Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi unveiled the Nalam Naadi app on Tuesday for special educators to track students with learning disabilities in Chennai.
The students undergo health screening which is undertaken by the teachers at the school. This data is then fed into the health app under the Education Management Information System (EMIS) which is run by the School Education department.
“There was never a database for special children as the school teachers have to take care of their duties. Hence, to be able to cater to the children’s needs and to tailor a curriculum that would be beneficial for them, this app was launched,” said an official from the department.
The special educators re-check the students for the 21 disabilities that their teachers might have flagged them for. Once confirmed, they are then referred to doctors at a district-level intervention centre for further treatment. This app will be available in a week, the official added as they are in the process of mapping their special educators.
Meanwhile, the Minister also initiated Direct Debit Transfer (DBT) for students studying at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Residential Schools. The initiative was started in an effort to encourage girl students to pursue higher education. With this in mind, a total of 9,870 students who are studying at these schools will get ₹200 per month credited to their bank account in an effort to reduce any delay.
The department also began a grievance redressal portal for teachers of government-aided schools to register any complaints. “As this facility was available for the government school teachers, a separate portal has been designed for the government-aided school teachers,” a release from the department said.
