WORK PROFILE OF XRCVC (September 2003 to May 2020) Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Background St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai has had a long tradition of working towards equitable education. Aiming to achieve excellence in education, the institution has always ensured that the benefits of high quality education are enjoyed by all strata of society. Keeping with the values of equitable, inclusive education St. Xavier’s College has set an example in the field of inclusive education for persons with disabilities through its one-of-its-kind department – the Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC). The department was set up in September 2003 and upgraded in November 2005, and has come a long way as a true example to demonstrate that, with the right motivation, inclusive education can be made a reality in India. It has also further demonstrated the immense value an educational institute can have through expanding its reach beyond its campus and play a key role in nation-building through its advocacy and networking initiatives. From April 2006, the XRCVC has actively taken on the challenge of building inclusive systems through its advocacy work, which is rooted in research, consultancy work and an extension focus. Following is an account of work undertaken by the XRCVC since its inception in the academic year of 2003-2004 till May 2020. The Spectrum of Work XRCVC, a department of the college, has three main verticals of work. 1. Direct Support and Training Initiatives (Data compiled for the period September 2003 – May 31, 2020) 2. Advocacy Initiatives 3. Awareness Initiatives Through these three main areas of work, the XRCVC balances its micro and macro level initiatives to work towards creating an enabling environment to facilitate the development of an inclusive society. Many of these verticals have an active consultancy dimension, in that the XRCVC’s expertise is called upon by individuals, organisations (be they educational or corporate) as also governmental agencies to help build inclusive systems. In addition, the XRCVC believes in providing its expertise well beyond the campus — locally, regionally and nationally. 1 Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Its initiatives through its extension work — be it awareness or research-based work — has resulted in effective outcomes with various stakeholders. The XRCVC’s activities have been largely funded through project-related support by various individuals, foundations and corporates. Some major funders over the years include: • Sightsavers • Tech Mahindra Foundation • Sir Ratan Tata Trust • SAP India • Johnson & Johnson • Dhun Pestonji Parakh Discretionary Trust • Nergesh Khurshedji Dady Public Charitable Trust • HDFC • Tata Capital Housing Finance Ltd • Great Eastern CSR Foundation • Samruddha Resources Ltd St. Xavier’s College has also received funds through the UGC’s HEPSN scheme in the 10th and 11th plan period. The XRCVC has served as the “enabling unit” for the scheme. Over the years, XRCVC has displayed remarkable alacrity in adapting to changing situations and converting challenges into opportunities A recent example was when the Corona pandemic struck globally in 2020. When the Academic Year 2019-20 began as usual on a sedate note in June 2019, nobody imagined the dramatic manner in which it would come to a close. By May 2020, the scourge of COVID-19 had brought the world to its knees, with most parts of the world including India locked down for weeks on end. It was a sudden announcement and nobody had the time or luxury to prepare for such an abrupt lockdown. Neither did XRCVC. At the Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC), however, a decision was taken early that this challenge should be met head on in the only way the Centre knew — by hunkering down and renewing its efforts to foster inclusion, in good times and bad. Anticipating a lockdown scenario, the XRCVC team changed its mode of functioning and adopted a work-from-home approach. Expecting an extended lockdown period, the team was proactive and planned the shift from working from the work spot to working from home in great detail. Each team member had a planned quota of work assigned, and, looking back, XRCVC is happy to share that the lockdown period at the Centre was as productive as any of the months that preceded it. Yes, this shift meant that the team members’ face-to-face interaction with stakeholders was replaced by a virtual interaction. However, the Centre’s training programmes, content-creation and other activities continued with renewed vigour. 2 Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Among the first initiatives the Centre undertook during the lockdown was to compile a document titled ‘Recreational Resources and Safety Guidelines for Persons with Blindness and Low Vision during the Lockdown’. This was circulated widely across the country and proved to be a key resource guide for visually impaired persons all over the country during this difficult time. Following is a detailed account of work across these key areas. I. DIRECT SUPPORT AND TRAINING INITIATIVES XRCVC provides a range of support services to students of St. Xavier’s College as well as to visually impaired persons across the city and country who register as XRCVC members. The services are provided at no-cost basis. Across the years, the figures for students with disabilities, and over and above that the total XRCVC membership, are as follows Table 01: Profile of students with disabilities studying at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai from academic year 2003 – 04 Blind / Orthopedic Hearing Learning Total students with Sr. No Academic Year Low disability impaired Disability disabilities in college vision 117 (including students with blindness, low vision, orthopaedic disabilities, learning 1 2019-20 disabilities, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorder) 110 (including students with blindness, low vision, orthopaedic disabilities, learning 2 2018-19 disabilities, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorder) 110 (including students with blindness, low vision, orthopaedic disabilities, learning 3 2017-18 disabilities, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, and autism spectrum disorder) 4 2016-17 18 4 1 46 69 5 2015-16 21 - 2 32 55 6 2014-15 24 2 - 17 42 7 2013 -14 27 2 1 17 47 8 2012 -13 24 1 1 17*provisi 43 onal 9 2011-12 24 1 1 24 50 10 2010-11 24 1 2 22 49 11 2009-10 26 1 2 26 55 12 2008-09 24 2 1 19 46 13 2007-08 18 1 0 23 42 14 2006 - 07 18 NA NA NA 18 15 2005 - 06 19 NA NA NA 19 16 2004 - 05 12 NA NA NA 12 17 2003- 04 4 NA NA NA 4 Number of visually challenged students is inclusive of both junior and senior college. 3 Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Data for orthopaedic, learning disabled and hearing impaired for junior and senior college up to 2006 – 07 and junior college prior to that is not available at the XRCVC. Table 2: Number of XRCVC members over the years from academic year 2003 – 04 2003-04 4 2004-05 12 2005-06 19 2006-07 20 2007-08 30 2008-09 76 2009-10 130 2010-11 165 2011-12 211 2012-13 296 2013-14 338 2014-15 509 2015-16 508 2016-17 587 2017-18 651 2018-19 678 2019-20 693 XRCVC provides a range of services for its members. These include the following: Assistive Technology Support and Testing (AT): XRCVC is a one-of-its-kind assistive technology resource centre. Persons with visual impairment, families, caregivers, employers, government bodies and any other stakeholders can get a firsthand experience of which products to use, understand technology, or undertake accessibility testing of products. The range of access technology at the XRCVC is kept up-to-date both in terms of hardware and software at international levels. Our AT list includes screen readers, magnifiers, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) systems, refreshable Braille systems, low vision aids, Accessible instruments to conduct scientific experiments, other daily use appliances, and much more. XRCVC also conducts AT orientation workshops and seminars for a wide group of persons to spread awareness about the available AT. 4 Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Table 03: Number of beneficiaries at the Access Technology orientation workshops and seminars from academic year 2006 – 07 2006-07 9 2007-08 43 2008-09 360 2009-10 213 2010-11 100 2011-12 579 2012-13 1320* 2013-14 532 2014-15 531 2015-16 510 2016-17 978** 2017-18 919** 2018-19 1496 2019-20 1289* *Includes the number of participants who have attended and benefitted from the Reading Without Seeing workshops. **Includes the number of participants who have attended and benefitted from Education including Maths and Science Support, and Computer & Assistive Technology In addition, since 2012 – 2013, the XRCVC has launched an active extension focus by reaching out to potential users and other stake holders by conducting one- to one-and-a-half day workshops entitled ‘Reading Without Seeing’. These workshops expose the participants to diverse Access Technologies and give them a hands-on feel into their usage and capabilities. Keeping an extension focus in mind, these workshops are conducted across different locations in India. The XRCVC has conducted 91 such workshops so far, covering 2960 participants, in collaboration with other organisations. Participants at a mobile training workshop conducted at XRCVC in May 2012 5 Brief Work Report of XRCVC 2003 - 2020 Over the years, XRCVC has also been involved in a range of Accessibility testing initiatives for varied products and services to ensure that the same can be accessed by the visually impaired. Some of the key products and services tested by the XRCVC include the following: 1.