ISLAMABAD: Efforts need to be made to facilitate people living with disabilities and equip them with skills for a better society, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood said on Monday.

The incumbent government will be taking several initiatives for the facilitation of disabled persons, the minister told a seminar hosted by the Directorate of Special Education at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in connection with the International Day of Disabled Persons.

The minister said the government will ensure all buildings in the country adopt the proper building codes to ensure easy access and ease of movement for disabled persons. Most buildings in the federal capital also do not have ramps.

Mr Mehmood said sign language training sessions will be held in all cities.

A large number of special children and their families were attending the event. The minister assured them the government will not disappoint them. He said previous governments have not invested in the education sector and that the current government will bring improvements in the education sector as well.

Parliamentary Secretary for Federal Education Wajiha Akram, ministry official and representatives of the civil society also attended the event.

International Day of Disabled Persons is observed the world over on Dec 3. According to the UN, “the annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by theUnited Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3.

It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.”

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2018