Rehabilitation Council of India

Norms & Guideline for CRE (August 2018)

Norms & Guideline for CRE- Webinar (September 2020)

Rehabilitation Council of India

Norms and Guidelines for Continuing Rehabilitation Education (CRE) programmes

RCI is responsible for the development, standardization and monitoring of training programs in the field of disability rehabilitation and special education.  It has the additional responsibility to ensure that professionals in these fields update and upgrade their knowledge and skills on a continuing basis.  The objectives of CRE programs, and the norms / guidelines for conducting CRE programs are enumerated below:

Objectives

1. To upgrade the knowledge and skills of in-service and practicing rehabilitation professionals/ personnel, registered with the RCI u/s 19 of the RCI Act of 1992.
2. To update professional knowledge and skills of master trainers working in the field of disability rehabilitation and special education.

Eligibility Conditions for Institutions/Organizations

1.  Institutes proposing to conduct CRE programme  must have 5 years of experience in offering RCI approved Courses at Certificate/Diploma/ Bachelor/ Post Graduate level with valid RCI recognition.

However, this condition may be relaxed in the case of the State of Jammu & Kashmir and the North Eastern states (Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura) where institution working in the field of disability may organize CRE programs with the recommendation of National Institutes or Zonal Coordination Committee of RCI.

2. National level Professional Associations and/or any organization of national repute working for the empowerment of persons with disabilities having at least 10 years of experience with valid society registration are considered eligible for grant of CRE status to various Seminar/conference/workshop and other programmes provided proposal on the prescribed format should reach the Council at least 60 days before the proposed date of the programme.

3.  RCI approved institutions are eligible for financial assistance to conduct the CRE programme as per the norms, once in 2 years subject to availability of funds.

4.  RCI approved institutions may conduct maximum of 03 CRE programs within a financial  year provided report of the CRE programmes are submitted to the Council before commencement of the another programme.

5. CRE programs to be planned in such manner so that regular activities of the institutions are not affected. However,  maximum participation within the  prescribed intake to be ensured.

General Guidelines:

1. Maximum number of participants in any CRE program shall not exceed 30. However, number of participants  should not be less than 10 in any CRE program.

2.  Topics on which CRE programs can be conducted are shown in Annexure A. However, institutions are free to conduct CRE programs on topics which may not be in these lists, but institutions have to fully justify the need for such a CRE program.

3.  Topics on the latest development in the field of disability , various legislative provisions, like RPWD Act 2016 , RCI Act, 1992, National Trust Act 1999, RTE Act ,2007, UN Conventions, various schemes and programmes of the DEPwD , Accessible India Campaign (Sugmaya Bharat Abhiyaan), SIPDA, ADIP, NHFDC etc. to be included for CRE topics. In addition to this Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO Act, 2012 )  to be included to generate awareness in this matter.

4.  RCI Recognized training Institutions/University Department/National Institutes / CRCs may submit their proposal for consideration of permission to conduct CRE programme on the following format well before the 60 days of the proposed date.

1. Name of the Institution/University/Department
2. Current Status of RCI recognition/approval
3. Title and duration of the programme
4. Aims and objectives of the program
5. Contents and schedule of the  programme and its contents
6. Names of resource persons –( internal and external along with CRR Number, if applicable)
7. Methods of transaction of the content (Lecture/Presentation/ Group Work etc.)
8. Category of professionals who can participate
9. Desired Outcome
10. Proposed budget and grant requested, if any

  5.  Format for grant of CRE status to Professional associations of national repute  working for the benefit of persons with disabilities having at least 10 years of experience with valid society registration for various Seminars/Conferences / Workshops to be submitted for consideration well before the 60 days  of the proposed  date         

1. Name of the Institution/University/Department
2. Current Status of RCI recognition/approval
3. Title and duration of the programme
4. Aims and objectives of the program
5. Contents and schedule of the  programme and its contents
6. Names of resource persons –( internal and external along with CRR Number, if applicable)
7. Methods of transaction of the content (Lecture/Presentation/ Group Work etc.)
8. Category of professionals who can participate
9. Desired Outcome
10. Proposed budget and grant requested, if any
11. Copy of five year ITR of Professional Association with copy of latest Annual Report to be submitted to the Council for consideration

The Organizing Institutes will pay to RCI a non refundable processing fee of RS.3500/- for the CRE programme at State/National Level & Rs.5000/- for the International Level.

6. CRE points can be awarded for 1 day /2 day /3 day /4 day /5 days with 6 hours of actual training each day. Faculty conducting CREs should have relevant professional qualification and experience with reference to the selected CRE topic.

Prescribed Intake of the CRE/Workshop/Conference/Seminar:

Sl.No.	Level of CRE Programme / Workshop/Seminar/Conference	Approved Intake (Max.)	Remarks
1	Local Level	30	--
2	State Level	50	20% of the total participation must be from the districts of the concerned State
3	Zonal Level ( Zones as defined by RCI, list enclosed)	75	Participation of candidates from all States under the  concerned zone is compulsory
4	National Level	100	Representation of participants from minimum 5 States is compulsory
5	International Level	150	Representation of participants from minimum 3 Countries is compulsory

Budgetary Provisions for financial assistance:

7.      The Council provides the financial assistance to the RCI approved institutions/ University departments for conduct of 3-days and 5-days CRE programs subject to the availability of budget. The  Council approves a budget of Rs. 90000 for a 5-day CRE program and Rs. 54000 for a 3-day CRE program.  However, grants from the Council will be limited to 60% of total budget  or the actual budget, whichever is less.

Proposals from institutes for conducting a CRE program (first or subsequent programs,(as applicable) will be processed subject to fulfillment of the following conditions:

1. Submission of accounts of all previous CREs with no outstanding dues.
2. Submission of reports and proceedings of previous CRE programs
3. Institute’s willingness to follow RCI norms with regard to CRE
4. Submission of an undertaking to meet additional expenditure beyond the sanctioned amount.
5. Submission of an undertaking that only those who are registered in the Central Rehabilitation Register will be invited to attend as participants in the CRE programs.

 (Headwise  Budget for 5-day CRE program )

 

Sl. No	Expenditure Head	Amount (in Rs.)
1	Remuneration to the Program Coordinator (@ Rs. 800/- per day)	4000
2	Remuneration for resource persons / faculty  @ Rs. 800/ - per hour of lecture ( Rs. 800 x 6 hours per day x 5 days)	24000
3	Stationery, communication, photocopying, printing, typing etc.	4000
4	Snacks, tea, lunch @ Rs. 200/- per person per day (Rs. 200 x 30 persons x 5 days)	30000
5	Publication of proceedings and report	3000
6	Travel expenses for resource persons / faculty	15000
7	Audit report and utilization certificate	1000
8	Remuneration to MTS	1000
9	Contingencies	8000
	Total	90000

1. The budget indicated above is for a CRE program of 5 days.  There shall be proportionate decrease in the budget based on the number of days.  Accordingly, the budget for a 3-day
        CRE will be Rs. 54000.
2. RCI grant shall be a maximum of 60% of the maximum approved budget as shown above or actual expenditure whichever is less.  Further, RCI grants will be subject to the following rules and regulations.
3. Traveling expenses will be borne by the participants.
4. Local resource persons as well as faculty from outside the institute may be engaged.  Faculty may be paid remuneration of Rs. 800/- per lecture and TA as per their entitlement.  However, all these expenses have to be met within the prescribed budget.
5. A registration fee of Rs. 1200/ - per person can be charged by the institution conducting a CRE program of five days.  However, registration fee shall be reduced proportionately at the rate of Rs. 240/- per day per participant for programs of less than 5 days.
6. There shall not be more than 8 participants from the host institution.
7. Unutilized funds (from RCI grant + registration fee) will be refunded to RCI within 15 days from the completion of the CRE program.
8. Head-wise expenditure is to be clearly indicated while submitting income-expenditure statement and utilization certificate duly certified by a Chartered accountant.   These documents can be certified by the accounts officer as well as the Director/Officer-in-charge in case of Government institutes.
9. RCI reserves the right to supervise each CRE program through a visiting expert/RCI official/ZCC members deputed by the Council.

Note:  In case, CRE report submitted by the visiting expert deputed by the Council is found substandard, the concerned institute/ association will not be permitted to conduct any CRE program in the next two years.

 

Norms and general guidelines of CRE- Webinar (September 2020) :

The eligibility conditions for institutions to organize CRE webinars should be continued as per the existing norms

1. ICT requirements: Platform for content transactions & evaluation and general technical specification to conduct online program/webinar

The organizing institutes should have adequate internet connection (preferably broadband) and online platform to host webinar based CRE activities. However the institution shall have the flexibility to select the web platform of their choice depending upon local circumstances, license issues etc. The selected platform should have provision for

a)  recording of the deliberations

b)  receive feedback inputs from the participants

c)   participation of at least 200 members

d)  accessibility to persons with special needs

Besides having a suitable online platform for conduct of the webinar as mentioned above, the institution needs to have a dedicated technical team/experts for:

a) providing necessary support to the resource persons whenever required;

b)  permitting entry to the participants  with their valid email ID and full name as per CRR Records

c)   engaging the participants full time by periodical monitoring for the presence of active attention/participation of registered delegates, and

d)  providing provisions for evaluating participants’ learning

The participants’ should have at least 10 mbps speed internet connection and 1 GB memory for each of the lectures.

2.      Duration of program and number of hours for webinar 

a) CRE webinars shall be of 1 or 2 days duration only,

b)  there shall be maximum 4 lectures in a day consisting of 40 minutes presentation, 20 minutes interaction and 15 minutes for evaluation of participants at the end of each lecture,

c)   that the participants shall have the facility to type in their questions to which the speakers may answer.

3.      Provisions of evaluation of learning outcomes for webinar

The evaluation of the participant’s learning of a given lecture/presentation/panel discussion and to qualify in the evaluation exercises is must for them to get CRE points:

a)      learning of the participants will be assessed at the end of each lecture,

b)     the participant must score 70% or more to qualify,

c)      the organizing institution will conduct one more assessment at the end of the webinar for participants if fail to qualify  in their first attempt,

d)     the questions will be of multiple choice based on the sessions conducted and not only based on the contents given through the PPT, and

e)     that the organizing institution will ensure that it is actually the registered participants who are answering the questions and not somebody else on his/her behalf.

4.      Selection of topics, resource persons, duration of lecture & program for webinar

a)      Selection of topics is best left to the policies and priorities of the organizing institution, but topics have to be from the list notified by the Council.  However, additional topics relating to recent relevant acts related to disability or any emerging areas can be considered.

b)     Selection of resource persons is also best left to the discretion/judgment of the organizing institution.  However, the organizing institution shall ensure that the selected resource persons are experts and have a proven record of expertise/skills/research output etc. The resource person should also be well versed on technology for online presentation

c)      If it is deemed that the experts and active professionals in different fields outside the specializations coming under the purview of RCI can contribute significantly to the theme selected for the CRE, may be invited even if not having CRR number. However, their number should not be more than 25% of the total resource persons invited for a given program.

d)     Non-governmental organizations conducting CRE webinars shall ensure that at least 50% of the resource persons are from RCI recognised training institutions/ universities

e)     The duration of CRE webinars can be of 1 or 2 days. Longer duration webinars of 3 days shall be permitted by RCI only under exceptional circumstances.

5.      Weightage points, prescribed fees, and intake for webinar

It was decided that

a)      weightage points will continue to be awarded as practised all these years.

b)     participants will be awarded 6 points per day for attending six hours and only on successfully qualifying all the tests conducted. Participants will get either six points (after qualifying all the tests) or nil points (even if they fail in one test).

c)      organizing institutions may charge participation fees of Rs. 400 and Rs. 600 per participant for 1 day and 2 days CRE webinar respectively.

d)     intake to be restricted to 200 participants for state / National level and 250 for International level.

6.      Processing Fees for webinar

a)      The organizing institutes will pay to RCI a non refundable processing fee of Rs.3500/- for the CRE programme at State/National level & Rs.5000/- for the International level with maximum intake of 200 & 250 participants respectively.

b)     RCI will not extend any financial support to any organization for conduct of CRE webinar.

Guidelines for submission of report in respect of CRE/Workshop/Conference /Seminar:     

1. Name and contact details of the institution conducting the program
2. Title and theme of the CRE topic
3. Name and contact details of the program coordinator
4. Details (with a photograph each) of the inaugural and valedictory function
5. Name and particulars of all the participants/resource persons  (Name, gender, category to which they belong to [Gen, SC, ST, OBC], whether PWD [if yes, then type of disability], contact details including email and mobile numbers, institutional affiliation and professional status [student, staff etc.], rehabilitation qualification, area of specialization, CRR number and year of registration.
6. Attendance sheet of participants (original hard copy) and rest of the information like group photographs, report of the programme to be sent in the soft copy only along with the covering letter.
7. The accounts of the CRE program duly signed by a chartered accountant (in the case of private institution) or the Head of the institution & Course coordinator (in the case of Government institutes).  The statement of accounts should meet the terms and conditions laid down in the sanction order of the Council.
8. A DD in favour of RCI and payable New Delhi for the unspent amount, if any.

Compilation of the proceedings of the Seminar/Conference /Workshop:

1. Complete manuscripts relating to all the lectures and demonstrations carried out including a copy of the pictures/slides/PPTs should be compiled in the form of a publication and sent to the Council.  The manuscripts should be in the APA format including references.
2. The compilation should be in the form of a book with the institutional details, names and details of editors, year of publication (compilation), copy rights (if any), responsibility and accountability of the institution/course coordinator for the content of the publication etc.
3. The technical proceedings can be a hard copy or e-form compilation.

Renewal of Registration :

1. Total number of 100 CRE points are required to be accumulated for renewal of registration over 5 years.   Actual training/hands/online on experience for 6 hours in a day at an RCI approved CRE is equivalent to 6 CRE points. 
2. Professionals who are qualified to register in the CRR shall register with the Council within 6 months from the date of completion of an approved course. 
3. All registered rehabilitation professionals shall renew their registration with the Council once in 5 years.
4. Acquisition of a higher qualification (RCI approved) will be considered for renewal of registration.
5. Professional/personnel may attend the International CRE/Conference held overseas. However, CRE credit hours may be allotted by the Council on the submission of certificate of attendance/ participation.

CRE Points :

Points that can be earned by RCI registered professional/personnel for participating in different RCI approved Conferences / Seminars / Workshops in the field of Disability Rehabilitation and Special Education,etc.

 

S.No	Programmes	Level of Participation	CRE Points	Remarks
1	Annual conference at National Level	Resource person/ Keynote Speaker	15	Not more than  50 points maximum per conference
		Paper Presentation	10	Maximum of  30 points
		Poster Presentation	10	Maximum of 20 points
		Participants	06	Per day
			10	Per day for participants of  North Eastern States / J&K /Leh-Ladkh (maximum 30 points for five days)
2	International Conference	Resource person/ Keynote Speaker	20	Not more than  50 points maximum per conference
		Paper Presentation	15	Maximum of  30 points
		Poster Presentation	15	Maximum of 20 points
		Participants	8	Per day
			10	Per day for participants of  North Eastern States / J&K /Leh-Ladkh (maximum 30 points for five days)
3	CRE Programmes	Resource Person	10	Not more than 30 points per workshop
		Coordinator	05	Per day
		Participants	06	Per day
			10	Per day for participants of  North Eastern States / J&K /Leh-Ladkh (maximum 30 points for five days)
4	Seminar/Conference at State/Region level	Resource person	10	Not more than 30 points per workshop
		Coordinator	05	Per day
		Participants	06	Per day
			10	Per day for participants of  North Eastern States / J&K /Leh-Ladkh (maximum 30 points for five days)
5	Workshop at State/Region level (Knowledge  based/ Hands on Practical training)	Instructor	10	Not more than 30 points per workshop
		Coordinator	05	Per day
		Participants	06	Per day
			10	Per day for participants of  North Eastern States / J&K /Leh-Ladkh (maximum 30 points for five days)
6	Research Projects	Project Investigator	20	Award of points shall be after the completion of the project
		Co-investigator	15
7	Publications in peer reviewed /indexed journals in the field of disability	First / Single / Corresponding Author	10	Additional 10 points for publication in indexed international journals
		Second and any other author	6	Additional 10 points for publication in indexed international journals
a	Writing a Book		20
b	Writing of Chapter		10
c	Editing of Book / Journal		20
8	Ph.D.		25
9	Any fellowship for other than degree purpose		20
10	Attending Experts Committee Meetings of RCI		6	Per day