Inclusive education has become need of the hour today. In view of this a workshop was organised on Saturday at DAV School, Totu.
The workshop was anchored by Kalpana Sharma an educator currently working in a Krishnamurti School, Rajghat Besant School, Varanasi. This was her fifth workshop under the project ” Naman” initiated by her in memory of an eminent Educator Late Usha Sharma, founder of BSN Shimla.
Kalpana has been working with special needs children since the past two decades and intends to spread more awareness on the theme — Inclusive Education – Equitable Education in Schools of Himachal.
DAV Totu took the lead to set the ball rolling and this was Kalpana’s first workshop in Shimla today around this theme. During the workshop an attempt was made to understand the need of inclusion and thus why Inclusive Education is the need of the hour. What are the various models which support this Education and how can a school incorporate this model.
21 recognised disabilities under the Persons with Disability Act were discussed. Teachers were also made to understand how to support such children and understand the concessions granted by CBSE for these disabilities. Kalpana suggested various resources for parents and teachers to empower themselves in this journey. This included a free online course by Madras Dyslexia Association, Eshikshanam and resources built by NCERT.
The teachers along with Principal Jyoti participated actively. The content was well received and the session ended with a qualitative question answer round. The Principal thanked Kalpana for this initiative and encouraged her team to take the journey of Inclusive Education forward.
