Future Plans


As discussed in the first Standing Advisory Committee meeting held on 21st Feb 2012 at 3 pm in VCO Conference Room, IGNOU, the future plans are as follows :

  1. Short Term  Plans

*     Establish collaborative relationships via MOUs with the RCI, NIHH and other government and major NGOs

*     Call a Round table meeting deaf leaders

*     Conduct an Interpreters needs assessment meeting

*     Conduct an ISL teachers needs assessment meeting

*     Call a principals and teachers of schools for the deaf meeting

*     Hold parents of deaf children meeting

*     Four-week Interpreter Training Program (the first of these is tentatively planned for June-July, 2012)

*     Prepare brochures on goals and activities of ISLRTC

*      Provide an orientation session on deafness to IGNOU officials

*     Set up of ISL classes on IGNOU campus

*     Find and select a brand ambassador for ISL

*     Videotape, public service announcement using brand ambassador

*     Use volunteers from abroad-- Hiring of Temporary Professors from Abroad

*     Establish MOUs with foreign universities specializing in areas that pertain to ISLRTC goals

*     Appreciation and certification courses in ISL, deaf awareness, and bilingualism

*     Develop modules to train master trainers for bilingual education of deaf children

  1. Long Term Plans

*     Diploma, B.A, and MA Degree level programs for Interpreters training

*     Diploma, B.Ed, M.Ed and Ph.D. level programmes in deaf education following the bilingual model for teaching deaf children

*     B.A. and M.A. degree level programs in linguistics, deaf studies and deaf culture

*     ISL classes for parents of deaf children and general public and regular workshops in the area of ISL teaching, interpreting and bilingual education

*     Establishing four regional centres of ISLRTC (south, northeast, central and western India)

*     Licensing for interpreters, sign language teachers and bilingual educators

*     Developing examination and scoring system for licensing of various professionals trained at ISLRTC in collaboration with NIHH and RCI

*     Establishing and maintaining a laboratory to research linguistic aspects of ISL, interpreting and bilingual education

*     Developing print and electronic literature in ISL for young deaf children

*     Working with various universities to offer ISL classes at university level as credit course (just like French and other foreign languages)

*     Establishing collaborative relationships with major colleges and universities in other countries to provide on-line classes leading to degrees to deaf people in various disciplines. This arrangement will be reciprocative in nature. Indian students will receive degrees from universities from other countries and deaf students in other countries will receive degrees from IGNOU/ISLRTC

*     Establishing and maintaining an exhaustive print and electronic media library in the areas of ISL, interpreting, bilingual education and deaf culture

*     Disseminating all kind of research and teaching information to researchers, teachers, interpreters, deaf population and general public

*     Establishing guidelines to prioritize hiring of deaf persons to ensue majority of deaf staff