History of Special Education in Pakistan

History of Special Education in Pakistan
Special Education Department is a department of Government of Punjab, Pakistan. The

department meets the educational requirements of the disabled children especially, hearing
impaired, visually impaired, mentally retarded and physically disabled
Special education (also known as special needs education, aided education, vocational
education, and limb care authority education) is the practice of educating students with
special educational needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs.
Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored
arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible
settings. These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher
level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be
available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.(Saeed
Ahmad ,Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yousaf )
At the time of independence there were only two institutions, one for the Hearing Impaired at
Lahore and the other for the Blind at Bahawalpur, functioning under the control of Education
Department. A few institutions for the Hearing Impaired children and Visually Impaired
children were also being run by the private sector organizations in the Province. Inspectorate
of Schools for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind was established under the Education Department
during 1962. It was given status of Deaf, Dumb and Blind Wing, headed by a Deputy
Director during 1968. These institutions were nationalized in 1975 under Martial Law
Regulation MLR-118. The Education Department took over these institutions and initiated
various schemes for construction of buildings and to staff them with trained teachers.
Directorate of Special Education Punjab was given the status of an attached department of the
Education Department during 1983-84. Special Education Department was established as an
independent administrative department during 2003-04. Prior to establishment of an

independent department of Special Education Department there were 51 institutions in the
Province with an enrolment of 4265, which has now risen to 248 catering almost 28850
special children, including 20 institutions of special education devolved from Federal
Government as a result of 18th Constitutional Amendment. Presently, special institutions are
functioning at every Tehsil and Town Level. (contributors, 5 September 2015 06:29 UTC)
The importance of education for every person as well as every nation cannot be overemphasized. Its importance is increased to a greater extent in case of persons with disabilities,
as education can help them to adjust in the society. In special education, there are specially
designed instructions to meet the unique needs and abilities of disabled children. Disabled
children have conditions that adversely affect their progress in conventional educational
programmes. Gifted children are those who demonstrate high capacity in intellectual,
creative, or artistic areas, may perform poorly in regular educational programmes. Special
education services can help both disabled and gifted children make progress in education
programmes (1Kafiat Ullah Khan,Ameer Hasan ,Muhammad Irfan Arif, 2013 Vol.3 Issue 2,
ISSN: 2223-4934 E and 2227-393X Print)
United Nations estimates that there are more than 650 million persons in the world with
disabilities. The majority of such persons live in under-developed countries. It is feared that
their number would increase rapidly due to the break out of wars, terrorist attacks and
increasing vulnerability to natural calamities. (Mughees AhmedAbdul Basit KhanFozia
Nasem, Vol. 1, No. 2, Feb 2011)
It was estimated that 2.49% of the population is disabled (National Policy for Persons with
Disabilities, 2002). Of this disabled population, 7.40% are deaf. According to the World
Health Organization (WHO) the general prevalence of disability is 10% which makes
Pakistan seem as if they have relatively fewer people with disability. Many parents tend to
conceal the fact that they a disabled child or deny the presence of disability in their children
(Khatoon, 2003)
The history of Special Education is not very old in Pakistan. At the time of independence
only three schools were working with children with special needs. The first school was
established in 1906 to cater to the educational needs of children with visual impairment. In
1920 the second school was opened for deaf children in Karachi. The parents of deaf children
have formed a society called the Deaf and Dumb Welfare Society which also established a
school named Gung Mahal (Palace of Deaf). At that time some non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) started playing an active role in the education and rehabilitation of the
persons with disabilities (Hameed, 2003).Following independence, in 1959, for the first time
The National Commission presented the education of special people to the government
agenda. Progress was seen between 1983-1992 when the United Nations Organization (UN)
declared this time the decade of disabled persons. The Pakistan National Policy for the
Education and Rehabilitation of the Disabled was formulated in 1985 and improved in1988.
The government of Pakistan approved this policy in October, 2002. In 1985, at the federal
level a separate directorate was established to run model special education schools throughout
the country. In addition the National Institute of Special Education was established to provide
in-service training to teachers of special schools (Khan, 1998). (Bushra Akram*Rukhsana
Bashir)
Today, the Directorate General of Special Education runs 56 institutions focused on the
educational and rehabilitation of children with special needs. At the 35 provincial level, the
Government of Punjab recently established a separate Department of Special Education under
the direct supervision of the Chief Minister and runs 48 special schools. The provincial
government also recently opened 90 special schools at the district level (Bashir, 2005).
34% without education. Children with disabilities constitute a major part of this marginalized
group. It is estimated that six million children have been left out from schools (Pakistan
Ministry of Finance, 2003). Hameed (2003) reported; The reason for such marginalization
include distance from home to school; value of education perceived by the family; gender
discrimination in which the son is preferred over the daughter in going to school; poverty;
disability and lack of the knowledge of parents about disability and how to handle it properly.
(p. 1) ((Ali))
The National Education Policy and Implementation Programme (1979)
This policy was announced in 1979. In its foreword, the main purpose of the new policy was
declared to recommend daring new effort for reconstruction of education in the country.
Following were the major focus areas of the Policy.
Policy Statement
In the policy statement, education, treatment, institutional care and rehabilitation of the
handicapped was stated important moral and religious obligations as a nation. According to
the policy, the handicapped citizen should be so rehabilitated as to enable them to enter the
main stream of national life.
Rationale
The policy document admitted the fact that there were great efforts of the philanthropic
organizations for the progress made in the field of special education in the country. As the
private organizations were limited in resources and ability, hence coordination among similar
organizations was not easy. The institutions for special children established by the
Government were inadequate in terms of teachers, equipment, books and other physical
facilities. The Policy recognized that the Government would be failing in its responsibilities if
it did not assume direct charge of education and rehabilitation of the handicapped. (Saeed
Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yousaf, Volume 1, Issue 2, September 2011)
Programmes
The following programmes were proposed in the policy regarding the education of the
handicapped children:
i. Survey of existing facilities for education of the handicapped in all the four provinces.
ii. Identification of institutions, which had the potential of becoming national institutions.
iii. Development of National Demonstration Pilot Projects for Education of the Disabled and
Handicapped.
iv. Development of projects for identifying needs for strengthening existing institutions for
the disabled.
In the end I would like to share the detailed institutes in Punjab Pakistan.
Sr.No
Name of Institute and Address
Govt. Institute for Visually Impaired Sheranwala Gate, Lahore
Govt. Sunrise Institute for Visually Impaired Ravi road, Lahore.
Govt. Institute for Visually Impaired Girls,128- Khyber Block Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore
Govt. High School of Special Education for Blind, Multan. Shah Rukn-E-Alam Colony,
Multan.
10
Govt High School of Special, Education for V.I D.G. Khan. Z-Block.
Govt. High School of Special Education for Blind Sahiwal. Street #02, Y-Block, Tariq
Bin Zaid Road
Govt. High School of Special Education for Blind Faisalabad. W-Block Medina Town,
Faisalabad.
Govt. High School of Special Education for VIC, Sargodha. Z-Block, Iqbal colony,
Sargodha
Govt. Primary School for Visual Impaired Girls, Sargodha. (Newly Established)
Govt. Secondary School of Special Education for Blind, Bahawalpur. Model Town ABlock, Bahawalpur
11
Govt. Institute for Blind, Gujranwala W-Block, Peoples Colony.
12
Govt. School for the Blind Girls, Rawalpindi Near Furniture Market, Shahmasabad.
13
Govt. Qandeel Secondary School for the Blind, Rawalpindi Kohati Bazar.
14
Govt. Razia Sultan Institute for the Blind, Attock. People Colony.
15
Govt. School for the Blind, Chakwal Tatral Road.
References
(Ali), D. A. (n.d.). Analysis of Vocational Training Facilities in Pakistan and Job
Adjustment Problems of Special People.
1Kafiat Ullah Khan,Ameer Hasan ,Muhammad Irfan Arif. (2013 Vol.3 Issue 2, ISSN:
2223-4934 E and 2227-393X Print). Role of Special Education Schools in
the Adjustment of Special Children in Their Family. International J. Soc. Sci.
& Educatio.
Bushra Akram*Rukhsana Bashir. (n.d.). Special Education and Deaf Children in
Pakistan: . Journal of Elementary Education.
contributors, W. (5 September 2015 06:29 UTC). Special education department
(Punjab, Pakistan)".
Mughees AhmedAbdul Basit KhanFozia Nasem. (Vol. 1, No. 2, Feb 2011).
Policies for Special Persons in Pakistan. Berkeley Journal of Social Sciences
.
Saeed Ahmad ,Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yousaf . (n.d.). SPECIAL EDUCATION IN
PAKISTAN: IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF. Academic Research International .
Saeed Ahmad, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yousaf. (Volume 1, Issue 2, September 2011).
SPECIAL EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN: IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL
POLICIES AND PLANS . Academic Research International .

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History of Special Education in Pakistan

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History of Special Education in Pakistan

Special Education Department is a department of Government of Punjab, Pakistan. The

independent administrative department during 2003-04. Prior to establishment of an

Name of Institute and Address

Govt. Institute for Visually Impaired Sheranwala Gate, Lahore

Govt. Sunrise Institute for Visually Impaired Ravi road, Lahore.

Govt. Institute for Blind, Gujranwala W-Block, Peoples Colony.

Govt. School for the Blind, Chakwal Tatral Road.

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