New Delhi, Dec 19 : Mainstream schools in the country may soon have to admit autistic children, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said Saturday.

''We are trying to bring autistic children within the mainstream schools,'' Sibal said at an event attended by President Pratibha Patil.    

Sibal said his ministry was making all efforts to put in place necessary rules to allow such children lead a normal school life.    

He said there were around 70 million differently-abled people in India, but there was no data about such childrens' education, where they are staying and how they are making progress. ''During my tenure, we will put in place such a database.''    

Shyama Chona, head of NGO Tamanna that works for autistic children said: ''We are waiting for the day when the doors of all normal schools will be opened for these students. They should be able to observe normalcy, to feel that there are others who exist for them.'' (IANS)