Rehabilitation Council of India

The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) is the apex government body, set up under an Act of Parliament, to regulate training programmes and courses targeted at disabled, disadvantaged, and special education requirement communities. It is the only statutory council in India that is required to maintain the Central Rehabilitation Register which mainly documents details of all qualified professionals who operate and deliver training and educational programmes for the targeted communities [1]. In the year 2000, the Rehabilitation Council of India (Amendment) Act, 2000, was introduced and notified consequently by the government of India. The amendment brought definitions and discussions provided within the earlier Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, under the ambit of a larger act, namely, Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

Background

The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) was set up as a registered society in 1986. On September, 1992 the RCI Act was enacted by Parliament and it became a Statutory Body on 22 June 1993. The Act was amended by Parliament in 2000 to make it more broad-based. The mandate given to RCI is to regulate and monitor services given to persons with disability, to standardise syllabi and to maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register of all qualified professionals and personnel working in the field of Rehabilitation and Special Education. The Act also prescribes punitive action against unqualified persons delivering services to persons with disability.

Professionals who can apply for RCI accreditation

As per RCI, the following categories of professionals can apply for RCI's accreditation process. (To apply, the requirement is specifically that the professionals be providing services targeted towards communities for which RCI has been set up) [2][3]:

• Prosthetists and Orthotists
• Audiologists and Speech Therapists
• Clinical Psychologists
• Rehabilitation Counsellors, Administrators
• Rehabilitation Workshop Managers
• Rehabilitation Psychologists
• Rehabilitation Social Workers
• Rehabilitation Practitioners in Mental Retardation
• Speech Pathologists
• Special Teachers for Educating and Training the Handicapped
• Vocational Counsellors, Employment Officers and Placement Officers
• Multi-purpose Rehabilitation Therapists, Technicians
• Orientation and Mobility Specialists
• Community Based Rehabilitation Professionals
• Hearing and Ear Mould Technicians
• Rehabilitation Engineers and Technicians

The council has reportedly registered around 12,000 such professionals across India.

Objectives of RCI

1. To regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.
2. To bring about standardization of training courses for professionals dealing with persons with disabilities.
3. To prescribe minimum standards of education and training of various categories of professionals/ personnel dealing with people with disabilities.
4. To regulate these standards in all training institutions uniformly throughout the country.
5. To recognize institutions/ organizations/ universities running master's degree/ bachelor's degree/ P.G. Diploma/ Diploma/ Certificate courses in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.
6. To recognize degree/diploma/certificate awarded by foreign universities/ institutions on reciprocal basis.
7. To promote research in Rehabilitation and Special Education.
8. To maintain Central Rehabilitation Register for registration of professionals/ personnel.
9. To collect information on a regular basis on education and training in the field of rehabilitation of people with disabilities from institutions in India and abroad
10. To encourage continuing education in the field of rehabilitation and special education by way of collaboration with organizations working in the field of disability.
11. To recognize Vocational Rehabilitation Centres as manpower development centres.
12. To register vocational instructors and other personnel working in the Vocational Rehabilitation Centres.
13. To recognize the national institutes and apex institutions on disability as manpower development centres.
14. To register personnel working in national institutes and apex institutions on disability under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Courses are being offered by RCI recognized institutions/ training centres

1. Certificate Courses
2. Diploma Courses
3. PG Diploma Courses
4. Degree Courses
5. Post-graduate Degree Courses/ Master's level courses
6. Short-term/ refresher courses under the Continuing Rehabilitation Education programme

References

http://www.rehabcouncil.nic.in/

External links

• rehabcouncil.nic.in