Delhi govt will test 35,000 students for learning disabilities

The government recently launched a special campaign to improve reading levels among students in Classes 6, 7 and 8. Officials said their month-long ‘Every Child Can Read’ campaign, which concluded on November 14, found that over a lakh students progressed and were able to read their textbooks.

Around 35,000 students in Delhi government schools will be tested for learning disabilities and provided with special learning support as these students can only identify alphabets despite having cleared Class 5.

Officials said their month-long ‘Every Child Can Read’ campaign, which concluded on November 14, found that over a lakh students progressed and were able to read their textbooks.

The government recently launched a special campaign to improve reading levels among students in Classes 6, 7 and 8. Officials said their month-long ‘Every Child Can Read’ campaign, which concluded on November 14, found that over a lakh students progressed and were able to read their textbooks.

In an assessment done in July the government found that there are about 6.2 lakh students in these classes, out of which around 3.5 lakh could not read their own textbooks.

“After our campaign one lakh students from the 3.5 lakh could read. But we also found that around 35,000 students did not show any progress. Maybe there is some learning disability among these students and the government wants to provide special assistance to them,” said an official.

“The students will be administered screening tests by special education teachers and counsellors to identify their disabilities. Special education teachers and counsellors will be allotted groups of children for specialised support, based on the specific learning disability of the students,” officials said.

The statement also said that a control unit would be set up in the directorate of education to monitor the ongoing implementation of the project.

“When we launched the campaign, the government was serious about reaching out to every child in our schools. Project Smile will ensure that no child will be left behind as a result of their learning disability,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said in the release.