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India: Delhi schools told to ensure infra for the differently abled

Noticias

Por: hindustantimes.com/22-05-2019

The specifications for such infrastructure has been given in a handbook recently compiled by the directorate. The education department is distributing such handbooks across Delhi government schools to ensure barrier- free accessibility in the school buildings for children with disabilities.

school for disabled student,accessible school,delhi school infrastructure

An official from the inclusive education branch (IEB) of the directorate said that so far, 200 government schools under Directorate of Education (DOE) had received the handbooks(File)

To promote inclusive education in all Delhi government schools, the Directorate of Education (DOE) has directed all heads of government schools to maintain, provide, renovate, and repair existing infrastructure to ensure they are friendly to the differently- abled.

“This shall be done through Public Works Department by generating EOR (extra ordinary repair),” a recent DOE circular said adding that no further construction should be done without ensuring the same. “Any leniency or non-compliance of this circular/order will be viewed seriously,” it added.

The specifications for such infrastructure has been given in a handbook recently compiled by the directorate. The education department is distributing such handbooks across Delhi government schools to ensure barrier-free accessibility in the school buildings for children with disabilities.

An official from the inclusive education branch (IEB) of the directorate said that so far, 200 government schools under Directorate of Education (DOE) had received the handbooks. “The principals and teachers need to be sensitised. They need guidelines on how to counsel the children, their parents and how to care for them,” the official said while explaining the reason behind the distribution of such handbooks.

Along with talking about different types of disabilities, the book also talks about the rights and entitlements for children with disabilities and the penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities. The handbook also specifies the space to be allocated for people using mobility devices as well as those walking with assistance. It also gives specifications on toilets, walks and paths, tactile pavers, corridors and ramps, door hardware, dropped kerbs, staircases, and drinking water fountain among other things.

Two hard copies of the handbook are being distributed to all government schools. According to an official IEB circular, the handbook was prepared by adopting the guidelines of Ministry of Urban development, Government of India and the handbook on barrier free accessibility by Central Public Work Department as well as in consultation with the Office of Delhi State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.

The circular also mentions Section 16(ii) and Section 89 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 which mandates that the government should make efforts to provide inclusive education in schools funded or recognized by it and any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act should be made to pay a fine.

The circular also mentions Section 16(ii) and Section 89 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 which mandates that the government should make efforts to provide inclusive education in schools funded or recognized by it and any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act should be made to pay a fine.
“Instead of distributing handbooks, the government should audit schools to see what needs to be done. Sometimes, we do symbolic stuff and tokenism. For instance, one special educator is not going to solve the problem. One must think of a universal design and approach that every child can use and access,” Radhika Alkazi, founder of NGO ASTHA which works with children and people with disabilities. “This is band-aid approach. We need to look at overall situation like how is the child going to get to the school from say slum areas. The government says so many schools have been built but are they all accessible to all children?”
Fuente de la Información: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/delhi-schools-told-to-ensure-infra-for-the-differently-abled/story-SYezJLtVf2qRfa0f8GqvcO.html
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Spirituality through holistic education

Noticias

Por: dailypioneer.com/ Raunak Jain

Giving our children the gift of an education system that focuses on holistic development and is spiritually rich could be our best contribution to the world, writes RAUNAK JAIN

Holistic is a word that originates from ancient Greek and which means to encompass “an entire thing”. Ancient Greeks had created a civilization that is the bedrock of all western thought; they indeed had a holistic view of human beings. While today we know ancient Greeks mostly because of the many profound philosophical works of thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; the ancient Greeks gave us much more than just inspiring philosophy. They were at the forefront of human thought more than 2,000 years ago. They also constructed beautiful buildings and theorised about how men should ideally live and be governed. So powerful was the impact of ancient Greece that works by the ancient thinkers, mathematicians, and philosophers were unequalled in the west for over two millennia.

Ancient Greeks were driven by holistic beliefs and thoughts, and viewed an individual who excelled in multiple activities to be far superior to one who excelled in only one task. For instance, it was not uncommon for a top mathematician from ancient Greece to also be a top bodybuilder and a top athlete. They believed that being especially skilled in only one narrow activity and in no other was actually a symptom of vulgarity. It should, therefore, be said that ancient Greeks believed in and practised holistic education.

Modern Education

Unfortunately, education today has grown rigid, narrow, and inflexible. Children studying in even the best schools in the country are forced to give up their passion after the 10th standard and to instead concentrate solely on a narrow stream of subjects that will allow them to earn a livelihood in the future. The ancient Greeks and some others today would call this vulgar. Holistic education emphasises that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. In the context of learning, this means that a student is comprised of more than just a mind that should memorise. Rather, a student is believed to have a unique function in society and is known to be driven by unique feelings and emotions. The holistic form of education takes such additional considerations into account and allows students to reach their fullest potential by improving additional qualities that children possess.

Spirituality and Holistic Education

While the term spirituality usually seems connected to morality or religion and often excludes many who are outside a certain belief system, when it is applied to education it stands for “teaching authentically”. This can also mean teaching with the intention to teach rather than mechanically going through the motions of teaching.

A student is more than the sum of his parts; hence while a child may be a good sportsperson and excel at history or physics, he or she also has a self that is connected to a community. This connection is what gives a child an identity, meaning, and purpose. The same connections also give rise to genuine feelings of compassion and a desire for peace in the world. Hence, holistic education is meant to help an individual fulfil his or her true purpose as part of a community. Today, education in India stresses academic excellence, often at the expense of the development of other aspects of a student’s personality. Holistic education prepares an individual for life.

Helping Children Spiritually

Today, good formal education in India strives to make children learn, while holistic education also helps children “learn, how to learn”. Simply learning a subject may not be sufficient to navigate life; children must learn how they can learn. By “learning how to learn”, they acquire skills that make them not only more successful in life, but that also lead them to be happier and well-adapted members of society.

Teachers and Spirituality

While holistic education allows children to learn how to become lifelong learners, it also instils in them a curiosity for learning and wanting to know more. So, unlike the traditional model of education in India today, holistic education continues outside the classroom and well into adulthood, if not into old age. Becoming lifelong learners is more important today than ever before.

Learning spiritually means that students and their teachers share a deep connection with the subject they are learning. Such teachers do nothing less than inspiring their students by creating a lifelong bond with learning. Such students develop spiritually and carry forward a spark into any profession they choose to work in.

 Practical Outcomes of Holistic Education

By following the practice of holistic education, a student grows more confident and certain of his or her place in his society or community. Thus, a child develops social and communication skills. Such skills are essential for success in any leadership role today and will remain important for success well into the future.

Gifted Children

Every child is born gifted, it is the role of educators to bring out the child’s strengths. Once the child discovers his or her passion, he or she will learn and take part in related activities with enthusiasm and enjoy overcoming the challenges.

Wanting to Learn

One of the most important principles in teaching is linked to “positive association” which in education translates into “the more children enjoy learning, the more they will want to continue learning”. Positive association with learning creates adults who remain curious and open throughout their lives and who go on to be more innovative in the workplace.

Our Contribution  

The ideas that shape our modern world were formed by the ancient Greeks well over 2,000 years ago. We pride ourselves for living in a democracy, but the idea was first formed by ancient Greeks. By adopting  holistic education for our children, one can aspire to contribute as much to the future as the Greeks have to contributed to our world.

The writer is MD, Tula’s International School

*Fuente: https://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition/agenda/spirituality/spirituality-through-holistic-education.html

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Yemen’s children have been forgotten by the world for too long

George Graham

Por: George Graham

Just 12 percent of the funds required to support education activities in the war-torn country this year have been raised

As we approach the entrance to the school, enthusiastic children flock towards us, excited by a visit from outsiders and a distraction from their usual routine. We could be visiting a school in any country – except we’re here in Yemen, a country torn apart by three years of conflict.

I’m visiting schools in Aden, in southern Yemen, which is relatively peaceful now, but saw heavy fighting three years ago when the Houthis captured the city and were then driven out by the Saudi-led coalition. By contrast, Sanaa, the capital city in the north, was being hit by air strikes just a week ago. My colleagues described parts of the northern governorate of Saada as «flattened».

Children robbed of their futures

Even so, in Aden, there’s devastation everywhere. Building after building is a bombed-out carcass, including two of our offices. But the damage isn’t only physical: the economy is in tatters, and many families are struggling to make ends meet. Some supplies and commodities are getting in, but the Yemeni rial has plummeted so much that most people can afford very little. The influx of displaced people from the frontlines has added to the pressure.

The impact of the conflict on the lives of children has been devastating. It has killed them, maimed them, taken the lives of their family and friends, and left many starving and without medical care. It’s also robbing them of their futures.

The girls’ school had been hit by explosive weapons earlier this month, when a nearby fight strayed into the schoolyard

Across the country, schools have been attacked, destroying the structures and the lives of those trapped inside. More than 1,800 schools have been directly impacted by the conflict, including more than 1,500 that have been damaged or destroyed and 21 that are occupied by armed groups. But that’s just the start of it.

The entire education system has been decimated. There’s a severe shortage of teachers; no one has been hired since before the war, leaving many schools reliant on volunteers. The shortage of female teachers is of particular concern, causing many parents to pull their girls out of school. A dire lack of materials, such as textbooks, has left the bookshelves in school libraries almost bare.

Schools decimated

Sometimes there aren’t even buildings in which to teach, so lessons are held outdoors, often in intolerable weather conditions. One «school» we visited was a cluster of sweltering white tents erected next to the obliterated remains of what was once a school building. The Saudi-led coalition bombed the original school, which had been occupied by Houthi armed forces.

Yemen was already a severely impoverished country, and the conflict has not only stopped further development, but rolled back valuable gains. Many children must spend part of their day working to help support their families, leaving them too tired to learn. Classrooms are immensely overcrowded, so children study in shifts.

Displaced Yemeni children sit on tyres at a camp in the Yemeni coastal city of Hodeidah on 17 February 2018 (AFP)

In one of the schools I visited, more than 100 students packed each classroom, with four girls sharing a desk. These children are the lucky ones – close to two million others are out of school.

The girls’ school had been hit by explosive weapons earlier this month, when a nearby fight strayed into the schoolyard. When we met them, the girls were animated and full of hope, but the headteacher told us that they had been terrified that day, fleeing out of doors and windows in panic, and that the whole school was now tense with worry.

The students with whom I spoke were energetic and joyful, giggling as they told me about their dreams of growing up to become doctors, teachers and social workers.

But according to the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, alarmingly, many boys are being recruited to fight for armed groups instead – stopping their education in its tracks and reducing their future ability to rebuild their country when peace eventually comes. Learning conditions for those still in school are abject, and I found it hard to feel confident that these children’s hopes would ever be realised.

The funding gap

Organisations like Save the Children run programmes, such as catch-up classes to try to stop students from falling too far behind, but the funding is completely insufficient to support the number of children in need.

At the end of my visit, it was abundantly clear that these children have been forgotten by the world for too long. The international community must do much more to protect Yemen’s children.

Pressure must be put on all parties to the conflict to allow life-saving supplies to reach those who need it, to respect their obligations under international law, and most importantly to find a peaceful solution to the war. Ultimately, the crisis will only end through a peaceful and permanent political solution.

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The war in Yemen: A modern-day Vietnam for the Saudi-led coalition

Meanwhile, governments and other donors must also step up. Twenty-two million people – three-quarters of the population – require some form of humanitarian assistance. Half of those are children. Worryingly, just 12 percent of the funds required to support education activities this year have been raised; it’s time for donors to recognise the critical nature of this part of the response.

One day, this war will end. And we owe it to the children of Yemen – these future doctors, teachers and engineers  –  to ensure they have the basic skills to take control of their future by helping to rebuild their country.

– George Graham is Save the Children’s director of conflict and humanitarian policy.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Photo: Yemeni children look out from hung sheets at a makeshift camp for displaced people in the northern Abys district of Yemen’s Hajjah province on 16 April 2018 (AFP)

*Fuente: http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/children-yemen-deserve-better-1988641947

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