NT Reporter
Panaji
The Goa government has identified around 800 schools, five government colleges and 11 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for retrofitting work under a Rs 9 crore budget aimed at making these institutes accessible for persons with disabilities.
Senior officials at the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities said that as part of the accessibility improvement programme, around 800 government and aided schools across the state have been audited and identified to ensure they are accessible for students with disabilities wherever required.
In the first phase, the Public Works Department (PWD), which serves as the nodal department for accessibility-related works, will take up retrofitting in 235 schools, with the remaining schools to be covered later.
Additionally, the list of the five identified government colleges has been shared with the Directorate of Higher Education for further action, while the skill development department is expected to handle the accessibility-related work for the 11 identified ITIs.
Officials said the Rs 9 crore fund allocated this year is provided annually and used exclusively for accessibility improvements, with each concerned department taking responsibility for retrofitting its institutions step-by-step.
Apart from educational institutions, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities has also identified around 24 public buildings in North and South Goa for accessibility improvements.
The PWD has already floated tenders for this work. Officials in the department said a regular follow-up is done on the progress with the PWD, noting that the work has continued without interruption since most of it involves internal changes to old buildings.
Currently, one of the projects in South Goa has reached around 70% completion, while another work order was issued in February and will take more time, the officials said. They said that the construction of accessible washrooms may also require additional time.
