By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: District nazim Chitral Maghfirat Shah has said that establishment of special education complex in Chitral was inevitable for the rehabilitation of especial children in Chitral for which the district government will go to any extent including contacting the international non-governmental organizations.
Addressing a function held in the centre for mentally retarded and physically handicapped children (CMR&PHC) Chitral here on Saturday, he said that although the district government has tried its best to solve the day-to-day issues of the institution but the up-gradation was beyond its resources and strength.
He said that in the absence of accommodation facilities, the children with special disabilities in the remote areas of the district were deprived of education and rehabilitation facility whose number runs into hundreds.
The nazim said that the especial children were bestowed with certain faculties and abilities whose are streamlining is possible by the curriculum of especial education which further leads to their rehabilitation thereby making them a helpful and functional member of the society.
“In the societies where the especial children are not imparted modern education, they become an obnoxious burden on their parents, kith and kin and the society at large and unfortunately Pakistan was one of such countries where no substantive and earnest package for rehabilitation is available”, he said.
The district nazim announced a sum of Rs. 0.2 million for the exposure tour of the children of the centre while he also pledged to solve the issue of solving the funds for fuel for the school van used for pick and drop of the children.
Earlier, the district officer (social welfare and especial education) Nusrat Jabeen highlighted the issues of CMR&PHC and said that established about three decades ago, it was still in primary level of especial education which was the only of its kind in the district.
She mentioned the absence of building, lack of transport facilities for the children, vacancy of teachers in large number and acute shortage of development funds.
The principal of the school Rahmat Nawaz Sarwari and Jamila Bibi, the president of parents-teachers association of the centre also highlighted some other issues of the institution while they appreciated its role in the rehabilitation of destitute and especial children despite limited resources.
