An astronomy lab has come up in Haryana's Karnal to enable hearing impaired students to learn about sun, moon and stars apart from simple to complex concepts of space. Officials say this is first such lab in the country which will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, on Monday. The lab, set up at the hometown of legendary astronaut Kalpana Chawla, aims at stoking space curiosity, instilling scientific temper at a young age, supplementing curriculum needs, and serving as a paradigm shift in the teaching-learning methodologies in special education. The Indian Sign Language AstroLab has 65 pieces of equipment, including a large telescope, interactive models, audio visual aids, and fun fact posters. The lab also has a 24 X 7 virtual access to stream over 90 videos, including biopics, hands-on demonstrations, fun facts, and explanatory videos about simple to complex concepts of space and science in Indian sign language. CSIR-IMTech - a research institute of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Chandigarh – and Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment have established the lab jointly. The lab has a standalone virtual learning module developed as an ancillary project in the ongoing Jigyasa - a student-scientist connect programme - which is one of the major initiatives taken up by CSIR at national level. An officer associated with the project told The Indian Express: “Such initiatives are welcome ways to empower hearing impaired children and inspire them to pursue science, technology and engineering subjects, dream about space, stars, constellations, and galaxies, and think and innovate beyond limitations.” The officer said: “The Karnal lab is aligned with the New Education Policy 2020 - which emphasises scientific temper, multidisciplinary and holistic education, inclusion, and Indian sign language for deaf learners. The new education policy also aims at quality education, innovation and infrastructure.” According to the officials, the AstroLab also aligns with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been an outspoken supporter of equal rights for people with disabilities, and recently announced Indian sign language as a language subject in schools. The officials admit till now the participation of hearing impaired students in science, technology and engineering subjects is “negligible due to a lack of accessibility at the school and higher education levels”. Referring to the recent census, the officials maintain that the country has more than 60 lakh hearing impaired people and over 600 special schools for them. Referring to a 2021 report of the World Health Organization, the officials pointed out that the global population of hearing-impaired people is increasing. To offer higher education in science, technology and engineering to hearing-impaired students, the team led by Dr Alka Rao, a scientist of CSIR-IMTech, in 2022 had planned to prepare content that will help them excel in areas that were out of their reach till now. As part of a pilot project, the scientists planned to provide the STEM vocabulary and content on a website in the form of images and logos for science, technology and engineering students.
