BHUBANESWAR: Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has called on BJP MPs from Odisha to spearhead efforts to promote inclusive education by ensuring the adoption of the PRASHAST screening tool for early identification of children with learning disabilities in the state.
At a meeting with the party MPs in his Parliament chamber on Wednesday, Pradhan discussed key development issues concerning Odisha, with a special focus on improving educational support for children with learning disabilities.
The minister said the Centre is prioritising early identification of children facing learning challenges through the PRASHAST (Pre-Assessment Holistic Screening Tool) app, developed by the Ministry of Education through NCERT under the Samagra Shiksha programme.
“Our primary goal is to identify children struggling at the initial stage, teach them through appropriate methods, and improve their educational outcomes,” Pradhan said, adding that the initiative is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to integrate children with different abilities into mainstream education.
The app enables schools to screen children for 21 disability conditions recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Teachers conduct the initial screening, which is subsequently validated by special educators to facilitate access to certification, educational concessions and examination accommodations through the Unique Disability ID (UDID) system.
According to Pradhan, the MPs agreed to launch awareness campaigns in their respective constituencies to encourage schools to adopt the screening tool and strengthen inclusive education at the grassroots level. The meeting was attended by 11 Lok Sabha MPs and three Rajya Sabha members from the state including state BJP president Manmohan Samal.