Govt issues allowance for disabled students

The government has agreed to provide disabled students with a monthly allowance as part of efforts to encourage them to attend school, according to a finance official.

Ministry of Finance Office Deputy Head Sila Viengkeo confirmed on Wednesday the ministry would deliver the first allowances to disabled students nationwide this month.

“The government has sent us an order to allocate a monthly allowance for disabled students beginning this fiscal year,” he told Vientiane Times. The 2008/2009 fiscal year started yesterday.

Mr Sila said disabled students who lived in school dormitories would receive a monthly allowance of 90,000 kip while those who still lived with their parents would receive a monthly allowance of 45,000 kip.

He said disabled people who did not attend school would not receive an allowance, saying if they needed the money they should attend school.

He said the government had also agreed to provide a monthly allowance for students attending various ethnic schools around the country.

These students will receive a monthly allowance of 200,000 kip while those who attend schools for talented children in Vientiane will receive 250,000 kip a month.

Mr Sila said the government's decision to provide disabled and ethnic students with an allowance would encourage disadvantaged people to attend schools, in the hope they would grow up with sufficient skills to be self-reliant in the future.

He also said the allowances would help parents to care for their disabled children.

National Rehabilitation Centre Deputy Director Dr Souphan Inthirath said he was happy to learn of the government's decision to issue the allowances.

“We have been asking the government to help disabled people for many years, but in the past there was no money available for us. Now that money has been made available I am very happy,” he told Vientiane Times, adding that the government had always shown concern over issues involving the disabled community.

He said the allowances would encourage parents to send their disabled children to school, which was one of the main conditions for the government to achieve its goal of education for all.

If disabled people remained illiterate, the government could not say it had achieved this goal.

Dr Souphan said the promotion of education for disabled people would provide them with work skills so they could improve their living conditions.

“People with different disabilities have special talents,” he said.

“A person with disabled legs cannot walk but may have a special talent for computer skills. Such people can spend long hours in an office, perhaps more so than an able-bodied person.”

Dr Souphan said about 1.25 percent of the Lao population was officially classified as disabled.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update October 3 , 2008)