A pioneering scheme will improve information technology access for nearly 500 children with disabilities to enable them to have their specific learning requirements met.

The two-year project, titled "Enhancing access and quality of inclusive education of children with disability through information communication technology," will benefit youngsters aged 6-15 in Hanoi, HCM City, the northern province of Thai Nguyen and the central province of Quang Binh.

Conducted by the Ministry of Education and Training, the project, which is planned to run until the end of 2014, received financial backing to the tune of nearly 500,000 USD from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

The project's main activities focus on applying IT to help disabled children with their studies, including software with screen readers for the visually impaired, setting up video lectures for the deaf and setting up remote learning models for children who cannot go to schools.

The 2009 housing and population census showed that only 66.5 percent of disabled children aged 6-10 go to school. Nearly 30 percent of disabled adults are illiterate whereas the corresponding rate in non-disabled adults is less than 0.5 percent.-VNA