Pakistan intends to increase school enrollment over time to boost literacy and skilled labor. The government has undertaken social protection policies like free education for all children aged 5 to 16 and a female-targeted cash transfer program to benefit more children, especially girls, in schools. Social protection programs support girls' education and other excluded groups, but cognitively and intellectually challenged youngsters need education awareness too. Many disabled children in Pakistan face challenges in education and work, leading to poverty and social marginalization.

Knowing cognitive and intellectual impairment categories like blindness, dyslexia, autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, ADHD, and others is crucial.

Many disabled students drop out of normal schools because they aren't accommodated. Some are never enrolled in school. These obstacles prevent people from attaining their greatest potential as children and adults.

Despite discrimination in formal education, Pakistan has created unique programs to teach disabled children, such as the Punjab Unique Education Program and the Center for Autism Rehabilitation and Training.

The Punjab Special Education Program

The Punjab Government created the Special Education Department in 2003 and has since built 288 special education centers, primary and secondary schools, and vocational institutes across the province. Since the program began, 33,000 students have enrolled, although male pupils have outnumbered females.

1. Free education
2. Free meal
3. Special textbooks
4. Buses to pick up and drop off students
5. Monthly stipends
6. Skill development and training courses

Punjab gives disabled students a Rs 800 monthly stipend and a health card to cover medical costs. These pupils received textbooks and braille books from the government, which also gave Rs 10 million in books to 147 special education institutes.

The institutions educate and rehabilitate students. Rehabilitation services include physiotherapy, speech therapy, and play therapy. These institutions teach students work skills through forensic technology and computer technology courses.

The Punjab Special Education Policy was adopted in 2019 to increase special education institutions in the province. It also sought to improve child disability identification. The policy divides disability into mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Its purpose is to integrate children with mild to moderate disabilities into mainstream education while offering specialized institutions for severe and profound disabilities.

The Special Education Department shares student successes on social media. In turn, parents with more special needs may enroll their children in these schools to prepare them for a productive society. Punjab's example should inspire other provinces to educate these children.

C-ART Center for Autism Rehabilitation and Training

Pakistan has many autistic people. Due to stigma and lack of knowledge, many affected children are never diagnosed, but the government and NGOs are finding ways to help them by creating programs and specialized treatment centers.

C-ART is an example. According to an email discussion with C-ART's Chief Financial Officer, Sindh's government developed a huge South-Asian public institution that provides free education to autistic children in Karachi and Hyderabad. It aims to build more provincial institutions. The Center of Autism Rehabilitation and Training (C-ART) offers behavioral therapy, special education, speech, occupational, and skill development. The institutions provide these kids with vocational skills to enter the workforce. According to Pak Exclusive TV, some parents stated that their children could not converse before school. These children learned independence after entering the facility.

Technology Intervention

Even though these programs strive to educate impaired children, they cannot serve the full disabled population of the country. Rural and isolated children have trouble accessing special needs programs because most are in cities. Unfortunately, a lack of facilities and programs prevents many disabled children in rural and isolated areas from attending school.

Technology offers these kids hope. Technological assistance may help impaired youngsters in rural areas learn. Special education in remote locations can be successful with the laptop program. The government and NGOs can give these students laptops for online study.

Khan Academy, an American non-profit, creates free English-language educational video lessons and apps to enable primary and secondary students worldwide to learn different disciplines. Only Urdu primary math is available; hence, the online application has some limitations. Urdu textbooks for topics other than math are unavailable to primary school children.

Children with special needs will benefit from similar software and an online video service in Urdu and other Pakistani languages, as many Pakistanis don't speak English. These youngsters can learn Urdu and other regional Pakistani languages at their own pace using digital technology platforms for elementary and secondary education.

Looking ahead: Hope 

Although the country has made progress in implementing educational programs and services for disadvantaged students, special education awareness remains low. Many teachers and administrators are unprepared to recognize special needs children, especially in early school. Due to special education illiteracy, many teachers cannot advise parents on alternative ways to support these children. Parents of disabled children feel despondent.

Unfortunately, few individuals know about the country's special education initiatives. Special needs programs must be known by educators and doctors. Teachers, doctors, and psychiatrists can inform parents of alternative special education programs in Pakistan as they learn more.

Many of these parents may find optimism in providing disabled children with learning tools and training. Children with disabilities will acquire confidence and feel empowered through education, which will boost their prospects of finding jobs and higher earnings in the future rather than feeling hopeless in their home country.