Deaf and Dumb is a commonly used term which has become obsolete in mostly all countries in the world, where it has been found that deafness cannot lead to dumbness in a child's life, when he/she gets special educational opportunities in the early infancy. Through the touchstone of education, dumbness can be dispelled and life reconstructed by giving training which should be started at right time, when the child's body and mind are ready for such learning. Parent's as a whole constitute and regulate the greatest part of the child's early environment and are responsible for his/her total development, particularly, 'speech' and 'language' and for this, they need guidance and training.
With this philosophy in mind, a noble lady, Miss. Anubhuti Bose, Teacher-in-Charge of Calcutta Deaf and Dumb School, having had her education in Manchester (England) and training in John Tracy Clinics (Los Angeles, USA), started the project in 1978. The journey started with two Hearing Impaired children only in a small garrage at one of her well-wisher's residence.
She used 'oralism' giving Auditory - verbal education with the main objective that the children can learn, speak and after having primary level education, be admitted in normal schools and thus can go to the main-stream of the society.
As mother is called to be the first teacher of any child, she involved the mother / parents too for proper training and guidance, thus focusing, in a team-approach with the teacher - parents working together to achieve one common goal. The goal was the Hearing Impaired Children should grow like a normal child, take part ,in all activities, earn their living and lead a normal human life.
Ms. Bose's versatile knowledge in the subject matter, a strong dedication and willpower bore fruit, when the student strength gradually increased, some teacher joined to render voluntary service for a noble cause, parents gave all the support, and some small fund was raised. The special schooI was named 'Parents Own Clinic for Deaf Children' and it was registered in 1985 as a special school.
The school ran with 'Donations' given by public and philanthropic organizations at the same premises till 1996, when it acquired a portion of a Century-old school building at 16A DL Roy Street, Kolkata, West Bengal and shifted its classes to the newly renovated building, The purchase was funded by a Public Sector Undertaking while the renovation was funded by contribution from the Development Fund of a benevolent Parliamentarian, late Sri. Ajit Kumar Panja.
Miss Anubhuti Bose died on 2004 at the age of 80. Besides being the "Founder" of the school, she remained as the 'Secretary' of the school too, till her death. The legacy of Miss. Anubhuti Bose is being carried forwarded till today by some dedicated Teachers, devoted parents, kind-hearted well-wishers, philanthropic organisations and a well-knit executive committee who are rendering selfless service for the cause of these Hearing Impaired Children.
This is a non-residential, Co-Ed Institution for the Hearing Impaired Children and a NGO. It is run by donations' / Grant-in-Aid given by Public and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Under DDR Scheme), Govt. of India. It has a strong Executive Committee headed by Cost Accountant, Doctor, Engineers, Lawyers and other eminent personalities.
Sl No
|
Name
|
Designation
|
Occupation
|
1 | Sri Arun Kumar Chatterjee | President | Practising Cost Accountant, A Social Worker |
2 | Sri Pradyut Kr. Saha | Vice President | An Ex Counsellor and, An eminent Social Worker |
3 | Sri Dilip Chakraborty | Vice President | Philanthropist, Social Worker, Pharmacist Businessman, a Writer and Author |
4 | Dr. Tarun Palit | Secretary | Doctor - Practising E. N. T Specialist |
5 | Sri Dilip Sanyal | Engineer | Retired from a Public Sector Enterprise, Govt of India and a social worker |
6 | Sri Alok Kumar Mitter | Treasurer | Retd. Senior Manegr, National Insurance Company Ltd. An Eminent Social Worker |
7 | Smt. Subhra Sen | Member | An Eminent Social Worker |
8 | Smt. Alaka Mitra | Member | An Eminent Social Worker & an Educationist |
9 | Smt. Dhira Majumder | Member | An Eminent Social Worker & an Educationist |
10 | Sri Samir Banerjee | Member | Social Worker Retired State Govt. Employee |
11 | Sri Asit Kr. Mitra | Member | Retd. Area Sales Manager Samuel Osborn ( I ) Ltd. |
12 | Sri Ujjwalendu Roy | Member | Social Worker State Govt. Employee |
13 | Sri Anupam Bandopadhyay | Member | Practising Chartered Accountant An eminent Social Worker |
The Hearing Impaired Children are being taught through 'Oralism' and 'Auditory Verbal' education from Pre-School to primary level. The teaching is done in 3 stages. First, the 'Nursary', next the 'Preparatory' and finally the 'Academics'. We have our own Audiometer and Tympanometer. The speech therapy is given from Nursary Level and is continued till the child leaves the school. We have classes from Nursary to Class V.
We have highly qualified teachers and well trained educators who do not only have the professional degrees in special education but have a vast experience to teach these Hearing Impaired Children. Most of them are attached since the inception of the school and rest of them are serving for more than 10 to 12 years. Their attachment for these social cause, against a small honorarium is praiseworthy. Their devotion, dedication, and determination to put voices to the voiceless rather say, Speech to the Speechless with motherly care is the Hallmark of our institution. National Institute of Hearing Handicapped, Bon-Hooghly, Govt. of India and Calcutta Deaf & Dumb Schools under Govt. of West Bengal are sending students to our school for practiced teaching of B.Ed & D.Ed courses under their programme regularly.
Student Strength : 60
Teacher-Student Ratio : 1:8
Minimum age for admission is two years. A child is selected after a few days of observation and undergoing various tests.
When a child is selected for admission, parents or gurdians will have to apply to the Secretary in the prescribed admission form available in the office.
The academic session starts from the month of January every year.
Nursary : 08:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Prep - Class V : 08:30 AM to 01:00 PM