Nagaland: Towards implementing a strong inclusive education program

July 27, 2022 129 Views No Comment

MoU signed to establish State Resource Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities in Kohima

Our Correspondent
Kohima | July 27

Nagaland State Education Department and ChangeInkk Foundation, Delhi signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish State Resource Centre for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities in Kohima on July 26.

ChangeInkk Foundation is committed to achieving inclusion of persons with disabilities, gender equality, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

This MoU was signed during the two-day ‘Workshop for Teachers on Inclusive Learning’ held on July 25 and 26 organized by Department of School Education (DoSE), Nagaland in collaboration with ChangeInkk Foundation at the Directorate of School Education, Kohima.

This collaboration will support the DoSE and key institutional partners including SCERT and Samagra Shiksha in planning and implementation of a strong inclusive education programme that addresses the needs of children with specific learning disabilities and enabling them to reach their full potential.

Activities to be undertaken includes; provide support in developing, implementing and monitoring an inclusion strategy for the inclusion of children with specific learning disabilities in schools, enable early detection and interventions by sensitizing and building teacher capacity for early identification and screening of at-risk students, and providing the requisite training to strengthen classroom interventions, conducting awareness and sensitization campaigns and distributing relevant information to mutually agreed upon stakeholders.

Other areas includes; sensitizing and building capacities of parents to support their children, as well as providing support groups for parents, strengthening student capacity to succeed by providing, technology Training of Accessibility Tool, Upskilling Students of Grades 10-12 (21st century skills training as identified by NEP 202) and College Readiness Programme for students in grade 9 to 12.

The two-day workshop was attended 141 teachers with Noopur Jhunjhunwala and Rhohoni from ChnageInkk Foundation as resource persons. Thavaseelan K, IAS, Principal Secretary to School Education, Nagaland also addressed the workshop.

NEP 2020 recognizes Specific Learning Disabilities
Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) recognize the differences in the way people’s brain functions, process information and learn. They include Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, along with Dyspraxia. Individuals with SLDs have average or above average IQs- but struggle with processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.

The National Education Policy 2020 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016 recognize Specific Learning Disabilities and stress on the importance of creating inclusive educational for this population.

The RPwD Act 2016 defines inclusive education as a “system of education wherein students with and without disabilities learn together and the system of teaching and learning is suitably adapted to meet the learning needs of different types of students with disabilities.”

It also mandates 4% reservation for students with disabilities, including those with specific learning disabilities.

At the school level, CBSE, ICSE and most state boards have issued requirements for accommodations for students with SLDs. Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 5 people are Dyslexic.

By this estimate, about 200 million individuals in India, of which about 35 million are students, would have a learning disability. However, dyslexic minds have many strengths, including thinking creatively, laterally, with a multi-sensory lens, often coming up with out of the box solutions for problems.

If something has changed the world, there is a high probability that there is a Dyslexic behind it. In fact, the dyslexic minds of the likes of Albert Einstein to Henry Ford to Steve Jobs-have brought path breaking innovations and entrepreneurial ventures that have impacted every aspect of our life. Globally it is estimated that 40% of self-made millionaires have dyslexia.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/nagaland-towards-implementing-a-strong-inclusive-education-program