years, we have been writing to arrange for an electric wheelchair for me so that I can pursue my education independently. But that hasn’t happened so far,” she said, adding “disability should not deter anyone from pursuing education.”
Tuesday’s event, to be held at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Aliganj, would also include theme-based performances by around 250 Children with Special Needs (CWSN).
“These events are necessary for empowering the children. Our special educators have ensured there is more awareness around different issues compared to previous years. So, this time we have a rights-based theme for the performances. For instance, students would be performing plays involving plastic ban and inclusive education as well,” said Ajay Kumar Singh, the state coordinator for Inclusive Education Branch.
Nineteen-year-old Ankit, a class 9 student at Government Co-ed Secondary School in Ramesh Nagar who has cerebral palsy, will be one of the performers. “When I saw reality shows on television, I wanted to dance like those children. But I did not know how it would look. When I did a dance for the first time in another function, it was a great experience. Tomorrow, I will be dancing to three songs,” he said, excitedly.