CHENNAI: When Seva-in-Action and LTIMindtree planned to conduct a quiz competition, Quizabled, exclusively for students with disability, an air of doubt swept in and the team had to go the extra mile to convince everyone that it will be a success.
In 2018, when they collaborated with The Spastics Society of TamilNadu (SPASTN), they made a big change in the state that quiz competitions can be for everyone and nobody should be excluded. “Nowadays, most of the special schools have a separate curriculum for training their students in general knowledge and current affairs,” said LV Jayashree, director, SPASTN.
At the inauguration of the fifth edition of Quizabled - Knowledge for All at the TEACH auditorium at SPASTN, Taramani, by IAS officer Anandakumar on Saturday, excitement, and curiosity filled the air. The event was no less than a feast celebrating inclusivity with the participation of 502 students from 11 districts of Tamil Nadu in four categories Hearing impaired, Cerebral Palsy & Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, and Visual Impairment.
The quiz was conducted by Catalyst Quiz Corp from Coimbatore. “The questions were specially conceptualised for the children according to the different categories. Identifying the logos of famous brands, questions from current affairs, politics, sports, and the pandemic, are a few examples,” said Sanam Nair of SPASTN. Jayashree added, “This year we have involved more questions from the state. To encourage everyone, goodie bags and scholarships (selected students) are given. For us, conducting the quiz is about seeing emotions of the students — their curiosity, anxiousness, frustration, excitement and the urge to win.”
The people gathered in the auditorium also had stories of determination to share. Barath P, a visually impaired class 12 student of Sethu Bhaskara Matriculation Higher Secondary School has been participating in Quizabled since its first editions. “He trains every day to build his knowledge and serves as an inspiration to all his schoolmates,” said his teacher, Mithra. Barath shared that competitions like these instil the urge to acquire more knowledge.
Suresh Kanna, parent of SV Shai who has cerebral palsy, talked about how his child reads and analyses newspapers every day, both English and Tamil, and even shares the wisdom that he gains with others. SPASTN, Seva-in-Action and LTIMindtree hope to conduct Quizabled in the coming years too, with more involvement from students from all over India. Jayashree said, “We want to do a pan-India quiz and escalate the quizzing culture.”
Winners
Hearing impaired
MRG Home and Higher School for Hearing Impaired - K Prem Kumar,
R Priyadarshini
Cerebral Palsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sathya Special School - Yugashri, Tamilzhselvi
Intellectual Disability
Bala Vihar - Manju, Ragashree
Visually Impaired
Sethu Bhaskara Matriculation Higher Secondary School - Barath P, Pavathira A