Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan collaborates with UNICEF and CCDRR Centre, NIDM
Mata Bhagwanti
Chadha Niketan collaborates with UNICEF and CCDRR Centre, NIDM
Webinar on Divyang children and their
challenges in learning due to COVID19
Noida, 04th August 2021: Mata Bhagwanti Chadha Niketan (MBCN), a charitable school for
special children that works under the aegis of Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF) in
collaboration with CCDRR Centre, National Institute of Disaster Management
(NIDM), and UNICEF India conducted a webinar on “Covid-19: Divyang Children &
Challenges of Learning” on Tuesday. The two-hour session focused on
innovative ways by which MBCN experts and teachers bridged the unavoidable
technological and learning gap that special children faced due to COVID19
lockdown. The speakers comprised Professor
Santosh Kumar (Project Director, CCDRR, NIDM), Ms. Subha Goswami (Vice Principal, MBCN School), and Dr. Richa Vats (Senior Manager, Project
Development, MBCN School). The webinar was organised under the guidance of Shri Sarabjit Singh Sahota (Emergency
Specialist Disaster Reduction Section, UNICEF) and Dr. Vandana Sharma (Director and Principal, MBCN School). Maj Gen M. K. Bindal (Executive
Director, NIDM) was the patron of the webinar and the webinar was moderated by Dr. Kumar Raka (Program Officer, CCDRR,
NIDM) that witnessed around 600 audiences in attendance.
Shri Sarabjit Singh Sahota, Emergency
Specialist Disaster Reduction Section, UNICEF said, “COVID crisis has effected a multidimensional impact on the society. It
has exposed inequalities, disproportionately impacted school going children and
more so students with physical, learning, neurodevelopmental, and cognitive
disabilities. There was lack of arrangements of teaching aids like Braille and
sign language experts during COVID lockdown and self-confidence developed
through peer and teacher interaction took a set-back.”
The session also
reflected on how regular learning program was impacted and the growth
trajectory threatened reversal. Technological challenges further exacerbated
the learning crisis.
Speaking on the
webinar, Dr. Vandana Sharma said,
Director and Principal, MBCN School said, “Vulnerability increases in the face of a disaster and it is more
pertinent in the case of people with special needs. All rescue communities,
therefore, need to be disabled-friendly and better trained for
disability-inclusive disaster risk management. There are 21 major disabilities
and rescue teams should have mandatory training around these disabilities so
that they are better equipped to handle the emergencies.”
The webinar
further delved into the innovative ways in which the educators and therapists
engineered highly individualised and customised learning programs for each
child during the lockdown. The speakers shared their experiences while adopting
an ‘out-of-box’ approach in ensuring the regularity of the learning curriculum
for each child. They spoke about teachers leveraging interactive online
learning tools, training technologically challenged parents to virtually
hand-hold the children through the curriculum, and applying a variety of
learning mediums to provide experiential learning to kids virtually. They also
shared their special initiatives that encouraged the special children to become
a very significant channel in raising awareness around COVID19 protocol in
society.
MBCN is an educational cornerstone in providing holistic
ground for the well-rounded development of children with special needs. It
provides rehabilitation services and support towards mental health, skill
development, and behaviour management. Their rehabilitation services include
early intervention, Speech therapy, Special education, Sports training,
Physiotherapy, Yoga Therapy, Occupational therapy, Counselling, and Vocational
training. Since its inception, more than 25000 kids have passed out with flying
colors from the institute and are now living a dignified and well-deserved life
of self-dependency.
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