EDUCATION PROGRAMMES FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The community at large is often unaware of the potential of children with special

needs. In the popular mind, special needs are usually identified with very low

expectations. Parent should believe in the value of educating children with special needs.

The higher the expectations, the higher will be their acceptance in the family.

All the children with special needs must be enrolled in primary schools. After the

assessment of their disabilities by a team of a doctor, a psychologist, and a special

educator, in schools, the child will be placed in appropriate educational settings.

Children with mild and moderate disabilities of any kind may be integrated in normal

schools, severe in special schools/ remedial schools, drop outs who have problems in

availing benefits of normal schools can join open schools. All the children with learning

disabilities alone are first managed in the normal schools. Open and special schools also

offer vocational courses also for children with disabilities.

1.A Formal Schools- The Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of

Secondary and Higher Education) has been implementing a scheme of ‘Integrated

Education for the Disabled Children’ (IEDC) in formal schools since 1982. The main

objective of the scheme is to provide educational opportunities for the disabled children

in normal schools so as to facilitate their retention in the school system. The disabled

children who are placed in special schools should be considered for integration into

common schools once they acquire the communication and daily living skills at a

functional level.

The following types of children with disabilities must be integrated in the normal

school system- formal as well as in non- formal schools.

- Children with locomotor handicaps (O.H.)

- Mildly and moderately hearing impaired

- Partially sighted children

- Mentally handicapped educable group (IQ 50-70)

- Children with multiple handicaps ( blind and orthopaedic, hearing impaired and

orthopaedic, educable mentally retarded and orthopaedic, visual impaired and

mild hearing impaired)

A three- member assessment team comprising of a doctor, a psychologist and a

special educator is formed and their assessment report recommends whether a child can

be enrolled directly into a normal school or should receive preparation in a special

school/ or a special preparatory class in Early Childhood Education Centre(ECCE)

specially equipped for this purpose.

 

Under the IEDC scheme, resources and itinerant teachers are provided. Children

are also given certain incentives like book allowance, equipment allowance, transportallowance

etc.

 

1.B Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) in District Primary

 

Education Programme(DPEP) – The DPEP which was launched in 1994, aims at

 

Universalisation of Primary Education (UPE) and is operational in 271 districts in the

country. Its aim can not be achieved until and unless 10% of children with special needs

are integrated in the education system. With this aim, since 1998, IEDC programme has

been receiving special emphasis under DPEP and endeavouring to integrate children

with disabilities in DPEP primary schools. DPEP supports for the activities like

community mobilization and early detection, in service teacher training, resource support,

educational aids and appliances, architectural designs in schools, etc. Childern with

learning disabilities also get special care in primary schools under DPEP. In the other

non DPEP districts the same IEDC activities will be supported by the programme of

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which has recently been approved.

Earlier, there were no activities for children with learning disabilities under the

programme of IEDC. Estimates of prevalence rate of children with learning disabilities

seem to be very high, ranging from 1-30% in the ‘school population’ depending on the

criteria used to determine the disability. Some studies estimate the prevalence of learning

disabilities to be 7-8% whereas others indicate a prevalence rate of 15% in the general

population.

 

2. SPECIAL SCHOOLS– This is a programme of the Ministry of Social Justice

 

and Empowerment. Children with severe multiple disabilities who have difficulty in

 

coping with regular schools are referred to such special schools. Most of these special

schools are located in urban areas and run by voluntary organizations. A majority of

them are residential schools, and boarding- lodging and other services are provided free of

cost. At present more than 3000 special schools for the disabled children are functioning

across the country. Out of them approximately 900 institutions are specialized for the

hearing impaired, 400 for the visually impaired, 1000 for the mentally retarded and the

remaining 700 are for the children with physical disabilities. 40 per cent disability of any

such particular types is a benchmark for identification and certification for admission in

these special schools

3. NATIONAL OPEN SCHOOL (NOS)- The NOS was established as an

Autonomous Registered Society in 1989 with the mission to provide education through

an open learning system at the school stage as an alternative to the formal system. It is

specially suited to the needs of certain categories such as school dropouts, girls, mentally

or physically disabled, etc. It has also developed educational materials for teaching

children with special needs in their own homes. At present there are 1459 NOS study

centres in the country.

It offers courses like the foundation course, notionally equivalent to class VIII

level, secondary education and higher secondary courses and vocational courses. The

NOS also provides the programme of Open Basic Education for Universal Elementary

Education (UEE), which includes programme for the disabled children. It offers Open

Basic Education courses through the following:

a) Open Basic Education (OBE): This project is for out of school children in the age

group 6-14 and also for adult learners. It has 3 levels : Preparatory, i.e. (A), Primary i.e.

(B) and elementary i.e. (C), which are equivalent to a formal school standard of class

III,V and VIII respectively.

b) Special Accredited Institutions for Education of the Disadvantaged (SAIED): To

cater to the needs of the people with physical or mental disabilities the NOS has

accredited institutions for education of the disadvantaged. Academic courses like open

basic education (OBE), secondary and senior secondary courses and vocational courses

are offered either independently or in combination with an academic subject(s) through

SAIED.

Special Features of NOS:

 

- It allows total freedom to learn at one’s own speed. One gets a period of 5

years and 9 chances to complete the course

- Flexibility in choice of subjects.

- There is no age limitation for admission in NOS programmers.

- For admission, a person is required to submit the following supporting documents:

- Attested copy of birth certificate, obtained in one of the following ways:

· From the Admission Register of the last school attended or

· Birth certificate from Registrar of Births and Death or

· From a recognized Hospital or

· Affidavit from parents countersigned by first class/sub division magistrate.

- Minimum Education Qualifications:

· Self Certificate or Certificate of class V / Matriculation/Higher Secondary pass.

- Five recent passport size (3cmx2cm) photographs are also required

- Handicapped are exempted from payment of registration and cost of course material.

· Candidates with disabilities are required to produce a certificate from a

Government hospital and not from a private nursing home.