The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) of the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to design a curriculum and textbooks, with special needs students in mind. This will enable these students to be admitted to government-run schools of the state soon.
SCERT joint secretary Ajai Kumar Singh had announced in January 2020 that Uttar Pradesh could very well be the first state in the country to design textbooks for special needs students. As a first step, the council had undertaken developing textbooks for classes 1 to 5 for English, Hindi, and Mathematics. Once this is done, textbooks for subjects like Sankrit and environmental science.
A specially designed curriculum for these students has already been sent for the approval of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Like students with hearing or vision-related disabilities, special needs students will be able to take admissions in government schools once the approval from RCI comes through. The books would be available for use by special educators and non-government schools after approval.
Talking about how these textbooks will be different, the principal of the English Language Teaching Institute (ELTI) Skand Sharma said that the presentation of the textbooks, the thickness of the pages, and even the material from which they are made will be different from those currently in use. “Experts from linguistics and special education are collaborating to ensure the text is presented in a way that is conducive to the needs of the students they are meant for,” he added.
