NGOs Act As Sight Of Dreams For Hundreds Of Visually Challenged Children In Kollegal

NGOs in Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka educating hundreds of poor visually challenged children. NAB makes ‘Inclusive Education’ successful in villages. Kollegal Taluk is one of the 4 taluks in Chamarajanagar District. Kollegal has more than 140 habitated and non-habitated villages. There are many NGOs working in Kollegal in many various areas. Major NGOs, which are working hand in hand with government schemes, are National association for Blind (NAB), Rotary International, Seventisth Day, PMSR’s Trust, Jeevan Jyothi Trust etc.

A nine-year-old reads at a government school in Chakkatuppru.

After my first acquaintance with Taluk, I discovered various issues, which needs to looked-over. Like any other area, Kollegal too had many problems, but accordingly to villagers many of them are yet to be resolved by the government. The major problem, which bothered me, was good education for the visually challenged children from various villages under Kollegal taluk. There are very few NGOs who are working with the government for ‘Inclusive Education’ under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan.

According to Chamarajanagar District’s Official website, Kollegal has 130 Primary Schools and 30 High Schools under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan. But, there is not a single government special school for visually challenged children. When spoke to the villagers in Doddendawadi, Dhangere, Sidddaiahnapura & Madhunavahalli, the parents said that the so-called ‘Inclusive Education’ under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan was not helping the handicapped children at all to cope up with the pace of progress with normal children.

SDA School of Speech & Hearing Impairment in Sidddaiahnapura Village caters to more than 60 children from various villages in Kollegal. It runs a residential school for poor Speech & Hearing Impaired kids. PMSR Karunalaya Trust, runs a residential school for mentally retarded children in Lakkasaranapallya Village. This is the only school for mentally challenged children in whole Chamarajanagar district, which imparts education to the poor handicapped children from various villages. Jeevan Jyothi Trust runs two centers for severely mentally retarded children, one in Kollegal town and one in Jaageri in Kollegal taluk. They all have come forward to impart free education to the poor, disabled children from various villages in Kollegal.

DC Office, Chamarajanagar

The role of Non- Government Organizations (NGOs) in imparting education to Children With Special Needs (CWSN) all over the world cannot be undermined. In fact, the education of CWSN began in India only with the setting up of special schools. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a comprehensive and integrated flagship programme of Government of India to attain Universal Elementary Education (UEE) in the country in a mission mode. SSA was launched in partnership with the State Governments, which aims to provide useful and relevant education to all children in the age group of 6-14 age by 2010. One of the development objectives of SSA is to increase the participation of CWSN in mainstream education. The increase in participation of CWSN has been brought about by a number of strategies: enrolment drives and community sensitization to identify out-of-school children with an emphasis on CWSN and advocating the imperatives of educating these children. In addition to improving access of CWSN to regular and alternative schools, bridge courses and residential camps, NGOs have been used in many States to reach children with disabilities who have previously failed to enroll.1

Ramana Maharshi Academy for the Blind, National Association for Blind, CBR Network for South Asia & Mobility India is the NGOs in Chamarajanagar district who are working in the field of ‘Inclusive Education’ under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan. These NGOs work with government in providing aids and appliances, rehabilitation therapy, Training teachers and community rehabilitation services, Integrating blind and low vision children in normal schools, Running technical training centre for blind, Residential school for hearing impaired and mental retardation, among few.

NAB is probably the biggest NGO in India working for the especially in inclusive education. It has proved to be the most effective NGOs in whole Chamarajanagar District especially in Kollegal. Mr. Pasha, National Association of Blind (NAB), Kollegal Taluk says, many visually challenged children from various villages has not even heard of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). NAB has been chosen as an Ngo to send specialized IE teachers to schools to teach blind children who generally remain ignored by the normal teacher in schools. The IE teachers is helping in imparting in education, along with the 3 Inclusive Education Resource Teachers (IERT) appointed from government under SSA. Due to special attention and sufficiently trained in teaching blind, the NGO teachers are enhancing the support to these children who most of the time remain lagged behind in coping up with normal children in normal schools. Local villagers say, NAB has helped in actually identify blind children who were not yet identified by the government under SSA schemes. NAB has been helping government in spreading awareness in parents who mostly hesitate in sending their children in sending to schools. Mr. Chandrakant, Head, DYPC, SSA, Chamarajanagar says that, the NGOs are a integral part of the SSA and bodies like NAB are helping government in making ‘Inclusive Education’ successful.

Amaresh punches a needle in NAB Kollegal

Recently, I was in a visit in Gundulpet taluk under same district to look for the conditions in education of visually challenged children. I attended a seminar organized by NAB in co-ordination with local Tehsildaar and government. They interacted with parents to spread awareness to send their children to school. The seminar also targeted the parent to encourage their blind children to study through Home based Education under SSA. NAB distributed free bags and uniforms to the poor village childrens who were totally or partially blind at the end of the function. Education Officer of NAB – Karnataka informed that, the function is acting as a additional support to the government in making education for the visually challenged children a success. He added that NAB Karnataka is generally is not funded by government and runs on its own on funds fro various institutions and people for India and other parts of the world.

When asked Mr. Mallikarjuna, Block Education Officer, Kollegal taluk about the NGOs like NAB carrying out programs to promote education to blind children from various villages in Kollegal, he appreciated the initiative taken by the NGOs. He says government is always working together with NGOs for the betterment of society and NAB is helping the government in implementation of government schemes like SSA. With the past records and positive verdicts from the government, I think NGOs like NAB who is working at grass root level in Kollegal should always work as extensions agents for government schemes. With effort as it has been till now, in ‘Inclusive Education’ under Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan, should be seen as one of the biggest successful example. It seems, until government works hand-in-hand with these NGOs, sightless dreams of hundreds of visually challenged children will remain distant from reality.

An Exclusive Story Reported By Mrinmoy Bhowmick