CHALLENGES FACED BY CARETAKERS AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS UNDER SSA PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY SEVAI - TIRUCHIRAPPALLI.

1. CHALLENGES FACED BY CARETAKERS AND SPECIAL
EDUCATORS UNDER SSA PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY
SEVAI - TIRUCHIRAPPALLI.
BEZALEEL AZARIAH J.
Final Year MSW
Community Development Management
&
B. ARUNKUMAR
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Bishop Heber College (Autonomous)
Tiruchirappalli - 620 017

2. INTRODUCTION
 The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a mission
initiated by Union government in the 1970s to
provide quality elementary education to all
children belonging to the age group 6 to 14
years.
 SSA has made a concerted effort to promote the
inclusion of children with special needs, the
system faces challenges in identifying these
children and responding to their needs.
 Only around 1% of funds under SSA were spent
on inclusive education earlier. The budget for
educating children with mild to moderate
disabilities in regular school settings has
increased commensurately.
 India has 40 to 80 million persons with
disability.

3. SPECIAL EDUCATION
 “Special need” is a term that covers a wide
array of definitions. Children with special
needs may have mild learning disabilities or
profound mental retardation, food allergies or
terminal illness, developmental delays that
catch up quickly or remain entrenched,
occasional panic attacks or serious psychiatric
problems. Depending on the condition, some
of these children are able to go to mainstream
schools, while others are more suited to
special schools or home schooling.

4. SPECIAL EDUCATORS & FAMILY MEMBERS
 Under the SSA scheme, special educators train
teachers of various schools and visit their assigned
schools regularly to monitor the student’s progress.
 They also visit homes of the students and counsel
parents to tackle the problems of special children.
 As only one special educator would have to cover
several schools, the frequency of visits and time
spent at these schools is less.
 Families living with a disability face some unique
challenges, but still they give opportunities for their
disabled children to live full, active and exciting
lives.

5. OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
 Aim:
 To do a preliminary research on the challenges faced by
caretakers and special educators under SSA project
implemented by SEVAI a Non Governmental Organization in
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.
 Objectives:
 To explore (Family Members) their abilities of caretaking and
coping up with the society.
 To understand the efforts taken by Special educators in
helping the (CWSN) Children With Special Needs.

6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Research Design: Descriptive Design.
 Universe: Special Educators Under SSA Project –
IED – SEVAI.
 Sample Size: 30 Special Educators & Family
Members.
 Sampling Method: Simple Random Sampling
Method.
 Tool for Data collection: A Self-Prepared
Questionnaire.

7. FINDINGS

8. LIFE CHALLENGE & SPECIAL
EDUCATORS
 In the study conducted among the Special Educators of
IED-SEVAI it is found that:
 90 % of the respondents face physical challenges in traveling
to different schools in rural area for providing special
education and also there is Inadequate transport facility which
results in skipping school Visits.
 80 % of the respondents are unmarried female staffs and the
rest are married female staffs.
 78 % of the respondents have higher level of stress when they
are allotted a school to educate a child and that child is absent
on that day.
 95 % of the respondents suggested that special educators
should be appointed in every schools in such a way that they
look after the CWSN daily.

9. LIFE CHALLENGE & FAMILY
MEMBERS
 In the study conducted among the Special Educators of
IED-SEVAI it is found that:
 95 % of the respondents has high acceptance level in growing up
their differently abled children.
 80 % of the respondents are having high stress level in dropping
their children in normal schools.
 40 % of the respondents are afraid to take their children out to public
places and doesn’t need the society to know that their child is
disabled.
 30 % of the parents are rich and they doesn’t need any welfare to be
provided.
 78 % of the respondents find it hard in teaching (Training)
curriculum to their child.

10. CONCLUSION
 The Scheme of IED being the prime activity of SSA
programme has done wonders to the welfare of the special
children.
 A lot of growth is experienced in the thinking and
behavioral pattern of the special children for which the role
of Family members and the Special educators of SSA are to
be appreciated.
 When this challenges faced by them are satisfied, certainly
the scheme of IED will go a long way in the process of
achieving equal opportunities for sustainable education for
all in India.