Job Description

Job Profile – Special Educator (Urban Slum Programme)

Position: Special Educator (Programme-Based Position)

Location: Puliyanthope & Korukkupet, Chennai

Reporting To: Programme Coordinator

Vidya Sagar (Formerly The Spastic Society of India) is a Non-Profit organization, based in Chennai registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act. working with children and young adults with

multiple disabilities, their families and the community they live in.

Vidya Sagar is a 40-year-old organization recognized for its quality, with a proactive and positive spirit of its team of professionals. The organization focuses on the holistic development and

education of children and adults with special needs. Vidya Sagar believes in the right to opportunities and an all-inclusive society. We have so far reached out to 7 lakh persons with

disabilities.

About this project

Urban informal settlements in Chennai present a complex set of vulnerabilities, where limited access to welfare systems, healthcare, and social support structures affects multiple sections

of the population. Within this context, persons with disabilities experience compounded exclusion due to gaps in identification, certification, rehabilitation services, assistive support, and access to

entitlements.

Evidence from national and global estimates indicates that disability prevalence is often underreported in administrative data. The Census of India (2011) estimates disability prevalence at

around 2.2% of the population, while global estimates suggest higher prevalence. In low-income urban settlements, identification is often significantly lower than actual prevalence due to

underreporting, limited screening, and social stigma.

In Chennai’s settlement context, persons with disabilities frequently face:

• Delayed or lack of identification and certification
• Limited access to early intervention, therapy, and rehabilitation services
• Gaps in access to social security schemes and entitlements
• Barriers to inclusion in education, livelihoods, and community life
• High dependence on families with limited structured support systems
• These challenges are further intensified in resettlement sites, which are located away from core urban areas, as well as in dense urban settlements where service access is fragmented and specialised support systems are limited.
• Recognising these context-specific gaps, the urban programme is working through a structured, community-based approach that focuses on facilitating access to welfare entitlements,
• addressing civic service gaps, and strengthening community engagement with local governance systems. This is implemented through trained field cadres working at the settlement level,
• supported by resource centres, systematic data tracking, and continuous engagement with public systems.

This intervention is being undertaken as a pilot in three selected clusters. Vidyasagar is engaged as a specialist partner to implement the CBR programme in two city-based clusters (Royapuram and Puliyanthope), focusing on delivering structured rehabilitation services while contributing to the development of a scalable and replicable model for disability inclusion in urban settlement contexts.

Role Summary :The Special Educator will support children with disabilities in accessing education, improving learning abilities, and promoting inclusive education.

Key Responsibilities :

• Assess learning needs of children with disabilities
• Develop individual education plans (IEPs)
• Support enrolment in schools and anganwadi
• Provide home-based learning support
• Train parents on basic learning methods
• Work with schools to support inclusion
• Guide community workers on follow-up

Qualifications & Skills

• Degree/Diploma in Special Education
• Experience in working with children with disabilities
• Good communication in Tamil
• Understanding of inclusive education

Additional Requirement

• Two-wheeler preferred

Nature of work and travel

• Field-based with community visits and functional resource centre
• working hours may get extended based on field situation
• Needs to use a Two-wheeler for field travel
• Coordination with other team members in the team
• Needs to be creative to take up therapy follow ups and parent training in urban low resource communitie

Last date for the application: Friday, 29th May, 2026. Applications with detailed resume, qualifications and experience to be sent to admin@vidysagar.co.in

Job Email ID:

admin(at)vidyasagar.co.in

Download Attachment:

Job Profile SPECIAL EDUCATION.docx