In light of revised disabilities law, school teachers participate in workshop to learn techniques to accommodate kids with special needs in mainstream education
Just as the government is opening up the law to help bring more disabled people into mainstream society, teachers too are learning how to open up the classroom so children with special needs can also be part of mainstream education.
On the heels of the government notifying the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill – 2016, school teachers from Mumbai recently participated in a workshop to learn techniques to teach children with special needs in a regular classroom. Under the recently passed law, the number of types of disability has now risen from seven to 21. Due to this, teachers can now expect to come across more students with special needs who qualify for mainstream education.
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Teaching techniques
The two-day training session was conducted by the department of special education at SNDT University on January 27 and 28. As many as 28 teachers took part in the workshop and picked up teaching techniques such as the use of reminder cards, positive appraisal, and pairing special needs kids with the normal kids.
More challenges for schools
"Earlier, only selected disabilities such as visual or hearing impairment, locomotor disability and mental illness were accepted in regular schools. But now the revised law has recognised other disabilities such cerebral palsy, speech and language disability and muscular dystrophy in the list of equal rights, it has become more challenging for schools to ensure these special children can be accommodated in an ordinary classroom environment," said Dr Preeti Verma, head of SNDT special education department. She added, "As teachers, it is our duty to accept these challenge and learn advanced methods so we can conduct inclusive classroom practices in a more effective way."
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