30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

LAHORE, Sept 29: The Punjab government has decided to set up 90 institutions for special children at all tehsil headquarters to provide educational and vocational training to them.

A spokesman for the special education department said arrangements for opening the institutions like purchase of buildings and necessary equipment were made with the cooperation of tehsil councils. This would help the special children at their doorsteps, as they would not be required to travel to far-off places.

He said a vocational training centre special house had been set up at Gulberg, Lahore that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi recently. He said a special allowance for teachers at these institutions equal to their basic salaries was being paid to them.

The government had also decided to pay special allowance even to non-teaching staff of these institutions. The government was also paying a stipend of Rs200 per month to each student in addition to textbooks, uniforms to all special children free of cost, wheel chairs to the disabled and hearing aids to the deaf.

Pick-and-drop arrangements were being made for the special children and the education department was purchasing 52 buses to add to the existing fleet of vehicles. The district education officer (special education) said in Lahore, the city district government, besides arranging free transport, is also providing special children books up to BA level, residence, uniforms and shoes all free of cost.

He said free meals were being given to blind students and he had recommended that free food should also be given to all special children. Free medical check up, physiotherapy and speech therapy training were other facilities for the children.

In this connection, various local NGOs are providing necessary assistance to the city government by setting up free medical camps. The DEO said that the district government had set up a cell with the cooperation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide jobs to the qualified and trained special people.