President calls for career counselling of special persons

Attends meeting seeking r a standardised and consistent system of classifying disabilities

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday called for providing career counselling to persons with disabilities (PWDs) so that they could find jobs as per their ability and skills.

He stressed the need for constituting a committee at the highest level by involving the private sector and experts for the career guidance of PWDs and recommending jobs for them in accordance with their skills and ability.

The president expressed these views during a meeting regarding the classification and severity of disabilities at the President’s House. The meeting was attended by officials of the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, the Council on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM).

The president highlighted the need for a standardised and consistent system of classifying disabilities to identify the needs of persons with disabilities, besides ensuring the provision of appropriate support and services to PWDs. He urged the need for enhancing collaboration among the relevant ministries and departments of the federal and provincial governments to develop a disability classification system that would help in identifying the needs of PWDs and addressing the challenges being faced by them.

Director General Social Welfare of the Ministry of Human Rights Abdul Sattar gave a presentation on the framework for the classification of disability/severity of the disability. He highlighted the steps taken for the welfare of PWDs and added that the ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2020 had been promulgated to promote and protect the rights of PWDs.

He briefed that the medical assessment board held its meetings twice a month in the CRPD secretariat and issued certificates on the same day to eligible PWDs.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2023.