There was a visible gap between mainstream and differently-abled children in society and hence an initiative was taken to bridge the gap in small but concrete steps.
Taking a leaf out to serving society at large, Bholaram Education Society (BES) has taken a new challenge / initiative to create a caring, inclusive and happy learning community where all our young people are inspired to achieve their full potential, BES launched a new venture in the name of “Saaransh Foundation” for differently-abled children in the year 2016.
Famous Indian Cricketer Mr. Irfan Pathan is the brand ambassador of Saaransh Foundation and has been instrumental in propagating this noble cause.
Saaransh Foundation functions in an inclusive way within the premises of DPS Gandhinagar. Students share the same ambience and space to mingle with mainstream students / teachers. Mainstream students share their moments of joy and form a strong bond of understanding & love.
Inclusive education has been defined at various ways that addresses the learning needs of the differently abled children. The efforts of the Government of India over the last five decades have been towards providing comprehensive range of services towards education of children with disabilities.
The World Declaration on Education for All adopted in 1990 gave further boost to the various processes already set in the country. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act 1992 initiated a training programme for the development of professionals to respond to the needs of students with disabilities.
Most recent advancement is the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education (2009) which guarantees right to free and compulsory education to all children between ages six to fourteen.
For education for a child with disability, the act has to be read in conjunction with Chapter V of the Persons with Disability Act,(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation), 1995. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 replaces the Persons with Disabilities 1995. It fulfils the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory. The Act came into force during December 2016.
The Government of India is eager to accelerate the pace of education of students with disabilities and accessibility to educational resources. The focus is visible in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 & its notification dated 15 June 2017 and the vision document - Three Year Action Agenda (2017-18 to 2019-20) of NitiAayog, Government of India.
Even CBSE made the appointment of Special Educators compulsory vide Circular 13/2017 dated 13 .06.2017 to ensure quality education for all children including children with special needs as per Section 3, 8(c) and 9 (c) of the Right to Education Act, 2009 to facilitate effective and meaningful inclusion of children with disabilities in schools.
We provide:
Individual Educational Plan (IEP)-based Special Education
Medical consultation
Psycho-educational assessment
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy
Physio-therapy
Behaviour Therapy
Counselling
Sports activities
Vocal Music and Dance
Home Economics
At present Saaransh Foundation caters to the needs of 50 children (aged 4 years to 17 years) with at least one or a combination of the following diagnoses:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Global Developmental Delay
Down’s Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Varied degrees of Learning Disability
In a very recent initiative we have launched “Pehchan, a vocational training unit” of Saaransh Foundation’s specially-abled children and also for under-privileged children and young adults. Pehchan has started skill development programmes in the following domains:
Bakery
Tailoring
Textile Block printing
Costume jewellery making
Craft-centric skill development
Information and Communication Technology
Delhi Public School Gandhinagar and Saaransh Foundation are very hopeful that these children will grow up together and create a true inclusive society.
