Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zobaida Jalal on Monday said the government was making efforts to support the rights of persons with disabilities. Addressing a workshop for persons with disabilities, she said the government has ratified several international conventions and promulgated the National Policy in 2002. She added the government has begun revising the ordinance on employment, which would raise the employment quota for persons with disabilities to two per cent to ensure more jobs opportunities.
"We have taken initiative to develop 'inclusive education' pilots to mainstream children with mild to moderate disabilities to ensure achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MGDs) of "education for all," she added.
The minister said the government was interacting with Unicef, Unescap, the World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to seek their support and cooperation in developing programmes to empower persons with disabilities.
"An infrastructure for Special Education and Training was established in Pakistan in the 1980s which far exceeds that of most developing countries." Zobaida Jalal further said her ministry's goal was simple - to finalise the National Plan of Action to support the 2002 Policy for Persons with Disabilities to ensure its effective implementation.
"We must shift the view of treating 'disability' as a welfare issue, and work together to empower affected persons and their families to support their genuine social and economic participation," she added.
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