Vikas Open School-NIOS Training Centre
‘VIKAS Open School’ situated at 308/5, 5th block, Mogappair West, Chennai provides learning and training for children with special needs. The students are trained up to take the ‘Secondary’ and ‘Senior Secondary’ exams conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling, which is an autonomous institution under ministry of human resource and development, government of India.
Depending on their ability the curriculum for the exams are chosen and students above age 14 are trained to take up the exams. Eminent faculty give the students computer assisted learning with latest software and applications. Faculties from various institutions visit Vikas open school to provide their expertise to the students. ‘Train the trainer’ program is conducted to equip the faculty to train the children with disabilities. NIOS Syllabus is Taught through Smart Classroom and Practical Modality for X and XII Graders.
It was in 2014 that Navaneethakrishnan from chennai in Tamil Nadu decided to open a centre for children with various kinds of learning disabilities.
As a Occupational therapist, Special Educator, counselor and mentor, he was well aware of the critical lack of centre’s that cater to the needs of children with special needs, especially in small town chennai.From one student, today his centre has expanded into a special school, Called Vikas Open School and Learning Centre, it has so far enriched and empowered over 50 kids with learning disabilities.
Vikas mainly deals with children who have different types of learning disabilities. These include dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia. Slow learners who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are also part of Vikas.
This open school aims to provide equal opportunities to children, regardless of what their economic backgrounds are. To achieve this, it collaborates with individual sponsors. Here, children are introduced to various therapies and skill training.
Our special educators ensure that children get the best from us. We just cannot compromise on the quality of education that we impart to our children.
National Institute For Open Schooling
NIOS is the largest open schooling program in the world. It was started by government mainly for the underprivileged kids/school drop outs. It is also a boon for high functioning children with special needs (Specially LD, Slow Learners, High functioning Autism and Aspergers.
The National Institute for Open Schooling or the NIOS conducts Secondary and Senior Secondary Board Examinations at the National level. It is one of the three recognized National boards, the other two being the ICSE or ISC and the CBSE. The NIOS certificate is recognized and accepted for admission to most of the Universities in India and abroad. Students who have passed the NIOS examinations have joined premier institutions. For further information on the NIOS please visit the official website at http://www.nios.ac.in/
- The advantages of the NIOS examinations especially for students with Learning Difficulties are numerous.
- Some of them are: One has to take a minimum of one Language and maximum of two languages. All major Indian languages are available.
- The entire books are sent by post by NIOS. No additional material is needed (through guides are available, even on e-commerce sites). All the books are available as free downloads from their site also.
- The students can choose from a variety of subjects including subjects like Data Entry, Business studies, Home Science, Painting.
- They do not have to write very long essay answers. They have marks assigned for internal assignments.
- Long rope in the form of 9 chances are given. Passing mark is only 33%.
- Some of the subjects have theory and practical with suitable breakup. (Say Data Entry, which is basics of MS Office has a 40:60 break up).
- 20% marks in theory are from internal assessment in which the child can be helped by teacher/parent. This has to be submitted to one of the schools accredited by NIOS (who just coordinate), the entire course is correspondence.
- One extra hour (20 minutes per hour extra) for completing the Exam (based on a disability certificate)
- Short break of 10 minutes per exam
- Provision of a scribe (relaxation in norms also)
- Provision of a caregiver to be present in the room (a boon for kids for Motivation/support).
They need not appear for all the subjects at the same time. For example they can appear for a few subjects in October and the rest in April but they will be issued a single pass certificate and not multiple mark sheets. Vikas Open School offers the following subjects for the Secondary and Senior Secondary Examinations. English is Compulsory and the student can choose ANY FOUR from the list of Optional subjects.
Secondary Examination
- English
- Tamil
Optional
- Business Studies
- Home Science
- Data Entry
- Painting
Senior Secondary Examination
- English
- Tamil
Optional
- Home Science
- Business studies
- Painting
- Data Entry
- Mass Communication