Case Study of the Day: Aakar – Residential Schools for Differently-Abled Students

Background: The Aspirational District of Sukma in Chhattisgarh has started Aakar Residential School to ensure inclusion of differently-abled students and to reduce their dropout rates.

About Aakar Schools

• The District initially identified nearly 800 differently abled children and enrolled them in Aakar School.
• Apart from education, the School undertakes other special activities catering to the overall need of the children including therapies for their cognitive development.
• They have specialized professionals to cater to needs of students such as:
  • Physiotherapist and occupational therapist for catering to the needs of students with locomotor disability
  • Audiologist to help hearing impaired children
  • Psychologist to help mentally disabled children and special educators to facilitate day to day learning
• Aakar School also has a Paralympics standard ground that provides an opportunity to students for excelling in Sports, while utilizing the same for dancing and other arts-based therapy for students with cerebral palsy and mental illness.
• The school building has been designed in a way to ensure that accessibility is not a constraint.

Conclusion

• Thus, the school combines basic education with other activities for the overall development of differently-abled children, thereby ‘Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all’ in accordance with SDG 4.

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