India’s best special needs schools 2015

In the inaugural standalone national league table of India’s best special needs schools 2015, Tamana Autism Centre, Delhi is ranked #1 with top ratings on five of the ten parameters An estimated 2.5 percent of India’s 480 million children aged below 18 years suffer from physical disabilities, mental retardation and varying degrees of learning difficulties. Yet, the number of special needs schools countrywide is minuscule. According to Elementary Education in India 2013-14, published by the Delhi-based National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), a mere 1.05 percent (15,211) of India’s 1.4 million primary-secondary schools provide education to children with special needs (CWSN). Moreover, even though the historic Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, mandates admission of children with special needs into all mainstream schools, this directive is followed more in the breach. To encourage mainstream K-12 schools to make better provision for CWSN, in 2011 your editors introduced the parameter of special needs education in the annual EW India School Rankings (EWISR). This year, in response to parental demand, and to acknowledge the pioneering work done by the country’s special schools, we present a separate league table ranking the country’s most admired special needs schools. To compile the league table of India’s Top 15 special needs schools, C fore field researchers also interviewed 288 parents of CWSN and special educators in four cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore. They were asked to rate and rank special schools on ten parameters of education excellence — competence of faculty, teacher welfare and development, quality of programme and pedagogy, rehabilitation, co-curricular education, individual attention to students, leadership/management quality, safety and hygiene, infrastructure provision and value for money. Given that awareness of special needs schools is low, the rankings have been limited to the four cities. In the inaugural standalone national league table of special needs schools, the Tamana Autism Centre — School of Hope, Delhi is ranked India’s #1 special needs school with top ratings on five of the ten parameters. Promoted in 1992 by Dr. Shayama Chona, the legendary former principal of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram (Delhi) where she served for 35 years (1978-2009), Tamana provides education, vocational training, therapy and rehabilitation services to 320 students mentored by 23 therapists, 38 special educators and four psychologists. “This recognition is a matter of great pride not just for the institution but also for parents, professionals and the Tamana community. Our highly-qualified special educators provide holistic education through individualised education plans for each student. The teacher training cell provides Rehabilitation Council of India-recognised courses to educators and parents. Our autism research centre’s team of software engineers has developed applications to aid children with special needs. We are currently partnering with Microsoft and Google to use ICT to enhance the lives of individuals with autism and special needs,” says Usha Varma, a social science post-graduate of Agra University with over 23 years’ experience as a special educator and director of Tamana since 2012. Ranked next is another pioneer…