Students With Disabilities Struggle With Online Classes
Two surveys were conducted by Swabhiman, a community based organization and the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). Watch our latest video to know all about the s
Two surveys were conducted by Swabhiman, a community based organization (like an NGO), and the disability legislation Unit of Eastern India of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). 90% of the respondents were from Odisha, and 10% from Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It included 2,178 students from classes I to XII, 1,041 parents, 303 teachers and 104 adults with disabilities. The disability categories included orthopedic impairment, visual impairment, speech and hearing impairment, intellectual challenges and multiple disorders.
On Saturday the report, titled ‘Digital Education in India: Will students with disabilities miss the bus?’ was released. In the survey majority of the students with disabilities said that online learning was a big hurdle for them.
About 56.5% of students with disabilities said that they were struggling but they are still irregularly attending classes. Around 77% of students said they will not be able to cope and would fall behind in learning as they are unable to access distance learning methods. The report said that 90% parents of the students with disabilities said teachers were not giving them attention. 86% said they did not know how to use technology. 81% teachers said they did not have accessible educational material for online learning. The teachers also reported that 64% of students did not have smartphones or computers at home.The surveys also found that 67% of students expressed the need for laptops, smartphones or tablets for educational purposes. Around 74% of them said they needed data/Wifi support. 77% asked for study material in formats suitable for children with disabilities. 61% needed scribes, readers and attendants. 44% students said that no sign language interpreters were present in the webinars. The report has recommended material in alternative formats. They have also said that all children with disabilities cannot be merged into one group as they are persons with different needs.
