BUDS Schools are free and open special schools for mentally challenged children of poor families. There are 62 BUDS Schools in the State, all owned and managed by the local government institutions under the support and guidance of Kudumbashree Mission and the community structure.
BUDS Schools are set up and run according to the guidelines issued by the Government of Kerala.
BUDS School Highlights
- BUDS Schools are registered with the Department of Education of the Government of Kerala
- BUDS Schools are eligible for special grants through the Department of Education
- BUDS school teachers undergo special training programmes; manuals are developed for teacher training
- Different departments offer financial assistance to BUDS Schools
- BUDS School children are entitled to special healthcare package
- Regular monitoring of schools by teams of experts and doctors
- Teachers, parents, and members of the LSG committee get training on management of BUDS Schools
- Vehicles for transportation of children are arranged with the support of Social Security Mission
- School level management committee and district level advisory committee are set up for monitoring
- Parent education programmes are conducted
- BUDS schools receive Plan fund support
- LSGs can use maintenance grant for BUDS School
Parents having a child with special needs experience a variety of stressors and stress reactions related to the child’s disability. Parents are known to get impacted in many ways because of having a child with special needs. Their social life is likely to be affected, recreational and leisure activities take a beating, and interpersonal relations with family members may worsen. In most cases, mothers are more affected; poverty adds a new dimension to the stresses faced by such families. BUDS School Project envisages addressing the emotional and economic hardships of poor families with children having special needs.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights, and Full Participation) Act 1955 had pronounced the steps to be taken by appropriate governments for the prevention of occurrence of disabilities, to provide education to children with disabilities, to make schemes and norms for non-formal education, and to ensure research and development in assistive devices and teaching aids. The Act also required the governments to set up teacher training institutions for training special teachers for schools of children with disabilities, and to prepare a comprehensive education scheme providing for essential requirements such as transportation, and supply of books.