Srimati Kamla Mehta Dadar School for the Blind, Mumbai

Founded by the American Marathi Mission 107 years ago, SKMDSB is widely acknowledged as the country’s premier primary-cum-secondary school for visually challenged girl children

India perhaps has the largest population of visually challenged people worldwide whose number is estimated at 15 million. Of this huge number, according to the National Association for the Blind, more than 3 million are children of school-going age.

Unfortunately only 10 percent (i.e 300,000) of them are in school and/or receiving any type of education. The remaining 90 percent have to fend for themselves combating poverty, social prejudice, illiteracy, unavailability of Braille teaching-learning materials and specially trained teachers. Moreover a major cause of pervasive illiteracy among the visually challenged is government indifference and private school managements who callously refuse to include them in mainstream education.

In the circumstances, the efforts of special schools for visually challenged children assume critical significance as they offer them education and also showcase their learning abilities. One such pioneer institution is the Srimati Kamla Mehta Dadar School for the Blind (SKMDSB), in central Mumbai.

Founded 107 years ago by the American Marathi Mission, SKMDSB is widely acknowledged as the country’s premier primary-cum-secondary school for the visually challenged. A Maharashtra government-aided institution, this kindergarten-class X school offers free education as well as boarding facilities to 170 visually challenged girl children from underprivileged families, some from as far afield as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. The school follows the Maharashtra state board curriculum and students write the class X SSC board examination. The 170 students are instructed and attended to by a staff of 60, of whom 22 are teachers.

“Our objective is to provide visually challenged girl students with all-round education which will equip them with the skills to pursue higher education and integrate in mainstream society as independent, productive citizens. SKMDSB teachers are specially trained by the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped to deliver classroom lessons using Braille textbooks and appropriate teaching-learning materials. Our overriding objective is to enable our students to integrate with mainstream education and ultimately with society. To help smooth this process we have an arrangement with our neighbouring Saraswati High School which follows a policy of inclusive education. SKMDSB class IX and X girl students attend classes in the Saraswati School with regular students. Our experience indicates that two years of mainstream schooling prepares our girls for college education,” says Shyama Chavan, principal of SKMDSB since 2001. A school and college champion in badminton and table tennis, Chavan has a B.Ed degree in physical education from Mumbai University.

Promoted by American missionary Anna Miller in 1900 as the American Mission School for the Blind to cater to the large number of children who had lost their vision during the devastating Sholapur famine of 1887-1888, the school was rechristened the Srimati Kamla Mehta Dadar School for the Blind in 1986. In its 107-year-old history, the management of the school has changed hands many times and weathered several financial crises. Currently it is run by the Blind Relief Association (Mumbai), which took over the reins in 1948. The institution however, is financially dependant primarily on private donations and a Rs.1.03 crore annual grant it receives from the Maharashtra state government.

“The Mehta family (of the Mafatlal group of companies) is a great benefactor as are the Lion and Rotary Clubs. Mafatlal K. Mehta who gave us a donation of Rs.4 lakh in 1982 requested that the school be named after his wife Kamla Mehta. The family is still deeply involved in the school’s activities,” says Chavan, who has dedicated her life to the institution and towards improving the education and quality of life it provides to its students.

Since it admitted its first batch of children in a humble one-room apartment in Byculla, central Mumbai, SKMDSB has made great progress. In 1920 it moved to a 44,677 sq.ft plot (granted by the then British government) in Dadar. Currently the campus houses three buildings with 11 classrooms and seven dormitories, a dining hall, computer room with 11 computers and a home science laboratory. The school also boasts a library of 4,000 Braille books, a science laboratory, a counselling centre and museum which displays models and toys specially designed for the visually impaired. It also hosts a first-of-its-kind gymnasium for blind children where students can participate in activities such as rope-malkhamb, yoga and a variety of indoor and outdoor games. Moreover the campus houses separate hostel facilities for women with visual impairment enrolled in college and/or working in Mumbai.

An enabling learning environment where equal attention is paid to academic and extra-curricular education has ensured that SKMDSB students do well in the state board’s class X school leaving examination. From 1962 — the first year its students wrote (with the help of writers who are usually class IX students) the board exam — to date the school has consistently recorded 100 percent pass percentage. “In 2006 eight students wrote the class X exam and I’m proud to say that they all scored above 72 percent. Most of our graduates join mainstream colleges thereafter,” says Chavan.

With its brilliant track record in providing meaningful education to girl children from deprived socio-economic families, SKMDSB which requires Rs.78.32 lakh per year to educate and house its 170 girl students, is keen to increase its capacity. “To date we haven’t turned a single girl away from our gates. Our experience of over 107 years has proved that with a little help visually impaired girls can not only pursue college level education but contribute to society as working members,” says Chavan.

Gaver Chatterjee (Mumbai)