Bhubaneswar: The Department of Social Security and Empowerment of PwDs (SSEPD) Tuesday signed two MoUs with an aim for inclusive growth of students with disabilities. The MoUs were signed in presence of SSEPD Minister Nityananda Gond and Principal Secretary Bishnupada Sethi here. Director Niyati Patnaik, Additional Secretaries SK Pradhan and D Routray of SSEPD department and Rabindra Singh, chief executive officer and Salini Khanna, chairperson were signatories in the MoU.
Sethi said that the state government is taking various initiatives to ensure learning and skill training for the disabled population of Odisha. “The department has roped in Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata and Skill Council for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) for skill development of students with disabilities and to prepare them with employability, officials said. “SCPD will provide skill training for one year to students with disabilities in different trades such as fashion designing, automotive, hotel management, tourism and hospitality, security services, hospital services and other private jobs,” they said.
C-DAC will provide digital voice recorders, desktops, and laptops with required software to empower the students in computer knowledge, they added.
Similarly, another MoU was signed with CDAC to provide computer education for visually challenged students. Ritesh Mukharjee, Scientist (F), Associate Director, Kunal Chandra, Scientist (E) Joint Director and Soma Khan, Scientist (E) Joint Director were signatories on behalf of C-DAC. The department said about 500 students and teachers will be trained for eighteen months in the first phase. They will be imparted various basic computing knowledge, it said.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
