Special Education

St. Agnes Special School, Mangaluru

The year 1970 was a landmark in the history of the Apostolic Carmel. It was the centenary of the establishment of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation in India. When the Congregation celebrated with great joy and jubilation the centenary of its ministry in the field of education in India, Mother M. Theodosia, the then Superior General and Sister Fidelis, the Secretary, Apostolic Carmel Educational Society of Karnataka found a void in the scheme of education – the education of the Mentally Challenged Children. So, it was decided to start a school for these children, as a Centenary Memorial of the Apostolic Carmel.

The school began with five children under the efficient leadership of Sister Maria Jyothi as the service project of the Psychology Department of St. Agnes College, on St. Agnes Convent premises in “The Rest” a cosy house on 4th August, 1970. It was the first school for the Mentally Challenged Children in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District. The motto chosen for the school was “IN LOVE WE GROW”. It helped in drawing out the children with special needs from cold isolation and neglect, to the warmer atmosphere of love and understanding and provided them with the training necessary for their growth and development.

Inspired by Christ’s Compassion for persons with disability and the charism of our Foundress Mother Veronica, the staff of the Special School, through constant professional endeavour, help those under their charge to accept their condition and to use their potential to the maximum extent, thus leading them to live a better quality of life. The education provides the learners skills for daily functional and value-based living and to earn while they learn programmes. The school also functions as a center for outreach programmes. It also helps the differently able students to achieve as much integral development as possible.

The school building was shifted to its new building in the year 1973 and in 1977 the school was officially separated from St. Agnes College and was administrated as an independent unit of St. Agnes Convent. St. Agnes College service project was renamed as St. Agnes Special School. 200 and more children benefit from this school.. Those who are not able to go to the regular school and the dropouts from schools are given opportunity to study through the National Institute of Open Schooling and Karnataka Open School, Bangalore, secondary and senior secondary courses.

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