NCERT books to have chapter on athletes with disabilities from next academic session

Recently a meeting was held between the top bureaucrats of the ministry of social justice and empowerment (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities), ministry of human resource development (HRD), and the officials of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), and Special Olympic Bharat (SOB) regarding the inclusion of a chapter on athletes with disabilities in the NCERT textbooks from the 2019-20 academic session.

This initiative has been taken up to make students aware of the different schemes the government provides to the people with disabilities in sporting activities.

"One chapter on the sports activities and opportunities available under various schemes of the Government of India for persons with disabilities may be incorporated in the school syllabus. The 'Team Division' of the SAI will prepare the draft study material in consultation with concerned federations which will be forwarded to the HRD ministry through a letter from secretary sports Rahul Bhatnagar," say the minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with TOI.

"It's an important step towards educating the society about the various welfare schemes available to the differently-abled people in the sports ecosystem," an official told TOI.