The Disabled Welfare Department Is an Independent Department Since

707

37 (b). DISABLED WELFARE DEPARTMENT

The Disabled Welfare Department is an independent department since

1983. Objectives are to implement Educational programs through residential

schools, hostels and by sanctioning scholarships, to endeavor for social justice

in the filed of development and to ameliorate the economic and social status

of disabled

etc. The department sanctions various scholarships viz.,

scholarships to students studying 1-8

class, 9

and above, mentally retarded

children, research scholars etc. There are 40 hostels, 10 special schools for

visually disabled persons, 11 residential schools for disabled and a Junior

college for hearing handicapped at Bapatla and Mahaboobnagar.

Commissioner is the head of the office and is assisted by Deputy Directors,

Assistant Directors and other officers and staff. In the districts, the unit office

is headed by Assistant Director. The district officers provide scholarships to

the disabled students, undertake economic rehabilitation activities through

self employment scheme and provide aids and appliances as part of

rehabilitation programme of the disabled.

The following are the requests seeking an increase in the existing

Allowances and also other benefits.

The Conveyance Allowance of Rs.650 P.M. now admissibl to

the Physically Handicapped be enhanced to Rs.1300/ Rs.1500/

Rs.2000/- or 20% of basic pay due to increase in cost of petrol

etc.

Conveyance Allowance now allowed to Orthopedically

Handicapped employees be extended to deaf and dumb

employees also.

Sanction of a monthly medical allowance of 5% of basic pay or

Rs.750 p.m.

Sanction of an allowance of Rs. 500/- p.m. for maintenance of

Prothetic Aids, Crutches and Medicines etc.

Special Pays and other Allowances:

Enhancement of Readers Allowance to Rs.1000 to Secondary

Grade and including Craft Instructors, Rs.1250 to School

Assistants and Rs.1500 to Junior Lecturers and above.

Enhancement of Special pay to those who are working as

Teachers in Defective Children Schools. The enhancement be

made at the rate of

Rs. 200/- p.m. to Secondary Grade

Teachers, Language Teachers Gr. II and Technical Teachers Gr.

708

I, Rs.250/- p.m. to School Assistants and Rs.130/- to Technical

Teachers.

Enhancement of Special Allowance without any disparity

between Government and Aided Schools.

Sanction of Assistant Allowance of Rs.500/- p.m.

Payment of Conveyance allowance and readers allowance for

the entire year on par with non vacation employees.

10.

Sanction of Special Allowance per month to the employees who

are having mentally retarded children.

Other Concessions :

11.

Reservation for physically handicapped employees in promotion

also as in the case of SC and ST employees.

12.

Providing 30% concession in APSRTC buses.

13.

Provide latest technology to blind employees i.e. screen reading

software built in computers and give special training to blind

employees how to use latest technology.

14.

Exemption from

passing departmental tests for special

promotion post scale I & II under automatic advancement

scheme.

15.

Sanction of Special leave of 3 years with salary to the

employees who are having mentally retarded children towards

their medical needs.

16.

Priority in transfers for employees who have mentally retarded

children.

17.

Enhancement of 10 days Casual Leave for visually handicapped

teachers.

Pension and Pensionery Benefits :

18.

Sanction of Housing Loans on priority basis.

19.

Sanction of 3 wheeler loan with subsidy to Physically

Handicapped employees.

709

20.

Sanction of Education Loan of Rs.15000/- for every year to

Disabled employees.

21.

Sanction of full pensionery benefits irrespective of length of

service.

22.

Increase their Gratuity for their peaceful retire life of blind

employees.

23.

Enhancement of superannuation age by 2 or 3 years to disabled

employees as is allowed by Government of Punjab and Haryana

24.

Designing new insurance scheme to the disabled employees.

The above requests are dealt with in the relevant chapters in Volume-I

of the report.

The request for the pay scales are examined below:

SGB Teacher

: Rs.6195-14175

No. of Posts

: 34

Trained Graduate Teacher

Rs.8385-19125

No. of Posts

: 85

Post Graduate Teacher

Rs.9285-21550

No. of Posts

: 15

Principal

: Rs.11755-26300

No. of Posts

It is represented that the Government of Andhra Pradesh have started

Residential Schools for the Visually and Hearing Handicapped children in the

year 1987. These residential schools have been administered by

Commissionerate for Disabled Welfare Department under the Administrative

control of Women Development and Child Welfare Department. Teaching to

hearing handicapped is more complicated than to normal children and the

teachers should have service motive, commitment in discharging their duties.

Ever since the schools came into existence, all categories of Teachers were

assigned lower pay scales. They have therefore requested for sanction of the

following pay scales and special pays.

710

Pay Scales

assigned in

RPS-2005

Pay Scales

requested

Special Pay

sanctioned

in RPS-05

Special

Pay

requested

Category

Rs.

SGB Teacher

6195-14175

6505-15025 100

1975

Speech

Therapist

6195-14175 8815-20300 65

2600

PET/Craft

Teacher /

Drawing

Teacher

6195-14175 6505-15025 65

1975

Trained

Graduate

Teacher

8385-19125 8815-20300 125

2600

Post Graduate

Teacher

9285-21550 10285-24200

50 3000

Principal 11755-26300 12385-27750

50 5200

Another request is made for the following pay scales and special pays,

based on the recommendations of Committee to the Parliament.

Pay Scales

requested

Special Pay

sanctioned in

RPS-05

Category

Rs.

SGB Teacher

9195-16945

100

Trained Graduate

Teacher

11385-

20905 125

Post Graduate Teacher

12285-22755

150

Principal 14715-38150 150

Speech Therapist

11385-20905

PET/Craft Teacher

/Drawing Teacher

9195-16945 65

The duties of Teachers working in Residential Schools for hearing

handicapped are arduous in nature. They are not having promotional avenues,

like their counter parts in other posts and also other ministerial staff. The

category of Speech Therapists are also attending to academic duties.

They have therefore requested for awarding 3 Increments or next

higher scales to the residential schools or separate special scales for hearing

handicapped and visually handicapped schools staff.

The other plea of the Associations is that Special Teachers such as

PET, MOTT, Music and Craft Teachers have not been sanctioned special

711

pays. Hence a request is made for special pays along with other teachers i.e.

Principal, Post Graduate Teachers (PGT), Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT),

Secondary Grade Basic Training Teacher (SGBT).

The post of Principal is filled by direct recruitment (50%) and one

must posses Master’s Degree in any subject with a degree in Education and

must have undergone training in the Education of Visually Handicapped

Hearing Handicapped from any recognized Institution for a period of one year

or an equivalent recognized qualification. This category is also filled in by

promotion from among qualified and eligible Trained Graduate Teachers

(50%) Working in Residential Schools for Visually Handicapped or Hearing

Handicapped or Headmaster. This category forms the feeder category to the

category of Deputy Director (Rs.12385-27750).

The category of Trained Graduate Teacher is filled by direct

recruitment or by promotion from the category of S.G.B.T. Teachers. One

must have a Bachelor’s Degree in any subject and a Bachelor’s degree in

Education with one year Teacher Training Certificate in teaching the Visually

Handicapped / Hearing Handicapped children from a recognized Institution or

any other equivalent qualification.

The category of SGBT Teacher is filled by direct recruitment and one

must have passed Intermediate Examination with one year training in teaching

the visually handicapped / hearing handicapped from any recognized

institution or any other equivalent qualification.

No rules have been framed so far for the post of Post Graduate

Teacher.

The above categories are assigned scales from 1986 onwards as

indicated in the statement below:

1986 1993 1999

Category

Rs.

SGB Teacher

1010-1800

2195-4560 4190-8700

Trained Graduate

Teacher

--- 2930-5960 5640-11300

Post Graduate Teacher

--- 3110-6380 5980-12100

Principal --- 4140-8140 7900-15475

The main request is to assign higher scale of pay than the scales

assigned to the teachers working in the residential schools. The Commission

noticed that the teachers working in the residential schools are assigned scales

two stages above the existing scale of pay assigned to the teachers in the

School Education Department. Keeping in view the approach outlined

712

towards teaching Community in Volume-I, the Commission has improved the

scales of teachers across the board. In respect of schools under Disabled

Welfare Department, the teachers are having special pay in addition to the

higher scales assigned to them. The Commission has separately recommended

an improvement in the special pays to the teachers working in the schools

under the control of Disabled Welfare Department in view of the arduous

nature of work. The Commission therefore, feels that the special pay coupled

with the existing dispensation of teachers in residential schools having scales

two stages beyond the scales recommended to the corresponding categories in

the School Education Department is more than adequate. Accordingly, the

Commission recommends the following scales to the categories of teachers

working in schools under Disabled Welfare Department mentioned below.

------

Recommended Scale

Proposed Scales

Category

for the Teachers in

for the Teachers

School Education Dept.

in Disabled

Welfare Department

Rs.

------

SGBT/ Speech Therapist/

Rs.10900-31550 Rs.11860-34050

Physical Education Teacher

Corresponding to

/ Craft Teacher/

Rs.6195-14175 Rs.6675-15500

Drawing Teacher

(two stages above)

Trained Graduate Teacher

Rs.14860-39540 Rs.16150-42590

Corresponding to

Rs.8385-19125 Rs.9285-21550

(two stage above)

Post Graduate Teacher

Rs.16150-42590 Rs.18030-43630

Corresponding to

Rs.9285-21550 Rs.10285-24200

(one stage above)

Principal - Rs.20680-46960 Rs.21820-48160

Corresponding to

Rs.11755-26300 Rs.12385-27750

(one stage above)

------