Chennai: With schools reopening after quarterly holidays, the city’s CBSE school heads have a task cut out for them this week — to watch a series of video modules that raise awareness of handling children with disabilities and create an inclusive campus.Schoolteachers, heads, and all non-teaching staff have been asked to view around eight modules, running up to 30 minutes, through PRASHAST application designed by NCERT. More than 300 CBSE and affiliated schools in the city will benefit from the exercise. “The idea is to sensitise educators to handling children with disabilities, ways to make them feel included and creating a friendly environment for them in schools. We have asked all our staff, including clerical workers and drivers, to watch the modules and spread awareness,” said J Sundar, principal, Bala Vidya Mandir, Adyar said.The module covers topics ranging from methodology of teaching to providing the right infrastructure and lays out the do’s and don’ts for schools. Schools have been advised to watch the module without meddling with class hours.School heads said the initiative was implemented in states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra, and was introduced to Tamil Nadu for the first time. An official from the CBSE regional office said that the training was an extension of the ‘PRASHAST-Screening Initiative’ — a school-based screening that lets school staff assess early signs of disability in students and provide intervention — launched this year.“CBSE feels that sensitisation of staff is an important part of the initiative. Schools have been told to organise the programme in a manner that enables all staff members to participate without disrupting essential school activities. The data of schools watching the module will be tracked at the national level,” the official said.The idea is to finish the modules ahead of World Mental Health Day on Oct 10, said P G Subramaniam, principal, Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram. “Everyone in our school has completed the module. The module will be extremely beneficial for schools that do not have special educators or students with special needs,” he added.The board is also likely to design such video modules for children too.
