ISLAMABAD: First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi called for enhancing socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) by equipping them with marketable skills and providing them job opportunities as per their skills and abilities in government and private sectors. Addressing certificate and diploma distribution ceremony to students with different abilities here at National Training Centre for Special Persons (NTCSP) where Director General Special Education Azhar Sajjad, representatives of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Christopher Blind Mission, differently-abled people, parents and teachers of NTCSP participated she urged private sector to come forward and employ PWDs in greater numbers as these people were skilled, hard-working and feedback from their employers had been satisfactory. She termed fulfillment of job quota for PWDs in public and private sectors as essential for enhanced economic integration of PWDs. First Lady appreciated NTCSP and Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry for collaborating to provide jobs to 104 PWDs in different sectors of economy. She lauded Christopher Blind Mission for providing sewing and mobile repairing kits to 25 PWDs and enabling them to become self-employed.

She called upon other organisations, especially chambers of commerce and industry of country and welfare organisations to expand their efforts for welfare and financial empowerment of PWDs.

Begum Samina Alvi underscored need to enhance coordination among federal and provincial level departments to learn from each other’s best practices, expertise, benefit from training facilities and to make coordinated efforts for socio-economic inclusion and empowerment of PWDs. She added that teachers of government and private schools should be trained in greater numbers to make schools inclusive and friendly for PWDs. She said that online trainings to school teachers could be provided to improve their capacity to impart education and skills to students with disabilities.

First Lady was briefed by Azhar Sajjad about National Training Centre for Special Persons and facilities being provided to students with disabilities.

He stated that 1,715 students with different abilities were currently enrolled in different government and private schools in Islamabad, adding that NTCSP had so far trained 850 teachers to equip them with skills to provide education to SDAs. First Lady visited different labs and training facilities and interacted with SDAs.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 28 2023

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