Abstract:
Attainment of education does not only mean bookish knowledge, but education which completes the concept of all-round development is education. The main objective of education is to develop the ability of boys/girls to adapt to the circumstances. With this objective in mind, an integrated education scheme for disabled children has been implemented to develop self-reliance and equality among disabled children. Through this scheme, efforts are being made to include all types of disabled boys/girls in the main stream of education. Among various types of disabilities, blindness is also a disability. According to the Kothari Commission (644), according to a survey report conducted by the Ministry of Health and also based on the estimates of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind, London, there are approximately four million blind people in our country, which includes blind children of school going age. The number is four lakhs. According to Amat Prabhat newspaper of 13 May 1986, there are 42 million blind people in the world, out of which 12 million blind people are in India alone, thus one fourth of the world's blind people are in India alone.
There was a time when our society's attitude towards the blind was very cruel, like in Spartan times, parents used to leave their blind children to die of hunger. With the advent of awareness over time, the blind started being considered a part of the society and they started being given shelter. At these shelters they were given treatment, education, food and protection. This changed outlook of the society helped the blind to showcase the amazing potential hidden within them not only in the field of education but also in other fields. These special achievements of the blind further developed the society's charitable attitude towards the blind. As a result, the establishment of residential and public schools started, the first school for blind children was opened in 1784 and the achievements of these led to the birth of a general education system with normal children. Many blind people like Helen Culler and Louis Bell presented unique examples of example and proved that if given proper opportunity then blind children can not only get education like normal children but can also enjoy various sports. The trend of development of blind people is similar to that of normal children and they progress like normal children.