A.P. launches mandatory disability screening for all students

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The State Project Director (SPD) of Samagra Shiksha, B. Srinivasa Rao, on Wednesday announced that all students studying in government, local body, aided and private schools across Andhra Pradesh will undergo mandatory screening through ‘Prashast 2.0’, an upgraded app for screening 21 types of disabilities in children.

Mr. Rao said the initiative was being implemented for the academic year 2026–27 as per the directions of the Central Ministry of Education to facilitate early identification of Children with Special Needs (CwSN) and ensure that they receive appropriate educational support and interventions.

The SPD said that Prashast 2.0 had been integrated with UDISE+, making the screening, monitoring and identification process more transparent and systematic. Headmasters and Principals had been instructed to personally supervise the screening process and ensure that no student enrolled in their institution was left out, thereby achieving 100% screening coverage.

Headmasters, teachers, Special Education School Assistants and IERPs working in Bhavita Centres across all school managements have been asked to complete registration and activation on the Prashast app. All class teachers must complete Part-1 screening for every student in their classes and based on the screening results, Special Educators and Bhavita Centre staff would conduct Part-2 screening wherever required, following the app guidelines.

District Educational Officers and Additional Project Coordinators have been directed to organise awareness and training programmes at the district level for teachers, special educators and other stakeholders on the effective use of the app.

Mr. Rao said that according to the timeline decided for the implementation of the drive, institutional/Admin logins by headmasters and principals should be created and activated during June-July, 2026, mapping and assignment process by class teachers and special educators would be done in August, completion of Part-I screening for all student