(Holistic Education to Visually Impaired Students in Government Schools - Krishnagiri District, Tamil Nadu, India)
Karna Vidya, a project started 25 years ago by Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel, (RCMC) District 3234, Club Id: 26227, is now an NGO registered with the Government of Tamil Nadu, India and is called Karna Vidya Foundation (KVF). KVF is an approved training centre for Tamil Nadu Skills Development Corporation (TNSDC). KVF’s motto is to empower persons with visual impairment (VI) through technology. Karna Vidya foundation focuses on holistic training and educating students to live an independent and productive life. In all its 25 years, Karna Vidya has been training students free of charge.
Initially, Karna Vidya trained job seekers making them employable and assisting them in getting suitable jobs. Over the last few years KVF has focussed on school children to catch them young and impart skills to enable them to progress in their educational path with wider access to subjects, enhance their overall learning as independently as possible and choose careers of their choice.
KVF’s schools programme started at Government schools and Government aided schools in Tamil Nadu for the visually impaired. KVF now seeks to expand its training also to the unschooled and students in local schools especially in rural areas through Oasis@Schools project by taking education to their doorstep. Most of the parents of visually impaired children at the village level are daily wage earners and its takes enormous effort and sacrifice on their part to bring the children even to the Government Day care centers or inclusive schools.
Oasis@schools is an intensive research-based programme requiring larger financial and human resources given its scope and coverage. Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, India has been chosen as a pilot project to build a template which can be replicated not only throughout Tamil Nadu or India but even across the world as KVF. To the best of its knowledge, KVF believes that there is no such model currently available.
Oasis@Schools Project overview:
The project will be for supporting the school children with visual impairment in Krishnagiri district between the age of 6-17 studying in Government and Government aided schools and cover unschooled students and students under an Indian Government project for inclusive education called Samagraha Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
The project will cover 120 schools and more than 10-day care centers or Block resource centre covering over 500 students.
KVF will provide fully equipped staff and trainers along with hardware, software and other materials needed to cater to the education of children with visual impairment.
FDP 5.0 was conducted between 16th May 2025 and 1st June 2025
Motto: Go slow but go deep
Objectives:
Enhance Pedagogical Skills by equipping trainers with effective and inclusive teaching methodologies tailored for students with visual impairment across STEAM disciplines. Master Assistive Technologies by providing in depth knowledge and hands-on experience with a wide range of assistive devices and applications relevant to the education and daily living of individuals with visual impairment. Integrate Technological Advancements to enable trainers to stay updated with and effectively utilize recent technological advancements, including AI and accessible digital tools, in their teaching practices.
Venue: Sarojini varadappan school, Poonamallee, Chennai
Invitees: APO Mr Balamurugan, DDAWO Mr Srinivasan
Date: January 25, 2025
Introduction of Adaptive skills and alternate materials for teaching visually impaired students to special educators. Activities and demonstration of devices/ materials during the sessions for hands-on experience. Introduction of KVF services and workshop objectives along with chief guest address.
The bangle workshop at KVTC was organized by KVF intern Ms.Nandhini
Objectives To introduce the entrepreneurship development This was aimed to develop entrepreneurial skills among visually impaired people This was aimed to strengthen the community in future
To enhance the skills of the trainers to teach STEM education to children with visual impairments.
1.To equip trainers with skills to teach steam (science, technology, English, arts, mathematics), and data entry operations (deo) to persons with visual impairments.
2. To assess the trainers' abilities in the aforementioned subjects and provide structured guidance to help them improve.
3. To offer hands-on experience and interactive sessions that enhance teaching techniques and address individual challenges.
The programme was to felicitate the upcoming young achievers. The chief guest Ms Kiruthiga Udayanidhi addressed the Audience The young achievers Master John and Mr Sakthi addressed the audience and talked about their achievements in their respective fields.
Karna Vidya Foundation has launched several initiatives to promote environmental education in Tamil Nadu for facilitating organization of inclusive educational activities for students with visual impairment. The Program is implemented through Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel and Rotary International.
The Environment Education Program aims to supplement the knowledge that the children and young generation gain from classrooms with experience from nature and hands-on activities to create a network of young environmentalists in schools, colleges, and communities, etc. Students with visual impairment and their sighted peers participated on 4th November 2024 at Sharada Vidyalaya, T. Nagar.
Environmental Activities for Students to Encourage Sustainability:
Create an outdoor classroom
Collect weather data
Environmental storytelling
Cleanup drive
Nature walk
Volunteering
Soil test
Survey of flora and fauna
Native species plantation
School gardens
Wildlife conservation games, etc.
Protecting the environment is important for many reasons, including:
Health and well-being Nature provides clean air, water, food, and materials, and it also helps with mental health.
Ecosystem services Natural areas provide many services, such as purifying water, cleaning air, and reducing noise and chemical pollution.
Biodiversity Protecting the environment helps protect biodiversity in ecosystems. Without biodiversity, the loss of a single species can destroy an ecosystem.
Natural resources Protecting the environment protects natural resources like plants, animals, and water.
Climate change Protecting the environment helps lessen the effects of climate change.
Future generations Protecting the environment helps make the planet a more livable place for future generations.
Environmental education is a dynamic process. The priority of such education is to develop cautious mind of students about their surroundings. Its main task is to impart proper knowledge and training to solve various problems of our environment systematically.
Faculty Development programme for enhancing the STEM (Science, Technology, English and Math) methodology for teaching Children with Visual impairment
Valar Pirai 3.0 aims to empower trainers in their quest to provide effective education for students with visual impairments through holistic and inclusive practices. The event happened at KVTC Guindy and attended by 20 KVF trainers on 23rd September 2024 to 30th September 2024.
Benefits for enhancing teaching skills
Enhancing and improving teaching skills for visually impaired students in core subjects (Tamil, English, Mathematics).
Foster inclusive classroom practices.
Introduce Accessible technologies for accessible education.
Develop comprehensive curricula for visually impaired learners.
Improve assessment techniques for student progress.
Strengthen communication and soft skills for engagement.
Encourage peer collaboration and sharing of best practices.
The Valarpirai 3.0 FDP successfully equipped educators with innovative teaching methodologies for STEM content and language instruction. The program emphasized hands-on approaches and interactive learning, enabling participants to effectively teach visually impaired students.
Karna Vidya foundation Team ( Data entry students and KVF trainers) along with Chief guest at Valar Pirai 3.0 closing ceremony at KVTC,Chennai
The Valarpirai 3.0 FDP successfully equipped educators with innovative teaching methodologies for STEM content and language instruction. The program emphasized hands-on approaches and interactive learning, enabling participants to effectively teach visually impaired students.
On celebrating 76th independent day of India, Karna Vidya Foundation is wish to conduct the programme on reading and writing through computer technology for person with visual impairment.
Students with visual impairment participating on reading and writing competition through computer technology.
