District Level Literary Competition for the Differently Abled – Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

In connection with 125^th Anniversary of Ramakrishna Mission and Math, Faculty of Disability Management and Special Education (FDMSE), Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Coimbatore Campus organized District Level Literary Competitions for the Differently Abled on 31.08.2023.

The programme started with prayer song at 10:00 am and after that welcome address was delivered by Dr. N. Muthaiah, Dean, School of Rehabilitation and Sports Science, RKMVERI. He highlighted the importance of conducting cultural and literary competitions for students especially for children with special needs towards holistic approach to education. After lighting the kuthuvilakku, orientation about the competition was given by Dr.S.Parween, Assistant Professor, FDMSE-RKMVERI.

Swami Garishthanandaji Maharaj, Administrative Head, RKMVERI, Coimbatore campus presided over the programme and released the 8^th Issue of Braille magazine ‘Wonders of Touch’ in which the content contributors are children with special needs.

Swami Nirmaleshanandaji Maharaj, Assistant Administrative Head, FDMSE – RKMVERI, Coimbatore campus graced the occasion and motivated the students to take part in the competitions. The programme ended with vote of thanks by Dr.K.Dhanalakshmi, Assistant Professor, FDMSE- RKMVERI.

The competitions were held at various venues from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. Total number of 88 students with special needs (70 from schools and 18 from colleges in Coimbatore district) participated in the programmme. A total of 20 educational institutions (13 general and special schools and 7 higher education institutions) took part in the events. The events included speech competition for students with visual impairment, sign language and drawing competitions for students with hearing impairment and colouring competition for students with intellectual disabilities. In this competition, 16 students with visual impairment (6 girls and 10 boys) 38 students with hearing impairment (15 girls & 23 boys) and 34 students with Intellectual disabilities (21 girls & 13 boys) participated and exposed their talents and also won prizes.

S.No	Competition	Type of Disability	Category	Theme
1	Speech Competition	Students with Visual Impairment	Category I : 6^th – 8^th Standard (English & Tamil) Category II : 9^th to 12^th Standard Category III : UG & PG Level (English & Tamil)	Education in view of Swami Vivekananda Works of Swami Vivekananda Life incidents of swami Vivekananda Future India in your view
2	Sign Language Competition	Students with Hearing Impairment	Category I : 8^th to 10^th Standard Category II : Post Matric Level
3	Drawing Competition	Students with Hearing Impairment	Category I : 8^th to 12^th Standard
4	Colouring Competition	Students with Intellectual Disability	Category I : Secondary Level (11 to 14 years)	Nature and environment

A panel of judges evaluated the performances of the participants and accordingly best performers were selected from the respective category of each competition. The Prize distribution event held at 3.00 pm at Yoga Hall FDMSE. Swami Nirmaleshanandaji Maharaj, Assistant Administrative Head, FDMSE – RKMVERI, Coimbatore campus graced the occasion and distributed Prizes to the winners of various competitions. Sixteen winners of various competitions received a Cash prize of Rs.1000/-, Rs.700/- and Rs500/- and a Certificate of Awards were given to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd positions respectively. The Participation Certificates were given to all other participants who participated in the competitions.

Lunch was provided to all the participants (88) and their escorts (26) (In-charge Teachers and Parents). The event ended successfully with blessings of Holy Trio.