PRASHAST: Ministry of Education trains 72 lakh teachers to screen students for disabilities

The Ministry of Education has trained 72 lakh teachers across 60,000 schools to use a new digital screening tool designed to spot disabilities in pupils.

The tool, known as PRASHAST, is a school-based digital checklist. It helps school staff recognise signs of the 21 disability conditions recognised under India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Many of these conditions lack obvious physical symptoms, making them difficult for schools to identify without a structured system.

According to a senior Ministry official, the initiative aims to catch these conditions early. By relying on a teacher's daily observations rather than immediate clinical expertise, the tool is designed to prevent children with conditions like autism or specific learning difficulties from being mislabelled or falling through the cracks.

How the PRASHAST screening works

The screening is split into two parts. First, regular classroom teachers use a checklist to note observable behaviours during daily school life. This includes monitoring physical coordination, vision, hearing, and speech.

For example, teachers look for signs like a student holding a book unusually close or far away, writing letters in reverse, struggling to read a line on a blackboard, or experiencing unexplained, excessive bleeding from minor cuts.

Once a teacher flags a potential concern, the second part of the tool is handed over to special educators. These specialists validate the initial observations and categorise the suspected disability—which can range from locomotor issues and cerebral palsy to low vision, ADHD, and blood disorders like thalassemia. They then set up referrals for official medical assessments.

Linking data to student aid

The initiative does not end with a diagnosis. The findings from PRASHAST will be linked directly to applications for disability certificates and Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards, which pupils need to access state concessions and exam accommodations.

The data will also feed into the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's PM DAKSH scheme, which offers free skill training and job placements, as well as the National Scholarship Portal.

Under the Ministry's schedule, schools were expected to complete teacher training between July and September before beginning the actual screening. Intervention camps for treatment are planned for the end of October, with final student progress evaluations set to wrap up by December.

Because inclusive education extends beyond the classroom, the training module is available in 12 Indian languages and has been rolled out to other school staff. Principal deans, wardens, administrative clerks, receptionists, and school bus drivers are all being sensitised to ensure that every adult a child interacts with throughout the school day understands their needs.