MBBS syllabus: government urged to include 'learning disabilities' as subject

General Secretary Foundation for Rehabilitation & Education of Special Children (Fresh), Ashba Kamran has urged the government to include the subject of Learning Disabilities in MBBS syllabus to ensure grass-root level awareness on Education with Special Needs.
In a statement, here on Monday, she said that such grass-root level awareness is critical as lack of awareness about LD has meant that even prestigious schools tend to classify LD-affected students as slow learners.
Mrs Kamran pointed out that Pakistan's neighbouring country has already taken the initiative of incorporating LD in the MBBS syllabus in some of its states. Not only this, she added, international LD experts are being invited in India to interact with city doctors, parents and teachers to make them more aware. She said that around three to seven percent of world population suffers from LD, which is likely to be overcome if detected at an appropriate time.
Secretary Fresh said Fresh has been championing cause of LD for several years, expanding its operations to Sargodha and Rawalpindi after securing success in Lahore. She said the foundation has plans to set up a school for LD-affected children in Karachi as well and efforts are underway to materialise it in near future.
Mrs Kamran said the issue of LD can not be made public until and unless big corporate entities and government functionaries come forward to own it and support the NGOs working on this problem on ground. She said that an early remedial action, to help learners with special needs, is very crucial and proactive participation of influential one is needed badly.
She pointed out that the business giant in India like Tata are supporting the cause since several years and it is because of its efforts that that the LD was included in the MBBS syllabus last year in the state of Maharashtra. Educational authorities are now taking the initiative to enhance B.Ed. syllabus as well, she said adding similar efforts are on in Kolkata too.
She said the volunteers from Fresh have recently strategised to make presentations on LD in different schools. She urged the government to organise such presentations in public schools as well and assured of all kind of help to the government in this regard. She emphasised that LD need not be an impediment to real-life achievements, as many successful persons across the world have been facing dyslexic at initial stage of their life.